Chinese New Year in Singapore

Being grounded in Singapore through illness is not a bad thing during the Chinese New Year. This is one time of year that laying low and not travelling is a good thing considering it's estimated there will be 31 billion passenger trips during the month as Chinese return home to reunite with their families!

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Money, money, money. It's that time of year in Chinese Singapore.

I walk past a billboard: "You will be surprised with free money when you buy...."

"No madam. Take this." The waitress points to the menu. "That is more money. You no want pay more money."

I'm on my way to the market to buy "New Year Pockets". People don't exchange gifts at the Chinese New Year but everyone offers one of these decorated red pockets to children filled with cash. Money is a good thing. And in Singapore, you start them young in valuing cold, hard cash. It's the equivalent of the western value expressed by us giving our kids "stuff", lots and lots of "stuff". Of course this "stuff" often comes from China, which leads to tightly packed pockets of cold cash for Chinese children.

Everyone's a winner in the cycle of "stuff' for the west, money for the east, environmental impact aside.

I'm reflecting on these matters as I spend time in coffee shops and wander about the air- conditioned malls, both of which are national past-times in Singapore. I'm by myself these days because Dan is spending a few days in the Raffles Hospital undergoing tests. It's lucky for us that we were in Singapore when his ongoing stomach problems flared up again because doctors here are well versed in tropical maladies and intestinal disorders.

So we'll be here in Singapore longer than planned. I cancelled our flight to Hong Kong this morning, in doing so, probably making two stand-by passengers and their parents very happy. Our plan to spend the Chinese New Year with friends in mainland China is also off. Once Dan is released, we'll spend the New Year instead with our Chinese friend and half of his family here in Singapore and then settle down for a week. One of the benefits of independent travel is our flexibility.

The Chinese New Year is a time to avoid all travel if you're not Chinese. That's an important reason why we're staying here in Singapore even though Dan is expected to be released the day before the New Year. An essential part of the season is traveling home to one's parents' home for the tuan yuan fan (reunion dinner) or the days following. All across Asia with its increasingly mobile Chinese populations, the roads are jammed, flights are packed, trains are fully booked, long distance buses, well, don't use the washroom! The Singapore Times Straits estimates there will be 31 billion passenger trips, a rise of 9.1 per cent from last year.

The God of Prosperity is evidently also travelling around southeast Asia these days. All the indicators point to strong GDP growth (albeit less stellar in places than previous years), but still exceeding most western countries. I expect that transportation stocks do well in January.

One of the problems Chinese face these days is deciding whose parents to visit. Our friends are addressing the problem by Xiaoyu receiving his parents and sister in Singapore, and Suling flying to Shenzhen with their children to stay at her parents' home.

China's one-child policy has understandably resulted in some parents being without a visiting child. The loneliness runs so deep that stories about their pain, and indeed their shame, of being alone for the tuan yuan fan make the newspapers. It reminds me of how important our own family gatherings are at Christmas time, although I wouldn't think to be ashamed of the odd quiet Christmas - sometimes we're grateful!

The Chinese New Year is also a time to clean house. And it's a time to fill our faces with dumplings, savoury edibles "stuffed" with tasty fillings, a symbol of wealth (i.e. more cash) to come. While I don't expect to get stuffed with cash in the year of the water dragon, I do expect to get stuffed with carbohydrates and put on a few pounds with Xiaoyu's mother and sister in the kitchen. If Dan's not able to hold up his end of the chopstick by that time, I'll just have to eat for both.

A few years ago we visited with our friends in China, celebrating their wedding and the National Holiday at the same time. At one of the many family gatherings, I was invited to take on the bride's mother in a drinking contest. While men would do this with bai jiu (literally white wine but made from grain), Bi Chi and I used cognac, something more to our mutual tastes but tough enough to make it respectable.

End of story. I was not able to tolerate cognac for years afterwards. I think she won but maybe it was a draw. Family gatherings, festivals, New Years celebrations, big dinners here can take a lot out of your system.

But I always say, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

新年快乐！ 祝你在新的1年里好事接2连3，心情4季如春，生活5颜6色、7彩缤纷，偶尔8点小财，烦恼9霄云外！ HAPPY NEW YEAR