From Hanoi, Vietnam

Writing this from Hanoi, and it is a great day here. Coming from the Haze filled Singapore, this is welcome relief, and I am amazed at the way things have changed in Hanoi.

I was last here in 2000, and with repeated trips to Ho Chi Minh City, I had imagined Hanoi to be what it was 6 years ago, and my -what a change. It is terrific now, and I have fallen in love with the place. The drive from the Airport (which by itself is very different from earlier), to the Hilton, was great. With a great view of the Opera House next door, it was just the perfect stay, before all the meetings I had to attend to.

Getting ready to move to Ho Chi Minh city later this evening and looking forward to going back to Singapore soon...

Next post hopefully from Saigon :)

Deepavali Lightings in Singapore

Deepavali is the festival of Lights. Serangoon Road in Singapore is especially a sight to behold these days- and the lighting this year is especially classy. For visitors visiting Singapore, don't miss this as part of your itinerary - and also the lighting in Chinatown (I will try and take more snaps of them in the next couple of days). Here are some snaps I took earlier today. It was a quick trip to Serangoon road to get something for my daughter (and I was sick throughout the day). Quick snaps taken in the peak hours (not a good time to take photos anyways).

For more on Deepavali: I have taken this from Wikipedia just for those who find clicking on links to be painful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepavali

The date of Diwali is based on the Hindu calendar, which has solar sidereal years and lunar months. Although the festival is worshipped on exactly the same set of days across India, it falls in different months depending on the version of the Hindu calendar being used in the given region.

The Amanta ("ending on the no-moon") version of the Hindu Calendar has been adopted as the Indian national calendar. According to this calendar, which is prevalent in southern India and Maharashtra, deepavali falls in the middle of the month of Ashwayuja. According to the Purnimanta ("ending on the full-moon") version prevalent in northern India, the 5-day celebration is spread over the last three days of the month of Ashwayuja and the first two days of the new month of Kartika. According to this calendar, the festival of Deepavali marks the new year's day of this calendar and is therefore an especially significant festival.
In the Gregorian calendar, it falls generally in the months of October or November. In 2005, the new moon day which is the third and most important day of the festival fell on November 1. In 2006, it will be celebrated on October 21 (Saturday).

The Five days of Diwali
Diwali is celebrated over five days in most of North India. All the days except Diwali are named using the designation in the Indian calendar. A lunar half-month is 15 days. Diwali as a new-moon day, marks the last day of a 15-day period.

Diwali has emerged as one of the most famous Hindu festivals. An integral part of Diwali decorations, Rangoli is a colorful pattern drawn on the floor.

Dhan-trayodashi or Dhan teras: Dhan means "wealth" and Trayodashi means "13th day". Thus, as the name implies, this day falls on the 13th day of the first half of the lunar month. It is an auspicious day for shopping. (Gujarati: Dhan Teras)

Naraka Chaturdasi: Narak means 'of a new era of Light and Knowledge'. Chaturdasi implies fourteenth day. (Gujarati: Kali Chaudas)

Diwali: the actual day of Diwali, is celebrated on the third day of the festival, when the moon completely wanes and total darkness sets in the night sky.

Varsha-pratipada or Padwa: Beginning of the New Year (Kartikadi Vikram). Pratipada means the first. (Gujarati: Bestu Varas)

Bhayiduj (also Bhayyaduj, Bhaubeej or Bhayitika) -- on this day, brothers and sisters meet to express their love and affection for each other. (Gujarati: Bhai Bij)

The celebrations vary in different regions:

In Southern India, naraka chaturdashii is the main day, with firecrackers at dawn.

The main festival is on Amavasya evening with Lakshmi Puja which is followed by lighting of oil lamps around the house.

The Haze in Singapore

The Haze is back. I am amazed at the sufferings that people in a Region go through because of a bunch of people who do not want to think beyond themselves. Singapore is just getting into the brunt of the Haze and though the last 2 days were good, it is coming back again.

Here is a view of how it looked last Saturday... The PSI rating was around 130 on Saturday, but has dropped down to 30 yesterday.

It is coming back to the 80's over the last few hours, and it does not look good :(

I must say the Government website makes it very good to look at. Check the details here - www.nea.gov.sg which gives a great update on a hourly basis. Talk about Singapore Government efficiency :)

If these things could only be managed in the same manner.

Haze is a terrible thing... I hope it does not get any worse that it already is...