The Fountain of Wealth

Hey all,

Again, sorry about yesterday. When we got home from a-roaming, I had the start of a migraine and it still hasn't completely eased. I spent all last night and most of today with my eyes closed and it's finally gotten to the point where I can actually spend a few minutes on the computer to do this blog.

Anyway, yesterday was Jonathon's day off and so we went sightseeing. He's got this tapestry that he bought when he first got here and it's got some of the Singaporean sights on it. We want to tick them off one by one, and have done so, but there were a couple we hadn't had a chance to do yet.

One is called the Fountain of Wealth, and it has the distinction of being the BIGGEST fountain in the world--according to the Guinness Book of Records. It is an interesting looking fountain, and according to one website, The design is based on the Hindu mandala, or universe, and is a symbolic representation of oneness in spirit, unity, and harmony among the four races inhabiting Singapore (which are considered to be the Chinese, Malay, Indian, and British). The fountain is a popular tourism icon, and serves as a source of hope and luck for visitors, many of whom come to touch the “lucky” waters and to absorb the positive “qi” or “chi.” The bronze fountain embodies the Chinese belief that when metal and water are balanced correctly, a pathway to success will follow.

We had no idea what the fountain was all about when we first went there. It sits in the basement of an area surrounded by the Suntec Towers, which is one of the major business areas of Singapore. Once we found it, we then discovered it was more than just some splashing water, this fountain had a purpose. By touching the water and circling the fountain three times, you could make a wish and expect it to come true.

Well, why not? We joined the others in the center part of the fountain, you can see it in the pic above, (they turn the big part of the water off a few hours every day so tourists can do their thing) stuck our right hand in the water and made our wish. We did our circles and decided to believe it would really come true.

It wasn't until we were out and at ground level, that we realized that it was wide open and anyone could see us doing our "wishing". That's when the water turned back on and we saw that we'd lucked out in getting there at a time when we could do the wishing we wanted to do.

Apparently, they do this big laser show at night and you can dedicate songs and do romantic light messages to your lover as well. Something to consider. Jonathon and I plan to go back and eat at this cool restaurant at the base of the fountain and watch the light show at the same time.

One of the most delightful things about this city is finding these type of surprises as you wander. Oh, we knew the fountain existed, but we didn't know why. We just wanted to go see it and tic it off our list. But now, we have learned something quite special and once again it is shown that the people who designed Singapore City did so with specific thoughts, ideas and beliefs behind it.

And we are richer for it!

Hugs and see you all tomorrow,

CJ England

Follow Your Dreams

http://cjengland.com/secondchances
http://cjengland.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CJsaysFollowYourDreams/