Cultural Exchange - parcel from Singapore

Our final package from our last swap arrived this week. 

Great excitement of course! 

This time our package came from Singapore. 

Included in the pack was a letter introducing the Ching family who kindly sent our pack. There were some beautiful postcards depicting the Sri Mariamman Temple in Chinatown, one of the oldest mosques - Sultan Mosque, views of Chinatown, the city skyline and various species of Orchids seen in the famous National Orchid Garden. The brochures included and a map of the area make me want to hop on a plane and explore this interesting place! I can't wait to try out the "Emperor Herbs Chicken Spice" mix too.

There were also two wonderful books that I know will help us learn much about Singapore. One is about the   

history of Singapore and the other about their heritage. 

A cute fluffy Merlion , a bottle opener fridge magnet depicting the flag, as well as a another magnet depicting the island country and a key ring with miniature currency completed the pack. 

In ancient times Singapore was known as Temasek or "sea port" and was a busy trading centre. At the end of the 9th century AD it was destroyed and later rediscovered by Sang Utama. On his arrival he discovered strange beasts there, which he later learned were lions. He remained on the island and renamed it Singapura which means "lion city". The cute Merlion symbolises the ancient city of Temasek with it's fish body, and the lion's head, the legend of its discovery.

We are thankful to the Ching family for this wonderful pack and look forward to discovering so much about Singapore.