After freaking out (because dearest cole drank milo
and was so damn happy about it until she realised
that she's actually lactose intolerant)
when I saw the work M-I-L-K,
on the bottle of honey i've been adding into my water
for the past 3 weeks,
I realised that Milk Vetch is actually a kind of herb.
It is actually called Great Wall Astragalus,
or Sha Da Wang (flower that grows in desert).
And it is traditionally used for
its immune enhancing properties,
but is also recommended in
TCM for "deficiency of chi" (life force)
– which might include symptoms
such as lack of energy and fatigue.
My colleagues asked me what exactly does the Merlion represent?
I said I don't know, and felt that I kinda let Singapore down.
So I decided to find out and here it is:
Designed by Mr Fraser Brunner,
a member of the souvenir committee
and a curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium,
the lion head represents the lion spotted by
Prince Sang Nila Utama when he re-discovered Singapura in 11 AD,
as recorded in the "Malay Annals".
The fish tail of the Merlion symbolises the ancient city of Temasek
(meaning “sea” in Javanese) by which Singapore was known
before the Prince named it “Singapura”
(meaning “lion” (singa) “city” (pura) in Sanskrit),
and represents Singapore’s humble beginnings as a fishing village.
And do you know that shopping centre is 大卖场 in Mandarin?
hahaha I didn't know that.
nightmares.
help.