Our second day in Singapore started with blue skies and sunshine. So we immediately set off to see some of the sights we had planned. yesterday in the rain were unable to attend.
Chinatown
First on the agenda was Chinatown. Here you'll find many small shops where you can buy just about anything. The selection is divided into three categories: trinkets, food, and clothing (they even claim you can get a tailor-made suit in six hours – yeah, right). If you enjoy browsing small markets and don't mind being approached by various market vendors, this is the place for you.
Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple
Another interesting highlight of Chinatown is the old Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple (I have no idea why it's located there). The roof is quite elaborately decorated with countless Hindu deities, and inside you'll find various prayer niches where the Brahmins perform their rituals. One ritual involved cleaning three wooden statues, pouring milk over them, cleaning them again, pouring a homemade gruel (it looked like raw paprika scrambled eggs) over them, and finally cleaning them once more. We have no idea what any of this means – but I found it all very interesting.
Even more interesting than the temple itself, however, was the friendliness of the Indians. We were asked at least five times where we were from and what we did. Food was being cooked in several places and distributed free of charge to all the worshippers. When I peeked into the pots with interest, we were also offered a portion, which I gratefully accepted. There were sweet carrots, a potato and coconut sauce, roasted peanuts, a kind of noodle pancake, and sweet coffee – delicious! No sooner was my plate half empty than the next Indian arrived with a bowl full of chicken curry. The hospitality is truly remarkable.
Little India
Spurred on by our positive experiences here, we next visited Little India. Since we'd never been to India before, I'm not sure what it was like – Little India didn't strike us as very Indian. There were hostels, massage parlors, and restaurants… and then the same thing again. The only thing that really reminded us of India was the hundreds of Indians in the alleyways. Since it was already lunchtime, we wanted to get something to eat. After wandering around the alleys for a few minutes, we found a restaurant that looked reasonably clean. There, we had Indian food for the second time that day. This time, I ordered one of the most popular Indian dishes: chicken biryani, and Chris had chicken masala. Everything was served on a palm leaf without a plate and, as is typical in Indian restaurants, could be eaten with your fingers. The 8 SGD per meal was very well spent for a generous and delicious meal with free refills of rice.
Raffles Hotel
After eating in Little India, we took a short detour to see the famous Raffles Hotel. Built in 1887 in the colonial style, this hotel in Singapore, named after Singapore's founder, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, is the birthplace of the famous Singapore Sling. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for a cocktail.
Singapore Discovery Centre
Since rain was forecast for the afternoon, we headed to the Singapore Discovery Centre. We'd barely arrived when we realized we were probably a good ten years older than the target audience. Oh well, we were already there and it was pouring rain outside – so we figured we might as well check it out. The centre mainly consists of small computer mini-games and video presentations about Singapore. However, we were a bit shocked by the topics. The children learn what to do in the event of terrorist attacks (anthrax, bombings, plane hijackings, etc.) and see a very realistic video presentation (it could be in any post-apocalyptic movie) showing what happens during a successful subway bombing. They're also being prepared for military service and a career as a CEO in the international market. We found it quite amusing to watch – but we could have certainly spent our time doing something else.
