Chinatown

This afternoon I got out and about in Chinatown. It's a really interesting part of Singapore, and includes a wide range of diversity in the ethnic Chinese population. For example, on my walkabout today, I went to mosques, Buddhist temples, and Hindu temples, and while eating lunch, a group of Chinese elementary age students came by, separated apparently by grade with shirts that said Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (probably 1st-4th grade). The range of foods available in Chinatown was also immense, with Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Hokkien, and Hainanese food types all available. There were also tailors galore, several shops to cut chops (Chinese stamps of one's name, carved into a stone stamp) all of which had the best carver in Singapore, and a wide range of "medical halls" -- shops where you can get traditional Chinese medicine and herbs. You can see the dried lizards in the photo -- I have no idea what they are used for, but they're pretty cheap if you need one.

The walking tour that I took today started with the Sri Mariamman Hindu temple. The temple was under renovation, so I didn't get to see as much as one normally might, but it was really interesting. This temple is best known for their annual festival in October or November where adherents show their faith by walking on burning hot coals.

From there, I wandered on to the Sin Chor Kung

Temple, the Al-Abrar Mosque, and then to the Thian Hock Keng Temple, which was pretty impressive. It is the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore. I spent some time looking at the ancestor tablets -- similar to tombstones, except that the spirit of the person is believed to reside within the tablet -- as well as at the dragons on the roof, and the furnace where paper money and other paper items (like paper replicas of cars, or Coke cans) are burned to allow the items to reach the dead, who will make use of them. The temple has been around since 1839, and it remains impressive.

The walk through Chinatown gave lots of opportunity to see the style of homes in the area -- row houses, essentially, but the architecture and the design/coloration being distinctly Chinese, and well-cared-for. The Night Market area is a bit chaotic, but it is clean and well-regulated, and was certainly worth the visit. From most portions of Chinatown, you can see the metropolital skyline, so that you have the mix of the traditional and the modern together.

Today was a HOT day, and so when I sat down to have some lunch at a Hakka (Taiwanese) street restaurant (I had duck and noodles), and the waitress suggested a Tiger beer, I was happy to have it. The beer was so cold and the humidity high enough that when she poured it, it froze for a few seconds. It was certainly good on such a hot day.

Tonight is an open house for people interested in the Baruch programs, and I absolutely have to clean up before going there. So I'll get a shower and a shave and iron something to wear. Then tomorrow night starts my last batch of classes -- Friday night, then Saturday, and Sunday, and then home!