The Roaming Professor : Chinatown and Little India

So Mary Ann took me to Chinatown for a fun afternoon. It was really nice. There were some amazing temples. We got to go into one during a ceremony (no pictures though). It was really stunning.

All of these pictures are from the Sri Mariamma Hindu temple. It is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore and was built in 1827. It was magnificent!

The following pictures are from the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. It was amazing inside. There were thousands of Buddha statues, and they were all different. Also, there was a ceremony going on with some beautiful chanting (we were not allowed to take pictures inside).

Now, here are some pictures from just around Chinatown. There are lots of shops and restaurants, some neat Chinese medicine shops that smell like herbs. A lot of the shops just sell touristy stuff, but there are a few really beautiful antique shops. While we were walking around some cut open a durian fruit, it smells horrible!! My goodness, but people here love it (although you will get a big penalty for bringing it on the bus or MRT).

My next trip was to Little India. I went with another faculty member, Baban. He was really nice to take me and show me around. The food was delicious - we had traditional southern Indian food - dosas. Then we went to the Mustafa Center, which is a giant mall and grocery store. I picked up some fantastic Indian mangoes - they are way better than any mango I have had in the States. They have a Buffalo street in Little India for some reason, so of course I had my picture taken there. They also have another Hindu temple, Sri VeeramaKaliamman Temple.