Advertisement
Published: March 4th 2008
Photo 3
oldest Muslim templeSingapore: an American city in Southeast Asia.
Thursday night after class, 5 friends and I (Alyxa, Claire, Michelle, Helen, Brian and Brent) boarded the express train to the Hong Kong airport to head to Singapore! Strangely enough, our flight was on United Airlines...it was somewhat comforting to have an American style meal choice and a pilot that speaks english!
Our first night we stayed in the Little India section of the city. It had small winding streets with temples and food vendors selling chicken rice, dosas and other delicious Indian food choices. The next morning we got up and visited the oldest Muslim temple in Singapore. The detail on the outside of the building made out of carved figures was amazing. On the inside, locals lined up holding fruit and other offerings which they handed to the priest, who brought the offerings up to the alter and then came back down to bless them and make a mark on their forehead to show they had offered something. The figures and rituals were unlike anything I've seen.
After that, we headed downtown to Orchard Rd., the famous shopping area of Singapore. Along with all the stores we couldn't afford
was a huge market full of buddas, tee-shirts and fake jewelry. The best part of the day was after that when we ate lunch at Samy's Curry. We sat outside at a big table, used banana leaves as plates as waiters came around giving us a little bit of 20 different types of curries to try. It was by far the best Indian food I've ever had and also close to one of the best meals I've had in Asia. We sipped on mango juice to wash down the spicyness.
After that, we headed across the street to the Botanical Gardens to walk off our meal. It was gorgeous green land filled with exotic trees and waterfalls. Inside was a separate Orchid garden where there were over 100 types of different orchids.
That night we walked around an area called Clarke Quay, the riverside area filled with bars and restaurants that somewhat resembled a fake Disney world town.
The next day we headed to Sentosa Island, a very very small artificial island off the coast of Singapore filled with resorts and restaurants and tourist traps. It was fun for the day, but the beach was completely man-made
and didn't even compete with Thailand. We all were craving an American meal so we ate hamburgers and fries on the beach and watched a light show.
Our last day we headed back to Little India and got henna tattoos and ate in the famous Hawker centers (a square filled with street vendors selling their specialties for $3). We then walked around downtown again and ate in a section called Boat Quay, the old British quarter of Singapore. I ate the Singapore speciality, a chili crab. It was a crab 5 times the size of a MD blue crab, steamed and covered in a sweet chili sauce. Very yummy.
After that we walked around and came back to get 3 hours of sleep in order to get up and get to the airport this morning! Now I am back in Hong Kong for a while! Alex comes in two weeks, and then Mom, Soph and Shelley the week after that! I can't wait!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.056s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 6; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0337s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Chris A
non-member comment
We Miss You Chels!
Thanks for the update...great pictures. can't wait to see more.