China and India in a day

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It's my first time to venture out on my own today. I only have two places in mind - Chinatown and Little India. They say that both places offers you a feel of their namesake countries. I'm going to find out and see for myself.

First stop - Chinatown. There are also chinatowns back in PH but I am actually afraid of the streets of Manila. I'm not even confortable taking the train there. Though I also wanted to visit Binondo, I think my street smarts are not yet at par. Here though, you still see the usual chaos and hustle, but it still feels relatively safe as what Singapore generally is. One thing that really caught my attention is the fact that a Buddhist temple, Hindu temple and a Muslim mosque are just a block apart. It amazes me that they can all coexist peacefully. An admirable trait in Singapore is their respect and tolerance of different faith, culture and just your plain individuality. It's one of those things that you say - I wish the world is more like this.

I decided to check out Maxwell Food Centre. I saw from my Atty. B's facebook that food was great there. Unfortunately, I chickened out. The smell and alien display of the food scares me. So I settled for salted dumpling and sugarcane juice. Ah, the sugarcane is a great reminder of where I'm from-Negros province. My grandfather worked in sugarcane fields almost all his life. Life and work at the hacienda is a huge part of my family's history. Now, I'm down to memory lane. Anyway, another thought that came to me is how come we don't make this kind of sugarcane juice despite the abundance of the raw material. Hmmm, well...

Then I am off to Little India. Another new world from that of the rest of Singapore. It's weird that I feel a little less safer here. I feel that the streets were quite shady. Or maybe I'm not used with the stares I get. I enjoy their colorful culture but I am not a fan of the food so I didn't try anything. I checked out Mustafa Centre but still expensive for me, not my shopping haven. Well, except for the chocolates maybe. I walked and walked and chanced upon the Thief's Market. A street flea market a.k.a Ukay-ukay. Got to see a lot of other cool buildings and colorful displays. After walking for over 5 hours, I call it a day. Indeed, a got a taste of a bit of China and India in both places.

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Photos

Faith
A Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, and a Muslim mosque all in Chinatown