Singapore's Little India

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This morning I started the day at the Chinatown subway ticket office. I bought a three-day tourist pass for the subway and bus system that allows me to travel as much as I want. I used it to travel to Little India which is the equivalent of Chinatown, but is where the Indian community is based. I was there to join a walking tour and it turned out that about 15 other people had the same idea, so we were a bit larger than ideal size for a walking tour through a crowded urban area of market stalls and narrow sidewalks. Still, it worked out all right and the guide turned out to be very good. She was born here and, although she did not disclose her age, she claims to remember when Indian washer women cleaned laundry in the nearby stream. She concentrated our tour on Indian food and pointed out spices, exotic fruits, meats, etc that were all for sale in the large market there. We sampled jackfruit which was quite tasty (see photo of huge green spiky fruit that contains the multiple smaller yellow fruits in the basket. You can also see watermelon in front.) We visited a Hindu temple and happened to be there when a ceremony of some kind was going on. (See photos) After the tour I was inspired to eat at a nearby Indian restaurant - there were many to chose from. I picked one that seemed busy and I had a chicken biryani dish that was tasty but spicy. After lunch I took the subway to Orchard Road, the "world famous" shopping street. (see photo) It certainly had many, many big name stores and made me think of The Ginza in Tokyo or, on a smaller scale, Rodeo Drive in Beverley Hills. I went to the viewing deck of the tallest building on Orchard Road and enjoyed the views as well as I could without knowing the city all that well. (see photo) The three-part building with the platform on top is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. I mention it because I happened to end up there later in the day. Back on Orchard Road, I decided to forego buying any Gucci or Armani and headed back to my hotel. After a refreshing shower and dinner at the excellent hotel restaurant, I decided I wanted to still do something this evening. So I went back to the subway station and found my way to the Marina Bay Sands. There is a "Sky Park" on the top of the platform that connects the three towers. There are restaurants, a swimming pool, and a small arboretum, but I was there too late at night to see any of that. What I did see was the observation deck and that was fine. It gave good views in nearly every direction and Singapore looked very prosperous from up there. (see photo) Now I am back in my hotel and ready to go to bed. It is morning in the USA right now, so I will wish all of you who are stateside a good day.

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