Two fun things happened last week: I made new friends (the more exciting of the two!) and I toured "Little India" with them (Cara and Lisa to be more specific). Both C & L are from the states, moved here within the last 2 months and are playing the role of "expat wife" while they're husbands are working - so in a nutshell, they are me :-) There's something about meeting people in the exact same position that I'm in that make things just that much better! In addition to C & L, I've met a few other girls (some through church) and my weeks have started to fill up fast! Those of you who know me personally know that I love to be surrounded by friends. I'm by no means a loner - I totally live by the "more the merrier" motto - so 5 weeks of semi-solitude were really starting to take a toll on me. Anyway, this is such a HUGE blessing to me and truly an answered prayer!!
So, moving on to the Little India (LI) tour...it was great! There's this company here, Singapore Walks, and you sign up for a tour with them and you, well...walk. Our original plan was to take the MRT (train) to LI and just walk around, but I am so thankful that we decided to do the tour instead because we saw and learned about so many things we wouldn't have seen otherwise. The tour started with a walk by the shop houses (literally named for the fact that there are shops on the ground level and a houses above them), followed by a look at the many flower stands where fresh flower necklaces are made for various celebrations (welcoming someone to Singapore, birthdays, weddings, etc.) and fresh fruit and vegetable stalls. After that we were off to the Little India Arcade where we learned about henna (the traditional hand paintings you see, usually done for a bride on her wedding day), tasted traditional Indian sweets and watched a lesson on how to tie a sari (I was the model!). We stopped by Thandapani, one of the best spice stores in Singapore then made our way to our final destination, the Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple, a Hindu temple primarily for the worship of Shiva's wife, Kali. As we entered the temple we checked out its three main alters with Kali in the middle and her two sons, Ganesh (the elephant god) and another whose name I don't remember, to the left and right of Kali. Anyway, I have never in my life seen a temple like the one we were in. The whole thing was completely fascinating to me, but also, nothing short of heart breaking (at least in my opinion) to see people in there truly worshipping these gods among the many others depicted inside the temple. While the worshippers in the temple paid to have their prayers submitted to their gods, I said my own silent prayer to the one, true God I believe in and thanked Him for being my personal savior! Once we left the temple the tour was complete and we were free to go. We had such a fun time that planned another tour for this week (tomorrow, actually)!
Shop houses
One of the flower garland stands. Each necklace represents a different celebration or event.
Common in Asia, orchids are used in a lot of the flower necklaces - they're so pretty!
Bananas hanging over the fresh fruit and veggie stands
As you walk through Singapore, you see laundry hanging outside all the windows. They drape it over giant pieces of bamboo then stick the bamboo in the tiny slots below the window.
This sign was not specific to the Little India tour...they are actually ALL over Singapore. The tour guide simply pointed out the fact that these signs show Singapore's 4 main languages - English, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and Malay - something I'd never given any thought to...so I took a picture of course!
This is how all of the street signs look throughout LI.
Jewelery is huge in LI...its 22 carot gold, so bright that it actually looks like costume jewelery...but its the real deal!
Henna artist showing us how its done! Here's a fun little fact we learned: traditional wedding day henna takes approximately 6 hours (for the front and back of the brides hands all the way up to her elbows) and the groom's name is often hidden somewhere in the design. That serves as an icebreaker for the bride and groom since their wedding day is typically the first time they meet...so, if they have nothing to say, at least the groom can search for his name on his new brides arms!
Another typical Indian accessory...bangles. They represent marriage! Newlyweds wear them all the way up to their elbows!
Our tour guide, Carol Joy, using me as her Sari model. A sari has absolutely no snaps or buttons. You simply tie this skirt around your waste and tuck everything else into the skirt. Needless to say, those skirts are TIGHT...I mean, hard to breathe tight.
Done and complete with a jewel on my forehead!
Fresh peppers and spices at Thandapani
A look at the Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple from across the street.
This is the roof piled high with gods and goddesses. There was a time when lower class people were not allowed to enter the temple - so roofs, such as this one, allowed them to worship and pray to these gods from the outside of the temple.
Kali in the middle with her two sons to the side (though not really visible in this picture).
A closer look at Kali. The belief behind her is that she destroys ignorance blesses those who strive for knowledge of god.
Around the side of the temple is the story of how Ganesh, the elephant god, got his elephant head. It was an interesting story to say the least.
This building, often referred to by Singaporeans as the "Gotham City" (think Batman) building, is owned by a group of unidentified millionaires and was built fairly recently. There's actually a story behind the building, but again, the heat distracted me and I only caught half of it :-(
These sharp-edged buildings were designed by I.M. Pei, the same architect that designed the Louvre in Paris. Supposedly, the sharp edges were created to "cut into the fortunes of the other buildings surrounding it."
Nothing significant here. I just thought the cherry tree looked really cute against the yellow building! :-)
Shop houses around Arab Street. These are much more simplistic than the shop houses found in Little India (and Chinatown), but they are also original structures unlike the ones found elsewhere (they've been re-done several times).
The most narrow street in Singapore. A car can barely fit down this road!
This perfume shop can make any scent you want them to. The one we all sampled was their own version of Chanel No. 5 and it smelled exactly like the real deal...only it cost 1/10th of the price!
Sultan's Mosque, named after the first Sultan of Singapore, Sultan Hussein Shah. Originally built in 1824, it was reconstructed in 1925 and completed in 1924. While many muslims worship here today, its also an attraction for tourists.
This is the burial site for the royal descendants of the sultan. However, this is a completely unpublicized area and many people don't even know this grave yard exists. In fact, there are plans to build yet another mall over this exact spot.
