The XtraSuitcase

 

Singapore

May, 2014

 

It was fun showing Tammy Singapore.  It makes me realize I show so many other countries and so little of my own adopted home. 

First stop, one of my favorite places in Singapore, the Orchid Garden in the Botanical Garden.  They say you can see over 60,000 orchid plants consisting of 400 different species.  It is a photographer's dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Colors of Little India

Singapore is unique in that there are so many ethnic neighborhoods to visit.  It is a melting pot of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and British cultures.  Little India dates back to the 1800's and is one of the most culturally authentic districts.

 

 

 

 

 

The Tekka Center has a large food market on the lower level and on the 2nd floor shops sell traditional Indian costumes and clothing.  This is the view from the 2nd floor looking onto the fish section. 

 

 

 

 

 Classic – shopping with no shirt… welcome to Asia!

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many wonderful Indian restaurants here, mainly serving southern Indian food.   We took Tammy to one of our favorites and ordered the cone shaped dosa (pancake made from rice batter and black lentils) – a crowd pleaser, especially for kids!

 

 

 

Chinatown

We visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum, a Tang-Styled Chinese Buddhist Temple in the heart of Chinatown.  It houses what the Buddhists regard as the Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic composed of 320 kg (over 700 pounds) of gold donated by devotees.

 

 

Tammy turning the prayer wheel.  The Buddhist prayer wheel (mani) should be turned clockwise and it circles with you as you recite mantras or prayers.  Many Buddhist will do this several times a day.

 

 

 

Arab Street

 

During the 1820s, Arab Street was a bustling trade center with businesses ranging from textiles, to spices.  Today, it still is a Muslim district but everyone from all walks of life gathers here to indulge in Arab Street's rich culture, especially to savor the ethnic cuisine.  It is also fun to shop at the stores selling Arab goods (Qurans, prayer mats, purses, clothes, scarves, and more).   It is also known as a great place to buy fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

Street art

 

 

 

 

We took Tammy to visit a bit of local history in Singapore – the Ho Tit Coffee Powder Factory where they still roast their coffee beans using the old method.

 

 

 

They have been roasting coffee beans here for over 60 years and the machine is over 100 years old!

 

 

 

 

 

It is a little out of the way for us, but whenever we are in this part of town, we always stop to buy coffee.  They have several blends, all very good.  And the price is very reasonable.  Not to mention the owners are so friendly. 

 

 

 

 

Tammy loves her desserts – so we made sure she had a few…

Singapore style!

 

 

 

 

Above is the Singapore ice cream sandwich and yes that is a piece of bread!  Below is mango sago, one of the most popular Chinese cold desserts.  It is shaved ice with a thick, creamy mango puree, sweet mango cubes and chewy Sago (tapioca) beads.

 

 

 

 

 

Ice kachang, which is also shaved ice but it comes with crazy colored syrups, evaporated milk and gula melaka (palm sugar) along with very unusual items, not usually associated with desserts –  beans, rice,

 

 

 

 

 

Cheng tng – a sweet soup made with a variety of fruits.  "Cheng tng" means clear soup, and is extremely popular, either hot or cold.  Ours was served hot.  Just what you need in the hot Singapore heat!  But they say it really does cool you down.

 

 

 

 

And our evening out… a perfect clear evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Singapore does have a very pretty skyline.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a full moon – beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

And the symbol of our city – the Merlion.  The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura — meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

 

 

 

 

This is the last post of Tammy's Asian Adventure.  We had a wonderful visit!  We hope she comes back for round 2!!