On our last full day in Singapore and our last touristy day of the trip, we woke up around 8:30 am and went down to have breakfast. The specialty item of the day was pooris with aloo. It was delicious but so filling that we skipped our customary omelette. However, to balance the oily richness of the pooris, we had cereal with milk. After breakfast, we went back to our room to relax and Sereen took a nap. Around 11 am, we had the chocolate mousse cake from the previous night which turned out to be quite good. After getting ready, we headed out around 2 pm.
We took a taxi to Chinatown and were dropped off near the entrance to the main touristy street. At the entrance is the Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu temple of Singapore and was built in early 19th century. Similar to mosques and Chinese temples earlier in the trip, we had to take off our shoes to go inside. The temple also serves as a community center so lining the central prayer hall are rooms for community events. The outer facade of the main prayer hall building is decorated with hundreds of colorful statues of Hindu gods and goddesses displaying their special powers. Tourists cannot go inside the prayer hall so after making a quick round around the building, we headed out.
We turned left from the temple and were on the Main Street of Chinatown. We walked along the road, passing by souvenir and merchandise shops on both sides that were extending on to the street, making the walkable area narrower than the actual width of the street. We bought a few things and then reached the Chinatown Heritage Center. The Singaporean government has taken steps in the last few years to showcase the heritage of its people and the Chinatown Heritage Center is a result of that, similar to the Malay Heritage Center that we visited a couple of days earlier.
The Chinatown Heritage Center walks visitors through life in Chinatown as it was for the early immigrants from China. The ground floor used to be a tailor shop so the audio guide explains the day to day business of the shop, complete with audio effects to make it sound like you've been transported back in time. We walked through the front of the shop where measurements and new orders were taken and then explored the back of the shop where workers and apprentices not only worked but also lived. The master tailor who was the owner of the business and the house lived on the same in a small room and solid wood furniture was the only indication that the occupant was more affluent than the apprentices. In the back of the building was the kitchen and toilet. The life of these hard working immigrants was quite tough and the living conditions very humble.
The second floor has rooms that were rented to other Chinese immigrants. The rooms are small and the kitchen and toilet were shared by 40 people. The Heritage Center showcases lives and challenges of people who lived in each of the 8 rooms including a Chinese herbal medicine physician who used his room as his clinic and a family of 8 that lived in one small room. The audio guide is quite detailed so we spent almost almost an hour exploring the tailor shop and the residential quarters of the second floor. Then the audio guided portion of the Heritage Center ended and we were in a regular museum style section that chronicled other aspects of the lives of Chinese immigrants with displays and charts. There were displays about the differences in customs and traditions of immigrants who came from different parts of China and the widespread opium addiction among immigrants who had tough lives. Another section was dedicated to the funeral customs of Chinatown inhabitants of Singapore. The Heritage Center gives an excellent account of the Chinese community and its roots.
When we were done with our tour, Sereen needed a diaper change but there were no change tables in the restrooms of the Heritage Center and it was raining outside. We walked under the covered area in front of the shops and made our way to the main road where we flagged down a taxi and headed back to our hotel. We relaxed in our room for a couple of hours and then headed out for dinner. We took a taxi to Clarke Quay (pronounced 'key') which is a pier along the Singapore River lined with restaurants and cafes. It was rush hour so the taxi ride took almost half an hour.
We had chicken and lamb shawarma at a food stall. The quality of food was great, as it has been on the entire trip. Then we walked along the river for almost an hour, taking a break in the middle to sit on a bench to admire the scene in front of us - skyscrapers with their neon signs and lights lining the skyline and cruise boats transporting tourists in the calm Singapore river. The weather was perfect so we could have walked more but it was getting late. We walked to the Fullerton Hotel and took a taxi from there back to our hotel. We ended up getting a limousine with a chatty driver so the ride back was interesting. After getting back to our room, we went to bed since we had to start our journey back the next day. Singapore is a great place to live and we wouldn't mind moving there - it's one of the main financial hubs of Asia with English as their official language, food and weather is great, amenities are top notch, it's very child friendly and not too far from Pakistan. For now though, we are glad to be going back to our home, Canada. Till the final update that will combine a couple of days into a single update, take care!
We took a taxi to Chinatown and were dropped off near the entrance to the main touristy street. At the entrance is the Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu temple of Singapore and was built in early 19th century. Similar to mosques and Chinese temples earlier in the trip, we had to take off our shoes to go inside. The temple also serves as a community center so lining the central prayer hall are rooms for community events. The outer facade of the main prayer hall building is decorated with hundreds of colorful statues of Hindu gods and goddesses displaying their special powers. Tourists cannot go inside the prayer hall so after making a quick round around the building, we headed out.
We turned left from the temple and were on the Main Street of Chinatown. We walked along the road, passing by souvenir and merchandise shops on both sides that were extending on to the street, making the walkable area narrower than the actual width of the street. We bought a few things and then reached the Chinatown Heritage Center. The Singaporean government has taken steps in the last few years to showcase the heritage of its people and the Chinatown Heritage Center is a result of that, similar to the Malay Heritage Center that we visited a couple of days earlier.
The Chinatown Heritage Center walks visitors through life in Chinatown as it was for the early immigrants from China. The ground floor used to be a tailor shop so the audio guide explains the day to day business of the shop, complete with audio effects to make it sound like you've been transported back in time. We walked through the front of the shop where measurements and new orders were taken and then explored the back of the shop where workers and apprentices not only worked but also lived. The master tailor who was the owner of the business and the house lived on the same in a small room and solid wood furniture was the only indication that the occupant was more affluent than the apprentices. In the back of the building was the kitchen and toilet. The life of these hard working immigrants was quite tough and the living conditions very humble.
The second floor has rooms that were rented to other Chinese immigrants. The rooms are small and the kitchen and toilet were shared by 40 people. The Heritage Center showcases lives and challenges of people who lived in each of the 8 rooms including a Chinese herbal medicine physician who used his room as his clinic and a family of 8 that lived in one small room. The audio guide is quite detailed so we spent almost almost an hour exploring the tailor shop and the residential quarters of the second floor. Then the audio guided portion of the Heritage Center ended and we were in a regular museum style section that chronicled other aspects of the lives of Chinese immigrants with displays and charts. There were displays about the differences in customs and traditions of immigrants who came from different parts of China and the widespread opium addiction among immigrants who had tough lives. Another section was dedicated to the funeral customs of Chinatown inhabitants of Singapore. The Heritage Center gives an excellent account of the Chinese community and its roots.
When we were done with our tour, Sereen needed a diaper change but there were no change tables in the restrooms of the Heritage Center and it was raining outside. We walked under the covered area in front of the shops and made our way to the main road where we flagged down a taxi and headed back to our hotel. We relaxed in our room for a couple of hours and then headed out for dinner. We took a taxi to Clarke Quay (pronounced 'key') which is a pier along the Singapore River lined with restaurants and cafes. It was rush hour so the taxi ride took almost half an hour.
We had chicken and lamb shawarma at a food stall. The quality of food was great, as it has been on the entire trip. Then we walked along the river for almost an hour, taking a break in the middle to sit on a bench to admire the scene in front of us - skyscrapers with their neon signs and lights lining the skyline and cruise boats transporting tourists in the calm Singapore river. The weather was perfect so we could have walked more but it was getting late. We walked to the Fullerton Hotel and took a taxi from there back to our hotel. We ended up getting a limousine with a chatty driver so the ride back was interesting. After getting back to our room, we went to bed since we had to start our journey back the next day. Singapore is a great place to live and we wouldn't mind moving there - it's one of the main financial hubs of Asia with English as their official language, food and weather is great, amenities are top notch, it's very child friendly and not too far from Pakistan. For now though, we are glad to be going back to our home, Canada. Till the final update that will combine a couple of days into a single update, take care!
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