China Town...

My first day in Singapore was spent rummaging through China Town. As I walked downtown, I was taken aback by all the different scents. Most delicious was the creamy curry smell that seeped out of Indian Restaurants. And, it's not the bad curry smell... like the kind in a rundown, Brampton apartment complex. But, the good kind... the kind that makes you hungry. The incense from Chinese temples can be smelled from a couple blocks away, too. Having been to China, I found Chinatown a little disappointing. Singapore is a city that is going through a serious reurbanization process (or so it felt on the first day). China town had a *new* feeling, instead of something more traditional, and it didn't have the bustle and busy feeling that I actually felt in Beijing. Chinatown is tucked in the middle of huge skyscrapers and even some of the temples themselves have been reconstructed. For lunch I stopped into a little noodle shop where I was watched intently and occassionally offered a fork (apparently my chopstick skills aren't up to snuff). In Singapore, though, foreigners aren't on display. I walked down the street and I felt a little awkward. Why is everyone speaking English? Why is no one staring at me? Why aren't children pointing and whispering about me? Coming from Korea, it was all a lot to take in.

Relaxing in a park on the outskirts of China Town

Shopping in China Town...

Sri Miriamman Temple, Chinatown
I think this is part of the Thian Hock Keng Temple. But, it was hard to tell because even the temple itself was under construction... it seems everything in Singapore is being refurbished, remodeled, or rebuilt.
Wak Hai Cheng Bio Temple, Chinatown. This is one of Singapore's oldest Chinese temples... appropriately tucked in amidst skyscrapers and surrounded by construction sites left, right and centre.