Greetings once again from the Lion City!


Saturday was the group's first free weekend day. Everyone was ready to take on the city and discover what Singapore has to offer. I know I was almost overwhelmed while choosing between all of the places I want to explore in Singapore. The only event that was on the schedule was an informal lunch with some NUS students in addition to Nadiah and Yong. Lunch was in Chinatown at Annalakshmi, a vegetarian Indian restaurant. Sathya, Virginia, Laura, and I arrived in Chinatown early enough to visit Sri Mariamman, the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, before lunch.

Later, I found out that Annalakshmi is a non-profit organization that is staffed by volunteers and all of its proceeds go to sustaining the activities of the Temple of the Fine Arts. The food was amazing, but this was even more impressive to me.

Inside the Buddhist Temple

We then ventured into Chinatown, weaving between the stalls of vendors selling clothing, lucky cats, postcards, jewelry, and pretty much every other touristy gift you can think of. Some people broke off from the group to get there feet cleaned of dead skin by tiny little fish. We visited the Sri Mariamman again and then went to Buddhist temple, built to resemble the architecture of the Tang dynasty, which also happens to be a tooth and relic museum. Behind the museum was wonderful market with produce and a huge seafood market. We ate rambutan (literally meaning hairy) fruit, a small red fruit with green hair-like spines that is similar to lychee (I later bought a kg of lychee because it's so good) and incredibly refreshing.

Tanks at the Market in Chinatown

A Catfish Making a Break for Freedom

We then headed to Arab street to visit the oldest mosque in Singapore. For me, Saturday was the first time I had ever visited a Buddhist temple, a Hindu temple, or a mosque. I've read so much about different religions, but actually visiting the different houses of worship was incredibly interesting. All of these buildings were beautiful, but for me observing people in prayer or worship was much more interesting. I really appreciate the diversity of religion here. Though the United States is a very diverse country, we have very little access to the myriad of religions and religious cultures that span the world. Because Singapore is so compact, I was able have more experiential religious education that ever before in my life. I am really excited to contrast Buddhism in Thailand to Buddhism in Singapore. Even at the Asian Civilisations Museum, regional differences in Buddhism were very apparent in the artifacts.

The Sultan Mosque

After visiting the mosque and taking a satay break, we headed to a market on Arab street. After browsing through 8 for $10 earrings, we decided to try some durian. The man selling us the durian talked us into D24 durian, which I am told is high quality durian. He and his partner were cutting up a huge pile of durian and putting it in packages for sale. It was so hot, and when I opened the package and picked up the durian it felt like flesh. Biting into the durian was intense, the creamy inside is not my favorite part. After getting over the initial repulsive reaction to the durian, I found it tolerable and ate the rest of my piece. Steven even claimed to like the durian. It may be the King of Fruit, but I think trying it once was enough. Next on my list of unusual fruits, mangosteen, the Queen of Fruit.

The So-Called King of Fruit

Reactions to Durian

Well, that's about it. Singapore is such an interesting place. Sometimes it seems so familiar (dancing to Baby Love in the grocery store) and sometimes it seems so far away from home. I am learning so much, even through what I have experienced outside of class. I can't wait to visit Little India, and I am so excited to continue to explore this unique island state.