Our tour guide, Michael was a second generation Singaporian, and has led these tours for the hostel for awhile. This is him, talking at spot one,
A store dedicated to the traditional paper goods used to burn for your ancestors, so they have proper accessories in the afterlife. From old traditional money, to a iPad, they have made everything in paper so you can write the name of your relative and burn, in ceremonies as often as once or twice a day. He lead us around the corner to a busy street, preparing for the dumpling festival, honoring this guy
While his name escapes me, they honor him with dumplings, related to the story that he was unhappy with his job so he jumped into a river and drowned. The townspeople were said to drop rice dumplings into the river so they fish would not eat him and save his soul.
Further down the way were two temples, one Tao and one Hindu. The Tao temple was grand and red, and busy with people running in and out for their daily prayers
The whole room was filled with smoke, from people with incense praying first to the sky
Then turned to face and pray to the Buddha inside
In the Taoist temple you shake wooden sticks till one flies out, giving you a fortune. We were helped and guided by many, happy to teach us about their faith.
The Hindu Temple had a Buddha inside so you found both Taoists and Hindus praying at the Temple
We switched directions completely and headed to the Colonial district, to the outside of the infamous Raffles Hotel
With rooms at S$1000 per night, there is not one chance of staying there, but it is home to the Singapore Sling cocktail, impeccable service, and colonial charm.
The rest of our scooter afternoon took us to the modern skyline of Singapore-the Marina Park and the Financial district.
You could really see how modern architecture is a main priority for Singapore, and they are developing in energy saving, space maximizing ways. They even include in their design some fun aspects for the passerby like misters above on the sidewalk and this bowl-perfectly built to hear the conversation of those across the way from you
By this point, it was lunch time, and Michael scooted us over to a food hawker center in the middle of the business district.
It was built in the late 1800s, and was set in between some of the most modern skyscrapers in the city, a reminder of how much Singapore has changed. The food was alright, and I got to sample these little guys...
Whole little salted fish that weren't bad, but VERY fishy and VERY salty. Behind them was some kimchi, that was just too pickle-y for me (meaning I think it has turned, yuck). But my bento box of salmon was surprisingly cooked very well, with a nice dipping sauce and some watermelon for dessert it made for a decent S$6.00 meal (about $4.00 US)
The main highlight after lunch was a visit to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (read right to left)
In it is a rumored tooth of Buddha, but dentist experts apparently aren't convinced. It was however a beautiful building
With some interesting scultptured of warriors
And a cool awesome rooftop garden with a gong in the room of 10,000 buddhas
After a quick stroll around Vibrant Chinatown...
...We headed across the bridge at Clarke Quay
And back to the hostel to relax after our six hour scooter trip around the city. Just when I thought I couldn't like Singapore anymore, after feeling like a kid all day, we went back out with some of our scooter friends to see the Fountain of Wealth, the largest fountain in the world, according to Guinness Book of World Records
And back over to the Marina Park,
To see another fountain and light show
Singapore, I just may have fallen for you
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