(Steel and glass canopy over Pagoda Street, Chinatown)
Among the “China towns” I have checked, Singapore’s is the cleanest so far. Not really surprising, it is Singapore after all. The intended two-hour visit was unrealistic from the start, especially if you are going with me who is much delighted with street photography. Hence, we did the necessary timing adjustments. That’s one of the pretty facts when you are traveling on a do it yourself phase. To begin with, Singapore is very tourist friendly that joining a tour is so remote to me.
The shops’ colors and beauty are shouting inside and out. My eyes wandered, very carefully, as I did not set foot to shop but to be fed by culture appreciation. Every corner and angle are photograph material, the calligraphy stalls, tourists and locals buzzing around, if only you can box in everything through a sole snapshot.
One of the interesting shops in Central Chinatown is Yue Hwa which used to be a premiere hotel decades ago. Currently, it serves as a rich source of Chinese products: traditional medicine, dried animals (e.g. bats, deer horn), porcelains, furniture, teas, and more.
Aside from the Red Dot Design Museum, the Chinatown Heritage Center is also widely visited. It chronicles the life of the early migrants and their contributions to the present Chinatown. However, due to lack of time, we did not formally go in and just tried to peek in from its souvenir shop.
Opposite the Chinatown Heritage Center is Olde Cuban where we took lunch.
For a Chinatown standard, the dishes in Olde Cuban were not reasonably priced but its area isΒ among those more comfortably set. As we checked the hawker stalls later in the afternoon, theirs were expectedly cheaper (and taste better, recommendation to be mentioned later). The food was generally satisfying especially the mussels. The chili crabs were average.
After dropping by in a camera heaven within Pagoda Street and picking up some enhancement-accessories, we checked Mosque Street which was named after the mosque located on its end.
It is apparent that Jamae Mosque’s entrance was influenced by Indian architecture. It is said to have been established by Tamil Muslims. Non-Muslims are allowed inside. Unlike in the nearby Hindu Temple, entrance is free.
(Jamae Mosque, also known as Masjid Jamae Chulia)
We randomly checked the Chinatown Complex which is opposite the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple (from the back door). During our visit, there were locals doing aerobics, elders passing time with cards (I had to discreetly capture it), and other activities especially designed for the locals.
While Chinatown Food Street and Chinatown Night Market are well-maintained for tourism, my interest was particularly piqued by Sago Lane for two reasons: that tourist-y me had wildly guessed its etymology exclaiming that “madami sigurong sago dito dati” (maybe this was home to sago) and we have found the best satay and and mango shake (I had to ask the owner about the mango source, i.e. Malaysia) in this area (stall’s name is Wonderful Satay).
(Sago Lane, also known as Street of the Dead).
(Too many nice stuff to delight your eyes. No, I did not buy any except for a small souvenir from the Chinese Temple.)
I must mention that the weather was so good during our entire stay in Singapore. It used to rain for a couple of hours at 3:00 AM everyday, made us feel the December cold in the morning, then it was fair-weathered the rest of the day. But when we were about to enter the different temples, raindrops came (which I enjoyed a lot! forgive the reaction of a UAE resident). The umbrella did not stop me from shuttering.
The rainfall was just in time, too. It made the visit to the neighbors Hindu and Buddhist temples more solemn and worthwhile. The hours consumed in appreciating the beautiful temples were the highlights of my Chinatown visit. Details on next entry.
0 thoughts on “Singapore’s Chinatown”
Photo Cache
galing nitong travelogue mo. i really enjoyed s’pore chinatown and i loved how you edited your images for this – muting the colors of chinatown.
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witsandnuts
Thanks. I enjoyed writing this post.
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kg
tama ka, malinis ang chinatown sa singapore…and so colorful! parang fiesta lagi! the place was so lively. did you see the ice cream man? π
excited na ako sa temples. went only in one, but it was soooo beautiful. want to see more. π
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witsandnuts
Naku, I did not notice THE ice cream man. But I bought from those selling ice cream as sandwich spread. Nakakamiss. Which temple did you visit? We went in the Hindu and Chinese temples, parehong maganda.
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upto6only
ganda nga ng china town nila hehehe. kakatuwa yung 2 baka na nasa rooftop. anong symbolism nuon?
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witsandnuts
Sa Sri Mariamman Temple yung cows (Hindu temple). That will be on the next post.
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dong ho
didnt have the chance to drop by that area. next time i might consider passing by their chinatown but might not dare eating some exotic food.
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witsandnuts
We almost skipped Chinatown, I am glad we did not because it was worth the visit/a must-see.
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thea
This blog entry brings back fond memories of my Singapore travel, which I have to blog about. I love your photos π made me wish I paid more attention LOL.
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witsandnuts
Thanks, Thea. In general, I really like visiting Chinatowns. Very colorful and good for street photography. Thank you, too, for dropping by to my blog. I’ve checked yours and you’ve got a nice profile photo (taken in Singapore) of you and your husband. I presume that you like taking photos as well.
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docgelo
i always find china town in any country enticing but this one in sg is more than inviting to me. can’t wait to pull my feet to visit this fine country.
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witsandnuts
This Chinatown is more attractive because it is clean and stalls are more organized.
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Daphne
We went to the Chinatown Heritage Center as we had free tickets courtesy of the Singapore Visitors Pass. It was very interesting to see Singapore in its early years. I love the restored colorful facades of the shops in Pagoda street. It shows that they do value and preserve their architectural heritage for future generations to admire.
We didn’t do much walking in the area as my parents get tired easily but we did roam by Chinatown atop an open roof double decker tourist bus, a great way to explore Singapore.
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witsandnuts
I’ve considered going for the Hippo Bus tours (hop in, hop on) just to be on the open roof. π But we opted to enjoy the trains more. Next time we wish to do that, as well as go in the Chinatown Heritage Center.
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Fickle Cattle
I like the essay, but what blew me away was that first photo. Really makes you feel like you’re in the middle of everything.
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witsandnuts
Thank you. The first photo was my most fave in this post.
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kayni
so nicely covered and narrated. i love the photos most of all :).
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witsandnuts
Thank you, Kayni. I don’t know why but I seem to be always in the mood when I’m writing about China towns. π
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eds
wow! ang ganda naman ng china town,very colorful…buhay na buhay. i love your photos.
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witsandnuts
Thanks. π
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Kristy
Love your blog…I just read a couple of pages and will come back for more. Can’t wait to read your posts on the rest of Singapore!
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witsandnuts
Thanks for dropping by. I’ve just checked your site, I noticed that you enjoy traveling, too.
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shelshi
too happy wordpress is not blocked here π i can still be updated about your goings-on π
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witsandnuts
Yehey! See you before the year ends. π
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kwib mimi
ellow po wits and nuts ask ko lang po kung what issue nio kinuha ung bagets article http://witsandnuts.com/2009/10/28/not-my-generation-but-i-liked/ plss reply back π
i like all the pictures in china town
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witsandnuts
Hi there. I remember blogging about that after seeing Bagets old photos from a friend’s magazine. I think she got that Star Studio (Middle East edition) magazine last year.
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Chiui
Singapore is such a clean place! My brother told me about it, too^^ Oh btw, are you from UAE? I am currently in Abu Dhabi. Hehe.
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witsandnuts
Yes, I am.
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PM
kahit saan sa mundo napaka festive at napaka busy ng itsura ng china town no? and una ko nga ring napansin ang linis at ang organized, cool. nagutom na naman ako sa photo ng food!
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witsandnuts
I miss their chicken and pork satay. π
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Yellow Bells
This is what I keep on saying…sana Philipines is as clean as other countries, im sure pag ito ang nagawa ng mga pinoy, patok sa turista ang bansa natin.
SG is really a good place to visit, ganda ng mga shots mo! Kinilabutan lng ako about the death houses, siguro madaming ghost dun ngayon? ahihihihih
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witsandnuts
I had the same thought about the Street of the Dead. But I won’t forget that area because that’s where we found the nicest (per our dining experience) satay and fruit shakes.
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Ping-i
Interesting trivia on death houses.
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witsandnuts
It’s good that it’s no longer called as Street of the Dead.
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bw
Nice pics.. Darn, Singapore is one ultra-clean city, even their Chinatown which in most parts of the world are normally crowded and cramped. It’s a symbol of prosperity indeed π
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witsandnuts
Thanks. Yes, it’s so cleaaaaaan!
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I Am Nicely!
I love the first photo π Parang nalula ako! Hehehe!
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witsandnuts
Thanks. A canopy effect. Thanks for dropping by.
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josiet
I love your first picture! And the food pictures make me crave for chili crabs!
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witsandnuts
I miss the satay as well.
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Amelia
this is the only China Town i have visited that is organized and clean π hehehehe!
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