Im going to try to post a lot of pictures in this post as well. Last entry was a little rushed. Having now been back to Singapore for two weeks from the time I went to Indonesia, I feel even more at home. But seeing these unique parts of Singapore today made me become more enthusiastic about living here.
We began at Outram Park MRT (a train station). During the tour, we went to many Temples (Buddhist and Hindu) and Keramat. We look mostly at Singapore's syncretism of religious customs, and how they have changed the landscape of Singapore. I felt that this trip was very religion heavy, but I still learned a lot about the general (political and cultural) aspects of Singapore as well.
This is the back of Shophouses. These are types of houses in Singapore that originate from the Colonial period. They are being revived, and are usually painted unique or vibrant colours (see below). Notice my spelling of colors; Im becoming so Singaporean! haha
This is a keramat. It is a burial tomb of a Arab muslim women. Muslims (mostly Indians) come to worship here. It was a new concept for me. My teacher told me that this is were a lot of the syncretism has taken place. The worship of the dead is animism, or a traditional religious practice. But today, Islam is taken it under its wing. Fundamentalist Islam doesnt like it, so Malay ( where it originally started) dont really worship here any more. The yellow painting gives it away, as the color represents royalty in both Chinese and Malay cultures. However, the green that is painted along side represents Islam. So, here you can see the fusion of the two religions.
This is a Hindu Temple that we went in. They worship Ganesh (the elephant god) here. It was really interesting to see them circumvent( circle around- I think thats the right word) the alter. The religious are very different from the ones that I grew up with, and so I it was a eye opening experience.
This is a picture of coconuts. People sometimes use coconuts as a way to get out frustration, or let out frustrations about things. Or, I guess, its more of a way to ask for forgiveness and repent. It was something I had never heard before.
These are pictures of the shophouses from the front. This area used to be the Red Light District, but it isnt really any more. One thing I thought was interesting is that prostitution isnt illegal here. They thought since it would happen anyway, they could legalize and that way they have control over it. Yet, you would think this same philosophy could be apply to drug law, but instead, drug law is the opposite. They enforce anti-drug law severely.
This is a place where they sell live animals. It similar to any Chinatown in the US. However, they sold so many different animals, like these frogs in the picture. It was in humane how they kept some animals in tanks where there was obviously too many animals in the space. That kinda disturbed me. I also want to say that because of my chinese class, I was able to pick up on a lot of words in Chinatown. The class here is quite challenging and good.
This is just a picture of Chinatown. It has become very touristy. And most Singaporeans complain about it often.
This is one of the Buddhist temples we went to. It was very interesting. I had only been to one temple before, which was very new and commercial. This one seemed more authentic.
This is part of the Buddhist Temple.
This is another Keramat. It is one of the biggest in Singapore. We had to walk up the stairs. It also important to mention that all of these Keramats, and Hindu temples we have to take off our shoes. Its very common here. Chinese take off their shoes for their homes, but the predominately Buddhist Chinese dont take off their shoes for temple.
This was a snake charmer. It was such a tourist trap as it was downtown. But it was still cool to see.
This was an Armenian Church. It was so cool. One of the most peaceful places I have been. The cemetery out back was beautiful too. However, they are tearing down a building in the back of it, very Singaporean. So, its noisy and ugly to see.
This was the last keramat we went to. It was for the sultan of the area, I think. It was just so tropical and hot in this spot. I really felt like I was in a rainforest. Which i am!
This is the Singapore River. It was orginally the port of Singapore, but now it is a really nice area to just hangout. I think it is one of the nicest areas in the country, but there are loads of white people. So, I kinda feel at home, not like Im in Singapore, (sad).
This is the city!I posted so many pictures. There is plenty to look at. I am going to Vietnam on Sat, and Im very much looking forward to it. I will post after I return.
