Little India

colorful printed saris

Today we visited Singapore's Little India and China Town. Both of these shopping areas definitely cater to the locals but they also provide a great opportunity for visitors to get to kind of mingle with people who call this island home. Singapore is made up primarily of 3 main people groups - Chinese, Malays and Indians. Though both markets clientele was pretty much what you would expect, it was kind of fun to observe some Chinese folks shopping in Little India and some Indians shopping in China Town! ha

Having been to mainland China, Singapore's China Town was a bit of a disappointment. Even compared to China Town in San Francisco and Vancouver it wasn't all that exciting. To me, it just felt  like a tourist trap for those who want a taste of China without having to actually go there.

Little India's decorated Serangoon Road 

incense burning to the elephant god

On the other hand, I found Little India more of an authentic destination for Singapore's Indian population. Approximately 400,000 people (nearly 10% of Singapore's entire population) are Indian. They are Singapore's third largest people group after Chinese and Malays.

We began our visit to Little India with a walk through the market. I was amazed that it was relatively clean and though much larger, smelled light years better than the  market in Bandung. It was bustling with locals buying  fruit, vegetables and meat. Butchers were handling lots and lots of fresh seafood, chicken and mutton (no beef - remember they are Hindu).

woman sells banana leaves used in cooking

fresh fish

not so sure about this one??

Along the outer edge of the market were rows of small shops where people were making and selling floral offerings. Other shops carried traditional clothing and fabrics, spices and foods used in Indian cooking, hardware and other stores you'd find in pretty much any community.

press on facial ornamentation

bindis by the boxload

After leaving the market, we walked down Serangoon Road, the main street that runs through Little India. It was still colorfully decorated from the recent Deepavali celebrations, a Hindu holiday which takes place in October. We observed people working and shopping and going to worship at Shree Lakshminarayan Temple. 

Shree Lakshminarayan Temple

Thanks to Google, I learned that Deepavali is one of the biggest Hindu celebrations of the year. Sometimes called the "Festival of Lights" this holiday is tied to the victory of the Hindu's Lord Rama over the demon Ravana and his triumphant return from exile (and it goes on and on....) Anyway, to make Lord Rama's return as easy and safe as possible, his subjects lit the way with thousands of oil lamps, thus the reason for all the lights.

floral offerings for sale

fashions for men, women and children

Indian shop keeper

There's just so much cultural diversity on this island! It has been a wonderful getaway. We've enjoyed walking along the streets without receiving stares. We've also enjoyed eating at California Pizza (2x's), Starbucks, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts and Hard Rock Cafe. Yeah! We've had fresh salads and brushed our teeth with tap water for the first time in 3 months! Ahhh..... it's been a wonderful 3 days. Tomorrow, it's back to Bandung but then we get to begin our countdown to Christmas! YAY!!!