Temple weekends in Bugis, Little India & Clarke Quay + food (of course)

Sooo the last two weekends I went exploring after spending my mornings lounging in the sun and swimming in the beautiful pool. The first bunch of pics are from my day in Bugis. We went to this Chinese Buddhist temple and Hindu temple which are right next door to each other. The pics speak for themselves I think. All the flower stalls around are so that you can buy them to leave as offerings in the temple, and much incense is burned. On our way leaving the square a parade of people came marching into the temple, banging drums and symbols, carrying dragons, and with a few "holy men" in a "trans" who are believed to be the medium between humans an the gods.. I guess kinda like how other religions believe you can be taken over by the holy spirit. An interesting sight to see. The Hindu temple was beautiful but you couldn't take photos once you entered inside, so I'm afraid I'll have to keep that stored away in memory. From Bugis square we took a walk through the market, with lots of stalls with clothes and various foods.. its kinda like a flea market of sorts. I got a yummy strawberry juice, and saw my first sex shop, some tea infused fermented eggs, and a Chinese burger spot. RANDOM! Then we went for some dessert first (priorities people!) and I got what is fast becoming my favorite, mango flavored shaved ice, with little passion fruit tapioca balls and some coconut jelly square thingys. YUM. We went on for Thai food for lunch, because how can you say no to a Thai restaurant called Porn's? I mean, with a name like that it was just begging for me to try it. The food was excellent too. After walking around in Bugis, Li Nar and I went our separate ways, and I stopped on the way home to get a fresh manicure. I went gold glitter, with these 3D rose designs which they specialize in here. Beautiful artwork really, and I've never seen them do anything like that at home in NYC.

The other round of photos are from this weekend. Saturday we went to Little India. I loveddd all the food we tried, and the colors, the flowers and fresh jasmine for your hair, the beautiful Saris (I'm definitely buying one) and all the gold jewelery (I saw some bangles with my name on it!). It was just a pleasure to stroll around there and enjoy the culture. We went into this huge Hindu temple that does let you take photos, and I had a ball taking plenty. I don't know much about the religion, but for me its about the art work. The time, and craftsmanship that went into to making all those shrines is incredible and the COLORS. Wow. We stopped for some Japanese food on the way home, and I had some more sashimi. I can't believe I like all this raw fish. It really does taste good tho, and the beef salad, and prawn mango sushi rolls we had were lovely too. Then Sunday, of course after the pool (I'm getting nice and brown) we went for some lunch on Clarke Quay, and then decided to check out this Chinese temple which is literally on the block behind my corporate apartment. Another WOW. They had recently restored it at the cost of 2 million Sing dollars as it had been declared a historical monument. They had special craftsman who flew in from China to reconstruct it brick by brick. The pictures speak for themselves, the colors, the craftsmanship, the stone work, the artistry, all amazing. As we left the temple and walked back to my place, I couldn't resist taking some photos along the vacant walkway.

All in all it was a lovely, relaxing weekend, enjoying the sun, and the neighborhoods in Singapore and lets not forget the food and good company :) Back to work tomorrow. Until next weekend <3

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Jetsetter P on July 24, 2011 from Singapore, Singapore

from the travel blog: Temple weekends in Bugis, Little India & Clarke Quay + food (of course)

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Temple weekends in Bugis, Little India & Clarke Quay + food (of course)

a travel blog by Jetsetter P

Temple weekends in Bugis, Little India & Clarke Quay + food (of course)

Singapore, Singapore