Chinatown in Singapore

Hello Singapore Chinatown.

From my time as a tour guide, I not only picked up background information about hobbits but also learned a few words in Mandarin. So, if I ever wanted to order beer, cider, or ginger beer, I could do so, but by the time I say hello, I would likely drop out of the conversation. I visited a few Chinatowns during my travels, and the one in Singapore was by far the most colorful, filled with images and artworks.

I booked another free walking tour for the day, and this one took us through Chinatown in Singapore. I scheduled the tour for 11 a.m. to allow for a slow start to the day and used the time beforehand to visit one of my colleague's favorite cafés in Singapore. So, I enjoyed delicious coffee with my Kindle and a good book on the little seats in front of the café while Singapore slowly woke up. It's fascinating that the café was located on a street where several famous series and movies were filmed in Singapore - very nice.

In the joy of enjoying, I lost track of time and had to hurry to make it to the start of the tour on time. The tour was conducted in a group with just 6 others, and we worked our way through the neighborhood street by street, and it was really just fantastic! The tour guide (I'm a bit unsure how they identify themselves) was simply super funny, had many insider tips, and guided us through the neighborhood for almost 3 hours.

The tour started, just like for the immigrants back then, at the temple in the middle of Chinatown. Back then, the temple was right by the beach or the water, but today it is located in the middle of the city as Singapore has continuously expanded and also reclaimed land from the sea.

After we took a closer look at the temple and its history, we continued through the neighborhood. Both in the temple and on the streets, there are many artworks, pictures, sculptures, and plaques that explain the history of the neighborhood for everyone to admire.

For example, the nice lady in blue with the red hat and the cigarette. This is a piece of art depicting one of the many female construction workers who helped build Singapore. In this neighborhood, at least, it was mostly women who worked on the construction sites. Classically with a cigarette in hand and a blue suit. As compensation for their work, these women earned remarkably well and lived in the city's or neighborhood's apartments to further build structures.

And especially in this photo, you can see how well old and new fit together and where the boundaries between the old neighborhood and the banking district lie. We had this view after a pleasant break in one of the hawker centers in Chinatown from one of the skyscrapers/apartment buildings in the neighborhood.

A really successful trip, and I learned quite a bit about the history. On the way home, I also caught a glimpse of the Indian Festival of Lights parade. Just a fantastic conclusion and so cool to see how differently this culture celebrates! So colorful and loud and chaotic!

And with this fantastic ending, my time in Singapore also comes to an end. I will tell you all about my departure in the next post! Until then, have a fantastic and hopefully as colorful a day as this celebration!

Your Britta