2969 The main atrium of the Chinatown Point Mall with a branch office if the US Embassy.
2972 Colonial buildings in Chinatown, loaded with character.
2976 The main entrance to the Sri Mariamman (Saint Miriamman) Temple in Singapore’s Chinatown.
2983 The tower over the entrance is known as a gopuram. Some of the many gods and goddesses of the Hindu religion are pictured there. Very colorful.
Oct 27 – At Sea. Another wonderful day at sea. Very restful. Tonight there’s no show. They’re having the Roaring 20s Ball. When we got to dinner the men had black fedoras and the women had black feathered headbands at their tables. It actually went pretty well with my all black tux and Edinburgh Millennium tartan tie.
I love to go to these things to watch the younger officers try to hide from the older ladies. Actually they don’t hide; they just hover at the back of the Queen’s Lounge in a tight knot trying to be inconspicuous. The older officers are usually circulating and asking ladies to dance. Maybe they don’t have dance classes at the maritime academy anymore.
Oct 28 – Singapore. The sail in to Singapore is interesting for all the ships anchored off shore either waiting to get to the harbor to unload or unloading at anchor by lighter, smaller boats that take the freight in to smaller docks. All sorts of ships are here. When I went up to the forward balcony on deck six I found that we had some new additions to the area, 2 LRADs (Long Range Acoustic Device) one mounted on each side of the area. There are pirates in Indonesian and Malaysian waters and I guess they want to be prepared. We’re not really sailing through the worst pirate infested areas but I guess they figure better safe than sorry. They mounted some on the Prinsendam when we sailed past Somalia on our way to Oman and then on to the Suez Canal.
The pier in Singapore leads into a large shopping mall somewhat like Hong Kong. The difference is that in Singapore you have to walk several hundred yards before you get to the passport check area and security screening. Then you enter the shopping mall and have further to walk to get to the street. It’s difficult for our less mobile travelers but unavoidable.
We didn’t arrive at the pier until 3pm so Diana and I waited a bit and then left the ship to look around town and eat at a Hawker Center. As you’ve probably heard, Singapore is fairly strict in their law enforcement and they have some very unusual laws. For example, it is illegal to even possess chewing gum or chewing tobacco. The ship warned everyone not to try to take any off the ship much less use any while we’re here.
We caught a cab to the People’s Park Center. (Singapore is expensive for visitors but it can be less costly if you live like a local. Cabs may be the biggest bargain in town.) It’s a shopping mall near Chinatown. As we arrived the sky was darkening ominously. We spent some time looking through the mall, lots of discount shopping in the People’s Park. We walked across the skyway to Chinatown Point another mall. This one was more up-scale with nicer shops and cafes. We left the mall on Upper Cross Street and headed toward South Bridge Road. There are two spots on that street we want to see.
The first is the Jamae Mosque. It’s painted light green and white and actually looks like a much more inviting place than most mosques I’ve seen. Just down the street is the Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple. Back in 2002 this was the first real Hindu temple I’d ever seen. The colors and the structure were fantastic then and they still are now. The gopuram, the entrance tower, is a colorful pyramid of Hindu gods and goddesses. There was a service going on, gongs and instruments were being played accompanied by chanting. I know little about Hindu services or rituals so I have no idea if it was a regular service or something special. I know there were very few people in attendance. It’s pretty easy to count the pairs of shoes at the door.
As we were taking in the sights the sky got darker and darker and suddenly the thunder and lightning started and the sky dumped all its excess moisture on us for about half an hour. Fortunately the buildings along the street are recessed at the first floor and you have a long porch to hide on. After a while we got bored so we made a run to a covered bus stop a little further down the street when the rain slowed for a bit. From there I couldn’t see any cover for quite a way. When the rain slowed again we started out anyway. In about 100 feet, set back from the road was our destination the Maxwell Hawker Center.
As I mentioned before Singapore is a place with rules. It’s also the cleanest, most orderly and doesn’t have to be expensive if you are careful. When Singapore decided that having food carts all over the city was too messy and disorganized they built Hawker Centers. They provide a small shop where former street hawkers can sell their food. They supply the tables and an eating area, like a food court in the US. The difference is that each vendor specializes in a certain thing so you might have to visit several places before you have your meal complete. The food is very reasonable in the centers. In fact, considering the quality it’s downright cheap.
We collected our dinner from 5 separate stands. Sodas from the drink vendor, Chinese broccoli, eggplant and green beans with rice from the vegetable stir-fry vendor, dim sum from the dumpling lady, roast pork and cha shu from the Hainanese Chicken vendor and desert dumplings in vegetable, peanut, coconut and sweet potato from the Fried Sweet Potato Dumpling vendor. Everything but the desert, the dim sum and the sodas came with rice. Total cost of this gastronomic delight, $12 Singapore, about $10US.
By the time we finished eating the rain was over and we caught another cab back to the ship.
John Darsk was entertaining again but we got back after the show started so we didn’t go.
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