Backpacking Singapore: Walking Around Little India

Singapore is a mix of many different cultures. A melting pot of different traditions and way of living. Since the population is consist of Chinese, British, Malay, Indian and other Asian roots, you can see many different people as you roam its busy streets. There are places here that represents the countries these people came from like Chinatown and Little India.

One of the first places we went to on our trip to Singapore is Little India. We were thinking of staying at Central Mall in Clarke Quay but we decided to tour Little India instead because we wanted to get the most out of our stay there.

After our lunch at Curry Cafe and some few picture taking and window shopping in Central Mall in Clarke Quay we rode the MRT going to Little India Station. As we got to the place, we all brought out our printed copy of our guide in touring the place. We started our tour at Race Course Road which is just in front of the MRT station. We turned left at Sungei Road which is according to the guide is a Malay word for "river". Walking along that road, we saw the Tekka Market/Center. We toured the place and we got into a small canteen-like area. There are a lot of food stands here and we bought some refreshments since it was really hot walking around the streets of Singapore.

Little India Station is at the North East Lane of the MRT

Tekka Center: where you can shop and eat

As some of us enjoyed their refreshments, Marjun and I met an old man shouting "kababayan". i was surprised that he called us that way even if he had a "singrish" (Singaporean-English) accent. He told us of his adventures in the Philippines many years back. He told us about Cebu, Davao, Manila, and other places he visited in our country. He was so happy talking to us even if I just understand half of what he's saying, and I think he also doesn't understand much of what we're saying. It was nice to have talked to him and we immediately went away after saying goodbye to him and left Tekka Center.

Old Guy at Little India with Marjun (Photo taken by me and grabbed from Marjun)

Little India Arcade: a glimpse of modern India

We continued our tour and saw The Verge mall after we crossed the street. We entered it to see what was inside. It was all stores. We got out and beside it is the Little India Arcade where you can have a feel of what modern India feels like. The arcade has a lot of store. it sells different products like clothes, cloth, souvenir and many others. I saw some foreign tourist that are in a henna tattoo store putting some henna tatoo on their hands. It was so amazing to watch and I would like to have one too but since most of us would like to get out of there, I just took pictures of them.

Henna Tattoo at Little India Arcade

We headed again to the streets to get to our next destination, Abdul Gaffoor Mosque. On the way, we saw this cool sign on a pub, we can't help but take pictures of it and I also can't help posting it here. See for yourself:

a $10 dollar beer is still expensive if you're here in the Philippines.. :P

Going back, on the way to Abdul Gaffoor Mosque, the guide says that the mosque is really gorgeous but we didn't enter since at the time we arrived there, we saw some people worshiping inside and we wanted to respect them, and so we just took photos for blogging purposes.

Entrance of the Mosque

A glimpse of what is inside

We continued walking and from a far, we saw the Lim Sim Tower where they say, you can buy cheap gadgets. We wanted to go in but we thought otherwise and just continue following the guide we have.

Sim Lim Tower from afar

We got to Dickson Road and walked down the street where you can find the Church of True Light. It was  built in the early 1950's in an early modern architecture style, it is one of the smaller Anglican parishes in Singapore.

Church of True Light

After another long walk on the streets, we got to Kampong Kapor Road, where the Kampong Kapor Methodist Church is located. Built in 1930 in the Art Deco style, compared with the Church of True Light earlier, it has an earlier style.

Kampong Kapong Methodist Church

We continued our walk and we found ourselves at Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, one of the oldest in Little India. It is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali. Inside is the statue of the deity ripping out a victim's stomach. We didn't go inside since we cannot stand the smell outside the temple. We just took pictures and continued to walk, hoping we get into a mall to have some rest.

 Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

All tired and exhausted because of the heat and all the walking, we decided to end the tour and since we saw City Square Mall from afar, we all agreed to go there and see where we could find a place to rest and hang out. There are a lot more to see in Little India but we decided to end it since it was getting late and we are all growing tired. Maybe next time, we'll continue on the second leg of this adventure, but for now, we'll just chill out and explore the malls of Little India.

Our Final Stop, City Square Mall

Comfort food after the long walk and tour

We went inside and had a taste of McDonald's Milk Shakes and Fries. Comfort food from that long and tiring tour. We stayed there until it is time to go to Harbour Square for our next adventure, Kuala Lumpur,  Malaysia.

For more information on the Little India Tour, refer to these sites:
Little India Tour Route 1
Little India Tour Route 2