We got a great overview of the city yesterday, and spent a lot of time in Little India. Some of the highlights of yesterday include...
Malaya Cultural Center
Mustafa Shopping Center (or as I like to refer to it, Mufasa Shopping Center)
Sultan Mosque
Ghandi Restaurant, where we ate Indian food off of banana palm leaves with our hands! I'm building my immune system!
Perumal Hindu Temple
Buddhist Temple
Indian Street Market, which smelled amazing because many vendors were stringing flower garlands.
A torrential downpour (I have never seen rain like this in my life.)
Raffles Hotel (There was a harpist in the lobby!)
National Public Library, which I must say is the busiest library I've ever been to.
Garden by the Bay
Eating at the Hawkers Food Stalls
Marina Bay Sands Hotel, which is made of three pillars that support a cruise ship-shaped rooftop and viewing platform
Seeing the city lights at night
Singapore is such a beautiful and, yes, pristine city. Before I arrived everyone told me I would be amazed by the cleanliness. It's true. Singapore is, by far, the cleanest city I've ever been to.
The people here are very active. There are running trails and picturesque walking routes all over the city. There are many beautiful parks. We visited a couple of them yesterday, and they are nice escapes from the busy city.
Our meals yesterday were tasty cultural encounters. At the Ghandi restaurant, we sat down to a tray covered in a banana leaf with spoonfuls of two different types of curry and a dollop of chili paste. A man came to the table and scooped some white rice into the middle of the leaf. Not a utensil was in sight. We had a piece of bread the consistency of a tortilla chip and the size of a CD that we used to scoop food together to eat it. But once that was gone, we just went for it with our hands. The food was so delicious! It was actually a really fun experience, but it wouldn't be the type of place to go on a first date.
For dinner we stopped at a Hawker center. It is basically a grouping of rows small food stalls. The stalls surround a square where people gather with their friends in the community to catch up on the latest news. It was hard to find a lot of vegetarian food there. We were a little deterred by some options that we found because they had received a "B" rating of cleanliness, and we didn't want to get food poisoning on the first day of our trip. Soon we realized that ALL of the Hawker stalls had "B" ratings, which, strangely, took a load off our minds. We found a place with garlicky tofu and sauteed bok choy that came with rice and a spicy gravy. It was really good! Right next door we ordered spinach dumplings, which were also quite delicious, but became less so when Jenna pulled a shrimp out of hers. I had eaten mine first, so, who knows if it was standard in all of the dumplings. We got shaved ice with fresh mango and condensed milk for dessert. This dessert is MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. YUM! And the best part about the Hawkers is that for three of us and all our dinner courses, the cost was less than $15 Singapore dollars. That's even less in U.S. money! It was a great experience.
Our trip is off to a great start!
Sounds like you guys are having a great time! So happy for you. As for eating with your hands, yes, it is quite a fun experience. My sister's boyfriend introduced that type of eating to us, and every now and then, you might find me at home switching from fork to hands when eating my rice and curry. ;)
ReplyDeleteKeep up the blogging! You have an engaging writing style that is clear, descriptive, and also quite funny. :)
So glad you are having such great adventures, and thank you for sharing them with us! And good for you for being so adventurous. No worries about the hawker stalls. There's probably no safer place on earth to eat at food stalls. That country is so regulated that no vendor would dare take the slightest risk of anyone getting sick. (They'd probably get caned for it!) But it's good you're building up your immune system for Malaysia. ;-) Hope you're also building up your spice tolerance! :-O
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