Travel Report of Singapore (2) – Chinatown

We had lunch in a Chinese restaurant famous for xiaolongbaos, a kind of steamed dumpling, named Jing Hua Xiao Chi Singapore, in China Town. The xiaolongbaos were of course tasty, and other foods such as gyozas, shrimp tempuras, and fried rice were all tasty.

We first visited Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, which is a big 4-storied building, after we finished the lunch. The building, built in 2007, has a main temple on the first floor, a museum on the second and third floors, and a golden stupa in which a tooth of Buddha is dedicated on the fourth floor. There is a hanging garden on the roof floor and tropical flowers were blooming.
When you enter the main hall on the first floor, you must be surprised to see the gorgeous and splendid interior of the temple. Being decorated with many colors, the interior was unfamiliar to me as a Japanese, but I felt the same solemn atmosphere as in Japan in which only voices chanting the Buddhist scriptures are heard, but sounds other than the sutra changing are not heard.
A small temple stood in the tropical flowers in the hanging garden. “Here may be Heaven?” However, air conditioning did not work and we were beaten by the steaming heat.
We are very sorry that we missed the stupa in which the tooth of Buddha is dedicated, which gives name to this temple, because of our insufficient study.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

After leaving the Buddhist temple, we sauntered along streets in the town. Wall paintings are enjoyable to see. Old and new buildings including Peranakan houses were nice and interesting. We looked here and there; the buildings stimulated our interests. Please enjoy strolling in Chinatown.

Then, we went to the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, Sri Mariamman Temple. This temple building was built in 1827. Now it stands around the center of Chinatown, but many Indians lived there at the time the temple was built. Many people visit this temple, deifying a mother goddess in South India, Goddess Mariaman, to wish for cure of illness and health maintenance.
The entrance, a tower gate, is called “Gopuram,” which is a five-layered gate and has a height of about 15 meters. Various gods and goddesses of Hinduism are carved in close proximity on the gate.