Singapore - Day 9: Little India

Wednesday, June 13th

Today was yet again another early day.  We got up around 7:00 am and left the house a little before 8:00.  We took a cab over to Little India to take a 2-hour walking tour of the area.  We got there about 45 minutes early so Jenna and I walked across the street to an HDB that had a "fitness playground" recently installed.  Of course we had a blast and took lots of silly pictures!! :)

View of an HDB from the ground...they are everywhere in Singapore.

The tour began at 9:30 and our lovely Singaporean tour guide was Geraldine.  (We referred to her as Gerry. Lol.)  She walked us all around Little India and gave us the history of the area too.

Our first stop was at a local flower necklace stand.  In the Indian culture, flower necklaces are very popular and are used in a variety of Hindu ceremonies.  Since you can't chew gum in Singapore, Gerry showed us what locals in Little India use in place of "gum."  I wish I was able to hear her better when she explained how the "gum" was made.  They use a green leaf thing and spread some paste on the leaf.  They then fold it and chew on it.  Our tour guide said it can turn your lips a scarlet color!

We walked through another wet market and looked at Indian spices and ingredients that are sold at this particular market.  The smell was better than the last wet market we went to, BUT when we got to the spices section (which, of course, was located next to the raw meat sections....) the combination of smells made me very nauseous.

Pre-made spice bags.  Red is chili powder marinade, Brown is garlic, White is yogurt.

We got to try some local fruits....both very interesting in both appearance and in taste.  

The first fruit we tried, called Rambutan (similar to lychee), is kinda "spiky" in appearance.  You have to peel the outer layer of the fruit to get to a grape-like center.  There is a seed you have to eat around.  The fruit was alright....not my favorite thing I have eaten.  I took one bite and decided that was enough.  The second fruit, called Jack fruit, looks like a mango almost and has a seed in the middle.  You have to peel off the flesh of the fruit to be able to eat around the seed.  I had one bite (while Patrice was taking a picture of course....) and almost hurled at the taste.  At first, it takes decent but then the aftertaste kicks in and it is the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten.  The picture Patrice took explains it all. Lol!!

The inside of the Rambutan.

Jack fruit - right as the after taste hit....hideous picture of me!! :)  This stuff is on the way to eating Durin which is one of the smelliest (said to be delicious....although I have heard otherwise) fruits and is only found in Singapore.

After the wet market, we walked around some places and learned more about the history of the area.  We learned that the Dhoby Ghaut MRT interchange is named after the Indian Dhobys (who were men who washed people's clothes in the river) and the Ghuats (or stars) they used to walk down to the river.

We walked around to some little shops and Jenna and I got henna tattoos on our hands.  It was really neat to see the girls come up with a design on the spot.  In the Indian culture, a woman who is getting married has a "henna shower" instead of a bridal shower and covers her body with henna designs.  The henna paste they use is really cool when it touches your skin - it is definitely soothing on a hot day like today.  The paste hardens and takes about 20 - 30 minutes before it is completely dry.  It then starts to flake off, leaving your skin stained.  Our tattoos should stay for about a week so!!

Getting the tattoos.

Right after!!!

As soon as the girls finished their artwork!

Letting the paste dry out.  It starts to hardens and flakes off, leaving the stain on your skin.

After the henna stop, we got to go to a fabric store where women bought material to make their sarees. Gerry, our guide, asked for a volunteer to model the saree and I immediately raised my hand.  (I have always wanted to wear one.)  The length of the fabric has two ends...one end that you tuck into your petty coat skirt and one that is more detailed and bedazzled to drape over your shoulder and arm.  You begin by tucking the fabric (very tight and neat....you don't want to create a "belly" for yourself says Gerry) into your skirt....or in my case, my shorts.  You do this around your entire waist.  It is important to wrap the fabric lower, closer to your hips to create the right effect.  Once you wrap it around, you begin to create pleats with the rest of the fabric.  When the pleats are nice and tight, you tuck them into your skirt.  The remaining fabric is then draped over your shoulder. It was neat to get to experience how women in a different culture dress.

We also learned about the meanings of the markings on the women's foreheads.  Markings in general mean they are Hindu.  A red dot means the woman is spoken for.  A black dot means the woman is single.

Jeweled part you drape over your shoulder.

Tucking it in around my hips.

Making pleats by folding the fabric.

Gathering the pleats to tuck in.

Tucking in the pleats.

The final product!!!

Getting a marking put on my forehead.

After the dressings we went to another Hindu temple and learned of their deities.  At many of the temples lunch is provided by the temple so people can fellowship together.  The food they serve is from a giant pot of a rice mixture that is scooped out and put on a thick piece of brown paper along with some chunks of bananas.  The people at the temple eat this with their hands, which was something I am definitely not accustomed to.

After the temple our tour ended and Gerry told us about this really good Indian food place that has good bread and is air conditioned (the best part of course).  My stomach is not accustomed to the spices in Indian food so I took it easy on lunch.  We ordered Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Saffron Rice, and Naan. (I have grown to love Naan...which is basically thin, fried bread. Haha!) I ate the rice and the Naan and had a scoop of each of the chicken dishes to dip my Naan in.  It was good and easier on my stomach than I thought.

After lunch, we walked around to the Mustafa Center to do some shopping.  This place is like a 4-story Singaporean/Indian Walmart.  They literally have everything you could imagine there.  It was interesting to see a "walmart" in a different fashion.  We ended the day riding the MRT home, always an interesting time!!


Tonight, Jenna and I are heading to the Night Safari at the Zoo so I will make another post about that!!! :) :) :)