One of the things that really stood out to me in Singapore was the seamless integration of multiple ethnicities, cultures and languages everywhere I went. I heard English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, Singlish and any combination of multiple languages in a harmonious chorus of speech. Living in Japan, where being only half Japanese makes me stand out as much as the whitest white dude, wantonly lumped into the gaijin category, walking around Singapore actually made me feel like I fit right in. In fact, strangers asked me, more often than I would have expected, variations of “you must be mixed! what are you??” It was actually hugely comforting to be somewhere where the people around you don’t automatically assume you are categorically Asian (USA) or white (Japan).
On the recommendation of a friend, I headed toward Little India with the intention of hitting up the major ethnic neighborhoods within Singapore – Little India, Arab Street and Chinatown. Sadly, between the delicious yet heavy vegetarian lunch in Little India and the constant dodging of the throngs of people in the narrow streets of Chinatown, I was too pooped to explore Arab Street. It’s on my list for next time.
Little India in Singapore is a colorful (literally) little community with a ton of restaurants, shops and stalls, selling things from saris (and tailoring services), gold jewelry, flowers, and spices. I could spend days just looking at all the colorful jewelry and trinkets and the intricately carved wood carvings and furniture.
I continued walking south from Little India and watched as my surrounding gradually shifted from Indian to Chinese – more Chinese characters on storefronts, smells of garlic and ginger rather than garam masala, tumeric and aniseed. Eventually I arrived in Chinatown, which to me seemed like another typical Chinatown (see my previous post on Yokohama Chinatown in Japan here) filled with stalls selling trinkets and souvenirs, teas, hello kitty, massages, calligraphy prints.
Most notably, the most interesting part of Singapore’s Chinatown is the Sri Mariamman Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. The stark juxtaposition of a Hindu temple, with its brightly colored and playful deities primarily aimed for the Indian population, and the all-business (work a lot, eat a lot) attitude of Chinatown was the perfect illustration of the seamless integration of cultures I had experienced since I stepped foot in Singapore.
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