Day 137

We had planned a busy schedule for today and we purchased an MRT Card to get us around all the stops as quickly and easy as possible.

• First Stop we went to Orchard Road. This was where all the top hotels and high end fashion stores were situated. We just used this stop to access the Botancial Gardens, which were beautiful.
• We then went to Little India, which was very shady. We stopped for lunch and we ate curried vegetables and rice with our hands (it is polite to eat with your right hand) even though we were offered a fork by the waiter. We then went to Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and had a look around inside whilst in service. One lady offered us rice and a dessert which is eaten after prayer.
• From here we walked to Arab Street to see the Sultan Mosque unfortunately it was closed to tourists due to prayer time. But nearby there were lots of nice stalls that we looked around.
• We walked down to the Goddess of Mercy Temple which is known for bringing wealth, health and good luck. The Buddhists go through a ritual of 1) burning insence sticks outside 2) taking fruit and flowers as a peace offering 3) knealt down on prayer mats 4) shook a pot of sticks with different meanings on them until one fell out 5) they then dropped 2 red discs which must've meant something as they would then get up 6) collecting their reading and donating some money.
• Next door was the Sri Krishnan Temple for Hindu's.
• We then went to Chinatown and we went to the Sri Mariamman Temple which was the oldest Temple in Singapore. It wasn't as nice as the others.
• We then and had a look around all the stalls and we were offered fitted suits, camera equipment and much more. Back inside the main shopping complex we found OSIM; a store specialising in massage chairs, so we stopped to trial the equipment.
• Last stop was Tiong Bahru; known in the Lonely Planet for it's food court full of Hawker Stalls selling unusual dishes, such as, Pig Organ Porridge, Curried Chicken Feet and Frog Leg Porridge. We settled on Duck Noodles and Prawn and Pork Rib Soup with Sugarcane drink to wash it down. This drink is very popular but we thought it was disgusting.