Chinatown in Singapore

Yes, Virginia, there is a Chinatown in Singapore. And no, it doesn't encompass the whole Singapore.

My tour of the area starts from the Chinatown MRT station. Right across the street is Yue Hwa Chinese Products emporium, which used to be the Great Southern Hotel. Said to be the first hotel in Singapore to have passenger elevators. Right beside it is The Majestic. It's now a shopping mall, but it used to be called the Tin Yin Dance Stage. Local tycoon Eu Tong Sen built it for his wife after another opera house refused her entry. (Ah, to be rich.)

From New Bridge Road, take a left to Pagoda Street, which is the mail shopping alley. Shops and stalls offer everything from souvenir items to Chinese crafts to CDs/DVDs to toys and trinkets, etc. This is also where the Chinatown Heritage Center is. It's sort of a like a museum on the local history with recreated rooms and video displays depicting how life was then in old Chinatown. At the end of Pagoda Street is the Sri Mariamman Temple. Said to be Singapore's oldest, it is built in 1827 and dedicated to the Mother Goddess, Sri Mariamman. I usually get Sri Veeramakaliamman and Sri Mariamman confused as their facades are very similar. There are bells on the front door. As devotees enter the temple, they ring the bells to make their wishes come true. To the left the temple is Masjid Jamae. Notice that the structure is not aligned to the grid of the street. That's because it is facing Mecca, as all mosques do.

Further down is Smith Street, more popular known as Chinatown Food Street. The food stalls open from 3pm to 11pm during weekdays, but starting from Friday, they close later at 1am. At the corner of Smith and Trengganu is Lai Chun Yuen, a former Cantonese opera house. Famous opera singers from China and Hong Kong would perform here during its heyday. Across the intersection is the Chinatown Complex, Market and Food Centre - part hawker center, part wet market. Follow Sago Street and you'll end up at Kreta Ayer Square. Formerly a market square, this is now where the old-timers hang out. Also in the square is the Trishaw Park, where you can hire a trishaw for S$36 for a memorable tour of Chinatown.

Two temples not to be missed in Chinatown is the Al-Abrar Mosque and the Thian Hock Keng Temple. After all that sightseeing, take a break at the nearby Telok Ayer Green. Enjoy the shade and the sculptures.