Singapore 2010 - Wednesday

Had our first rain today, and what a show it was - thunder and lightning, the works! It's a lot more frightening when you're part way towards the sky where all that noise is taking place. But it was all over fairly quickly, and we took our chances with the elements, walking to a recommended Indian restaurant called Annalakshmi. It was a buffet set-up, with signs proudly proclaiming that all food was prepared 'without onion or garlic', a statement whose significance was rather lost on us. After yesterday's over-indulgence we were careful to stop when no longer hungry, though it was so tasty I could have eaten a second meal if I could have found somewhere to put it. All washed down with some lovely pineapple juice. The restaurant has a policy whereby you pay what you thought the meal was worth. I'm sure we paid more than anyone else there.

Afterwards we wandered at our leisure, dropping into the Thian Hock Keng Temple (The Temple of Heavenly Bliss), the oldest and most important Hokkien temple in Singapore. The main temple is dedicated to Mazu, the Taoist goddess of the sea and protector of all seamen, while a second temple at the back is a Buddhist one dedicated to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of mercy. We saw a few people pray there, including a newly wed couple with the groom's mother. The colours and ornamentation were splendid, and there were many strange and monstrous statues throughout. Pantheist iconography sure is fascinating!

Also in the neighbourhood were several enormous food courts, plus the Fu Tak Chi Museum, a restoration of Singapore's oldest Chinese temple, which oddly now serves as a pedestrian through-route to a shopping mall. Passing through the CBD with its towering glass spectaculars, we ended up at the waterfront promenade where the ghastly Merlion sits spewing water into the harbour. More authentic sights were available as we followed the river inland, walking under the historic Cavenagh and Elgin bridges, and between various Chinese paper lantern and flotilla displays.

Anna was feeling worn out by the heat, so we hopped on the MRT home, pausing to visit the Seng Wong Beo Temple by our apartment complex, where they still perform 'ghost marriages'. We lazed by the pool for the afternoon, before Anna sent me out for food. I walked to the well-known Maxwell Road hawker complex, with its endless array of stalls, to pick up the famed (Hainanese) "Number 10" Tian Tian Chicken Rice for Anna.