A Stroll Through Chinatown

Last weekend Mom and I journeyed to Chinatown on a Friday afternoon to join the free walking tour.  While signing the attendee list, we heard the voice and contagious laugh of our favorite tour guide- Bernard!  We were so excited to see him as he grew up in Chinatown and just as we suspected, was able to share a very personal view of the area. He remembered us too.  (I'm sure that surprises everyone reading this blog)  If you are ever in Singapore, check out the free walking tours promoted through the HIPPO / Hop on Hop Off.  So far we have enjoyed Bernard Koh for 2 of 2 tours and I cannot recommend him highly enough.  He has such a passion for his city and country.  This picture to the left is Bernard, describing the construction of a usual shophouse doorway.

Singapore's Chinatown is a mix of history and hawkers.   There are many beautiful shophouses, lots of tourists, and of course many souvenir stalls.  One of my favorite features of Chinatown is that there is a Buddhist Temple, a Hindu Temple and a Mosque all within 3 blocks of each other.  This is a true representation of Singapore.   Please see the captions to the pictures below for more details.  

I didn't end up with a picture, but there is a beautiful building in Chinatown that is a replica of the old Chinese Opera house.  The original building was bombed to bits during the Japanese invasion of Singapore and the replica is now a hotel. We sat in the lobby of the hotel which is built within the original architectural details of the opera house while Bernard told some of his stories.  While we cooled off in the a/c, Bernard shared details of his younger years growing up in one room, with his 3 siblings and parents.   This was usual housing in Chinatown, where renting a cubicle in a shophouse was commonplace.  There were 4 families there, each living in their cubicle and all shared a toilet and a kitchen.  Mom and I had toured the Chinese Heritage Museum the week before where they have kept a shophouse as Bernard described.   It is an amazing museum.  Bernard shared with us that his family was moved out of the shophouse into public housing, called an HDB (high density building) when he was 8 years old.  They had 2 bedrooms to "spread out" in but more importantly, the family had their own bathroom!  His mom was also very happy not to have to share a kitchen with other families and follow a schedule.  He said that when they walked through the threshold there was not a dry eye among them.   Oh, I need to mention that Bernard LOVES air conditioning!  While living in the cubicle, they had no a/c so now he can't get enough.  I suppose it's like me and hot showers after living on a boat.  

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If you haven't noticed, I love to take pictures of architecture, especially older buildings.  Singapore was bombed heavily during WW2 but some lovely buildings remain and many are very well kept.   The typical shophouse is European in style, due to the time the British spent in Singapore 'running the show' -so to say.
Singapore is dominated by high-rise residential and office buildings.  Often nestled into a small area between massive structures will be a small, lovely neighborhood such as the picture to the left.  Coming upon these little gems always makes me smile.  

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