The Year of the Tiger

After two months of field visits in rural Nepal, I welcomed the idea of a brief R&R in Singapore when friends of mine suggested that a visit was in order, given my close proximity to the country. My last visit to the city-state was in 2004, and I was astounded by the many newly constructed shopping malls and skyscrapers that studded Singapore’s skyline, not to mention a little overwhelmed by the 180 degree turn in atmosphere and culture.

Sarangoon Road, home to Little India, was lodged in my memory as a somewhat chaotic bubble of cyclists, pedestrians, and cars, swarming around stalls and shops selling a variety of fruits and vegetables, spices, Indian jewelry and fabrics, and just about anything else one could want from the neighboring subcontinent. I remember holding onto my Amma’s hand tightly, as a kid, as we queued for an open table at Muthu’s Curry Place to enjoy mouthwatering fish curry and rice eaten straight from a banana leaf as is still done in northern Sri Lanka and southern India. I was surprised to find more order in this city within a city this time around, though admittedly, I began to miss the raucous of its old character, reminiscent of walking through the streets of Coimbatore and then-called Madras.

Chinatown was an absolute rush of color and aromas as we walked through its streets, as residents and shopkeepers prepared for the Chinese New Year festivities to be held in the subsequent week. We witnessed a prayer ceremony in a Buddhist temple, its walls studded with 100 golden Buddhas on the main floor and 10,000 miniatures on the roof, housing a tooth relic of Buddha and one of the largest prayer wheels in Asia. Blooming cherry blossoms lined Chinatown’s sidewalks, and temporary tents had been erected to house markets selling the colorful red decorations hung in every Chinese home, this year sporting figures of the tiger, the zodiac animal marking 2010. We treated our palettes to coffee-flavored, chocolate biscuits, flower-shaped cakes, the Chinese version of ice cream sandwiches, and coconut-infused gelatin sweets, washing it all down with fresh mango juice and lemon soda.

Singapore has somehow become a magnet for many friends, relatives, and colleagues of mine, mostly due to its high standard of modern living with access to rich cultures and flavors within and in close proximity to the country, providing a convenient balance of east and west. And, that’s a good enough reason for another visit to this tropical city-state.