Second Stop: Chinatown

After we finally got our room at 3:00pm (check in time), my mom decided to get some sleep first (she was really sick :< boo).  I told her that I'll go to Chinatown on my own.  Thanks to SMRT and EZ-Link, I didn't mind going there alone.  I could have chosen to go to Little India but I didn't because 1) it's near so there's still hope that we can go there maybe the next day or that night and 2) I was scared to go there alone haha I'm sorry.

But before that, I had my lunch - Tom Yang cup noodles.  Sitting pretty on our bed while eating Tom Yang and watching Koreanovela = The Life :)) I could never do that at home because I'm worried that insects would come pestering me in my sleep.

So off to Chinatown!

Ni hao!

Couplets on Chinatown.

Every MRT station have some drawings or writings on their walls.  This one, I found interesting.

So there I was, in Chinatown, all alone.  I was anxious at first since... I'm all alone. But when I got out of the MRT station, I saw a lot of people - tourists, like me, and I felt better.

Because of these 3/5/30 for $10, I wanted to buy a lot of things.  But since I honestly didn't know who I'll give it to, I restrained myself from buying.  I was all for taking photos :>

The TinTin Shop.

For collectors of Tintin comics~ There were comics both in English and French (which I was tempted to buy), posters and even figurines representing a comic book.  If I were a Tintin fan, I would've spazzed out!

The buildings (or are they houses?) in Chinatown looked like ancient houses in the Philippines.

At first, I didn't know where exactly to go; I didn't want to get my map and start looking (and honestly, I'm not good with maps hihi although I did see the streets indicated in the map, I didn't know which side I was on it) I continued walking and walking, just looking around the many stalls of clothes, key chains and other trinkets until I final reached my desired destination - Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum.

I was hesitant to enter because I didn't know if I was wearing the right clothes or if there were rules I had to know before entering.  I just looked around to see the other visitors.  They also provide skirts that one can wear if one is inappropriately dressed  I was actually expecting that there would be a big bell, like what I see on dramas but maybe it's a different kind of temple haha

While inside, I was still anxious with my actions.  I don't know if it's alright to take pictures, if I'm walking on the right path or something - it's a different culture with rules unknown to me so I was just being careful.  I saw a map in the entrance that said the temple had four (4) floors.  I only went through the first floor.

While I was at what-I-think-was a souvenir stall, a woman bumped me without even saying sorry. It annoyed me for a while but then I thought, maybe it's part of their ritual to walk straight ahead or something (her hands were in a praying position so I assumed she was there to... pray)

So that ended my tour around the temple.  I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the things I said (see, I still don't know if I'm doing this right haha), but seriously, I apologize for my lack of knowledge.

I continued my tour around Chinatown.  I actually passed by Chinatown Complex but didn't bother going in since I wasn't done going around the streets of Chinatown.  I should have at least went around the complex.  I just found out that The Hawker is there.  Oh well, next trip :>

I noticed that they sell shirts with "I <3 SG", which was what I was looking for.  I'm glad that it was 3 for $10.  I had a hard time choosing the color and size.  The first guy who helped me was a bit masungit and for a moment, I thought he talked to me in Filipino.  I wasn't sure so I continued talking to him in English.  He eventually left me because there were other customers and well, I was talking too much of his time.  Then, another guy approached me to help me with what I was looking for - he was cute hihi anyway, I bought 3 shirts, with myself, my brother and my dad, in mind.

Next store, I saw these longchamp-looking bags that had "Singapore" written all over it.  It was really cute! Again, 3 for $10.  I left for a while but I thought I should buy it, so I did.

I stopped by a camera store to just try asking the price of lenses for my camera - Lumix LX-5.  The guy in the store was really nice enough to take sample shots using the wide angle lens with macro lens (I forgot how he called it).  It's 2-in-1 for $399.  (Embarrassing) test shots hihi:

After asking me where I was from and how long I'll be staying in Singapore, he told me that he'll give it to me for half the price if I buy it before closing, 6pm (it was already 5:30pm that time).  I just told him I'll try to come back.  Sadly, I wasn't able to buy it.  I'm not that disappointed though.

Walking around some more, I stumbled upon the Sri Mariamman Temple.  I just looked from outside.  Again, I was scared to enter.  I better gather up more courage for my next trip so that I'll be able to go to places and tell more stories.

I was about to leave Chinatown because it was almost 6pm when I saw something...

I actually returned to Chinatown that night because my mom wanted to buy more of the bag I bought.  We got there around 9:30pm, I think so a lot of the stores were already closed.