11 Mar 2015 – Thru’ The Red Light District
Mon: still looking for some pants for the St Pat’s reception! No luck at Little India’s Tekka Market, Mustafa or City Mall!

Tue: decided to visit Geylang Serai market which will be the first experience. It is a wonderful feast of colours for the eyes. Maybe one of these lovely ‘tudung’ will be a good cover for my 50shades of grey 🙂

Continuing on bus#2 along Geylang Rd with interesting sights passing Masjid Khadijah build in 1917 and restored in 1996. This red light district is another world when the sun sets!

Kallang Rd passing ICA building, Victoria St/Malabar Muslim Jama-ath, constructed in 1962, so quite a new one. Still on Victoria St with Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (built 1888, refurbished 2010) steeple in the background.

Victoria St at Bugis and the junction of the Gate of Hope, my old school CHIJ now CHIJMES with the chapel under covers.

Old Central Fire Station, now a museum on Hill St, former Hill Street Police Station, now the MICA Building, home to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Clarke Quay Central Eu Tong Sen Street/Chinatown.

Views from bus #2 (app 30mins ride), not clear or sharp pix from a not-so-clean bus window, but a rough idea of the diversities of cultures and religions in SIN.

Edited 12 Mar 2015

SIN oldest places of worship for the different religions – pix downloaded from various sites.

Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka: Keng Cheow St was established in 1820, just a year after the British set up a trading post on the island. Since then, the mosque has been rebuilt twice; once in 1855 and again in 1981-1982.

Sri Mariamman Temple: South Bridge Rd in the downtown Chinatown district was founded in 1827 built of wood. A major part of the present structure is believed to have been built in 1862–1863. Repairs and restorations have been on going periodically over the years.

Armenian Church of Saint Gregory the Illuminator Սուրբ Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ եկեղեցի, : Hill St, built 1835. The Memorial Garden was never used as a burial ground. The tombstones that lie there were all transported from the Christian cemetery in Bukit Timah when it was exhumed in 1978.

Thian Hock Keng Temple 天福宫 Telok Ayer St, built 1839. Managed by SIN Hokkien Huay Kuan was gazetted as a national monument in 1973. Over the years, it has been restored several times. The most comprehensive one commenced in 1998 and was completed in 2000.

Maghain Aboth Synagogue: Waterloo St was built by 1878. It is the oldest Jewish synagogue in Southeast Asia. In 1924, extensions were made to the building. Was gazetted as a national monument on 27 February 1998.

Shuang Lin Monastery/Temple (莲山) 双林寺 was originally built 1902 is located in Toa Payoh. Gazetted a national monument 1980, symbolizing the social and cultural roots of the early Chinese immigrants. In spite of being a national monument, Siong Lim was mostly neglected as the government of Singapore tried to westernize. By the 1990s, portions of the temple were in disrepair. Areas were cordoned off as being unsafe. A major renovation was started in 1994 and completed in 2002.

Only in SIN one can find the different religions co-existing in harmony within a stone-throw from each other. To those visiting these places of worship, plx be mindful to observe the dos and do nots.

The purpose of all major religious traditions is not to construct big temples on the outside, but to create temples of goodness and compassion inside, in our hearts – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama