WEATHER: Hot and humid. It hasn't rained since we've been here. Unusual.
Today is our last full day housesitting in Singapore. We spent the morning tidying up and doing some laundry.
Then, off we went again to another ethnic section of town. While we were at the bus stop waiting for the bus that would take us to the light rail station, two nice ladies asked us where we were going, then suggested we take a different bus that would allow us to avoid a transfer to the train.
So, we caught another bus, and the kind bus driver made sure we got off at the right stop. Today's destination was Arab Street, yet another section of town that Colonel Raffles created to separate the various groups of traders way back when.
The beautiful mosque anchors the area. The streets are lined with carpet dealers, fabric shops, tailors and restaurants.
We found a Turkish restaurant and shared a dish that was kind of a a kebab wrapped in some bread then sliced up. Quite tasty.
Our next stop was the nearby Atlas Bar. Wow! Wow - is all I can say. It has recently been completed with an extremely elegant Art Deco theme.
The bar stocks more than 1100 types of gin, one of the largest selections in the world. It is really a fantastic place.
This photo is off the internet, but shows the "angels" that fly up to the upper parts of the bottle storage to grab bottles that are not often used.
Some of the gins go back to the 1920s
We had a very refreshing G&T and sat at the cool bar to absorb the cool luxury. (Cool as in cool vibes and cool air conditioning!)
Then, the light rail back home. I saw this sign which exemplifies the fact that 4 official languages are spoken here. (Although there are about 100 more). All young people are at least bilingual. English is the language used in the public school system. School children must demonstrate English proficiency before moving to the next grade. From top to bottom on this sign....
English
Mandarin Chinese
Malay
Tamil (Indian)
The homeowners returned in the evening, and we enjoyed a nice dinner together. They were happy to see Sita and we were so glad that Sita was here, safe and sound.
Atlas Bar...that one's new. I might have to check it out the next time. It sure looked spacious...a concept that baffles land strapped Singapore. I guess it must be the vertical space that made it possible.
ReplyDeleteThe mosque looks like it's in Kampong Glam, where Arab Street is. I remembered two of my closest friends would go there to shop for material to hand-make their latest haute couture creations. Well, both of them worked in the fashion industry and one of them works in New York! OK, the "Glam" pun was unintended. "Kampong" means village in Malay. "Glam" (pronounced as glum) must be a proper name.
If I'm not wrong, the mosque welcomes visitors. However, the women will have to be covered up - they have robes that they will loan you.
I'm not familiar with the pastry / puff thing you had. What I would recommend is curry puff... the Malays' version is the standard but Singaporeans are so multi-racial that the Chinese and Indians have their own versions! The standard filling in every version is potatoes cooked in curry spices.
Yes, we have four official languages - I understand that that's rather unique to the world. Any guesses on why English is the language of instruction and commerce as opposed to any of the other three? Using English not only propels Singapore into a serious competitor status in the world trade arena but it is used to unify the country. This was one of the founding prime minister, Lee Kwan Yew's foresight. He was educated in Cambridge and his first name was Harry. He dropped it to identify himself with one of the ethnic groups and to distance himself from the British, who briefly resumed governance after the Japanese Occupation.
Within the Chinese group, we further sub-divided ourselves to the village our ancestors came from. Even my maternal grandmother insisted that my mum married within the same dialect group. My dialect group was so rare in Singapore that the match-maker had to find my dad, whose hometown is in Malaysia, which is about a two hour drive from here, then. Now we can get there in about an hour (add another hour, at the border crossing).
You might have heard Cantonese, Hokkien (Fujian), and many other dialects used. So Mandarin Chinese was used as a tool to unify the Chinese, hence taught in schools.
Singaporeans typically are not only expected to be bilingual, through the education system but we are able to speak or at least understand a little of the other languages and dialects, so much so that they became fused and "Singlish" evolved! In the 70s and 80s, this was frowned upon because it undermined the school's efforts to teach proper English. Can you imagine watching and listening to Chinese / Malay / Indian persons reading the news on TV in "Queen's English". It was the standard then but in the late 80s and on, Singaporeans underwent an identity crisis phase. We do not know how to describe ourselves as Singaporeans. There is nothing distinctive about us compared to the Thais, Malaysians, and Indonesians. Even the Australians and New Zealanders, although once British ruled, have their own identities. Now, the attempts to squash "Singlish" out of the mainstream have failed, so much so that locally produced English drama, spoken in proper English became the subject of much ridicule! :) However, comedies spoken in English but peppered with Singlish and other languages and dialects is very well received.
To keep peace, with all other groups, Singapore adopted Mandarin Chinese, Malay, Tamil as official languages. You would have noticed them used in signage at airport terminals, MRT / LRT (light rail) stations, and road signs.
I hope that this will give you further insights into how Singapore embraced our diversity and differences. Of course some divisiveness exists but it's in the undercurrent of our existence. We can now, at the bare minimum see each other as Singaporeans before we are Chinese, Indians, or Malays.
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