Joanna James
The thing about Little India in Singapore is that it is one of the most vibrant and colourful enclaves in the city-state. There are so many temples to visit, street food to try and a galore of great shopping locations where you can shop to your heart's desire. Here are some of the best things to do.
Visit Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple which is the oldest Hindu temples in the city-state. It is dedicated to the goddess Kali the Destroyer and was built as a place of worship by the first Indian settlers in the 19th century. It is a temple that has seen a lot of history happen before its colourful sculptured walls. For a long time, it was known by a Tamil name which translated to Temple in the Lime Village due to the significant amount of lime kilns that existed here in times past. The temple has been renovated many times since it was first built and managed to survive the Second World War, unscathed.
Another colourful location, House of Tan Teng Niah is a 12-minute walk from PARK ROYAL On Kitchener Road Singapore. It is one of the last Chinese villas still standing in an ethnic enclave that is almost 100% Indian. The villa is named after the owner who was a confectioner on Serangoon Road. While it was completely white when Tan Teng Niah built it for his wife, it has since been painted in a myriad of colours making it an iconic site to visit and feature in photographs.
A Buddhist temple, Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya is yet another temple you can easily find wandering outside the hotels in Little India, Singapore. It is also known under the moniker, Temple of a Thousand Lights due to the thousands of lights that make up the indoor walls around a statue of the Buddha which weighs 300 tonnes and is 15 m tall. The temple's designs draw from Chinese, Indian and Thai influences and are said to date back to 1927.
The Mustafa Centre is a shopping mall in Little India. It is open 24 hours a day every day of the week. It started in 1971 as a garment shop that was situated in Campbell Lane and grew into a centre where there are over 300,000 products you can buy and stocks almost anything you can imagine. It is a go-to spot for locals who are looking to get cheap essentials at all odd hours of the night.
A must-visit site in Little India is the Indian Heritage Centre. It is a modern building that was influenced by the architecture of Indian step-wells. It towers over small shops and dinghy houses in Little India and is a great place to visit to learn more about the ethnic Indian Singaporeans. It houses many artefacts and can take you through the story of Indians in Singapore and how the community evolved throughout history.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a pas...
