Chinatown

On Wednesday afternoon I went to Chinatown with some other members of the SEAS group! We took the MRT (which is the Singapore Subway) from campus straight into street stalls and a massive food court. After briefly watching an older Chinese man sing a folk song while also playing multiple instruments, we went to look for some food. I settled on some dumplings because it was one of the only dishes I recognized, but they were very tasty.

Then we set off do so some shopping! First we walked into a large indoor mall. There were a lot of Chinese stores inside, but it was not we were expecting Chinatown to be like. We walked down the streets outside of the main courtyard where the food and mall were and found many more Chinese shops and restaurants, but it was by accident that we saw the real heart of chinatown. Down a small side street with lanterns hanging from above were tons of street vendors, selling chinese clothes, shoes, and trinkets. There were also really cool carved chopsticks, paintbrushes, and decorative stamps. There was so much to look at; we didn't even see all of it! I ended up buying a pretty green pashmina scarf for only three Singapore dollars! It was overall definitely a cool place to see and a great place to get some souvenirs. I will probably be going back to do some more shopping.