Skywatch Friday - Little India - Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is located in the middle of Little India in Singapore. The temple has a long history and was built in 1881 and dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali. You can read more of its history from the official website.

Noticed the several bells on the doors, devotees entering the temple ring the many bells on its door, hoping to have their requests granted.

For other sky watchers, please hop over to Skywatch blog.

My World Tuesday - Sultan Mosque

,Masjid Sultan (Malay for Sultan Mosque, is located at Muscat Street and North Bridge Road). The mosque is considered one of the most important mosques in Singapore. The prayer hall and domes highlight the mosque's star features.

Sultan Mosque has stayed essentially unchanged since it was built, with only repairs carried out to the main hall in the 1960s and an annex added in 1993. It was gazetted as a national monument on 14 March 1975. You can read more about the mosque from source.

Another view of the mosque from another angle.

I like patronizing the snack store near the mosque, they serve very good curry puff...yummy.

The street in front of the mosque is decorated with malay decorations because Hari Raya Puasa is approaching soon. It is on 21st September 2009.

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

Skywatch-Friday-St. Joseph's Church

Saint Joseph's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Singapore. The church was constructed from 1906 to 1912 with its foundation-stone laid two years earlier. The building was built in the Gothic style by the Portuguese Mission. For more on this church you can view from source.

Looking at the church from another angle. Geez, I am such a poor photographer...lol.

I took this photo of the church from Waterloo Complex through this rounded structure. If only the small tree would not obstruct the view, it would look better.
The taller building opposite the church is the National Library which I had posted earlier.

Closer look at the church's beautiful windows.

My second sister is a catholic and sometimes she comes to this church for service. My family is like my country, we have buddhist, taoism, christain, catholic and free thinkers and we live in harmony. :)

For other sky watchers, please hop over to Skywatch blog.

My World Tuesday-Walking trip along Coleman Street-St. Andrew's Cathedral

Today, I will begin a series of what I see along the Coleman Street. Coleman Street and Hill Street are my two playgrounds during my childhood times...lol. During those times, there were not many tall buildings or cars. My late grandparents used to stay in those pre war shophouses near Coleman Street where the now Funan Centre is.(It Complex-will post about Funan another day.)

This is the famous St Andrew's Cathedral which is protected under the heritage law.

I love the beautiful architectural design of the church. You can read more about it in here.

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

Please come back tomorrow for more posts on Coleman Street.

My World Tuesday-Sri Marriamman Temple

Slippers, sandals, shoes, socks over here and over there......... No...... these footwears are not dump here nor are they on sale...lol.

Visitors to the temple need to remove their footwear before entering the temple.

You can view another post on this temple in my previous post.

This is the Sri Marriamman Temple in Chinatown. This temple is very old dated back 1827. Photographers always love to take photo of these figurines on top of the entrance of the temple. I like to be a bit different so I took some photos of the side of the building of the temple. It is very interesting.

From the side gate, you could see the large compound in the temple.

Beside the side gate, is this beautiful balcony. I never knew it existed here...lol. Glad that I took a walk at the side of the temple.

The balcony is so beautiful with all these lovely designs.

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

P.S. I hope the rain will stop....... been raining since last week. I am going to run out of photos to post...lol. I need to get out and get more fresh photos. :)

My World Tuesday - Sculpture Square

This is a methodist church known as Kampong Kapor Methodist Church at Middle Road. It has a long history and is one of the oldest church in Singapore and protected as a heritage building. It has since moved to a new location and this present church is part of the sculpture square.



The church was formerly known as "Malay Church" because they conduct their services in malay to cater to malay speaking christains. For more of its rich history you can view their offical website.

Love the beautiful windows of the church.

Around the church you can also see lots of sculptures.

For more information on the sculpture square you can view their official website .

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Part 2

Still in the vicinity of kwan Im Temple, I spotted some people touching the laughing buddha. The laughing buddha belongs to a shop in the background just next to the Kwan Im temple. The shop sells mainly buddhist statues, artefacts, charms, etc. The owner was smart to attract customers by placing a huge laughing buddha outside his shop. Not sure how it started, but everyone seems to touch the laughing buddha for luck, blessings and etc.

And no, I dont follow suit, never went to touch the laughing buddha....lol. No. 1, am a free thinker, No. 2, since SARS(a deadly unknown disease), never wanted to touch anything that have so many people touch.

I know of a friend who dont go out because it is 14 (means sure die in cantonese)....lol. So you could only see him out in the street except on the 14th of every month, dont he go to work on the 14? And someone I knew had No. 8(means prosper in chinese) on his car license plate, house number, telephone telephone, etc but now he is a bankrupt. I am just happy and contented with each day waking up still alive. :)

Sorry for the shaky video...lol. I was minding my steps and not holding the camera properly.

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple

Singapore is a food and shopping paradise. Singaporean loves looking for food and shopping and travelling. But we do find time for prayers.

The main religions are Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism.

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple is a very famous temple in waterloo street. The temple is also involved in charity work, contributing to several health and educational organisations. For more information on the temple you can view wikipedia.

On auspicious date, the temple will be very crowded. Outside the temple were some vendors selling incense papers, josssticks and lotus flowers.

The lotus flower is a favourite as the goddess of mercy is always depicted standing inside the lotus flower.

A short video of the temple.

For more photos of place of worship in my blog, you can view them here.

Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (Singapore) (BTRTS) was founded in 2002 by Venerable Shi Fa Zhao. The Temple will be dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha, which means 'The Compassionate One', and also called 'The Future Buddha'.

The temple was built in the heart of Chinatown and houses some museums. More than 60,000 donors have given the temple $45 million and 270kg of gold. The gold was later melted and rebuilt into a 3.6m-high stupa to house the tooth relic.

Day view of the temple.

Night View of the temple.

You can visit the temple website to know more of it. http://www.btrts.org.sg/Eng_Index.html

Sri Marriamman temple in Chinatown

Sri Marriamman temple is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple dated back to 1827. The gopuram or the tower over the entrance of the temple is covered with figurative sculptures of gods and goddesses and mythological beasts, this tower is visible from afar so devotees can even say their prayers without stepping inside the temple. (Source: Uniquely Singapore).

These sculptures of gods are so lovely and well crafted.

Answer to Door Quiz

Yayyy, Gordon got the answer right and the answers given by the rest are very close too. Yes, the bells are for ringing...hahaha. Thank you for participating in the fun quiz.

The doors are part of a Hindu temple, Sri Mariamman Hindu Temple located in Chinatown . Gordon explained very well in his comments in my previous post.

At the door, devotees ask God to grant their requests by ringing the bells before entering. So that is the reason why the bells are there. They also purify themselves by washing their hands and feet, and sprinkling water on their heads. (Source: Uniquely Singapore)



I will post the pictures of the temple tomorrow. It will be very lovely and beautiful.

QUIZ NO. 1

Saw this beautiful door. They are so different in that one row is without bells and another row with bells. Can you guess why the bells are there?

I will tell you in another post where this door is and why the bells are there, after you have fun answering the quiz. Sorry no prize for guessing right cause I am a poor blogger with no sponsors...hahaha.

Chinese New Year 2008

I saw these beautiful decorations in front of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown. I am not sure if they are part of the Chinese New Year Decorations or for prayers purposes. Anyway I find them attractive and cute so I just snap them with my camera.

I noticed most of them have lotus flowers with them. As this is a buddhist temple, the lotus flower has a meaning.

In Buddhism it is believed that the lotus is a water lily that grows in murky ponds and takes its roots in the black soil. Just as the beautiful lotus blossom grows from the mud, human beings can also detach themselves from suffering, to rise above the earthly and blossom as Buddhas.

Significantly, the color of the lotus too has an important bearing on the symbology associated with it:
1). White Lotus (Skt. pundarika; Tib. pad ma dkar po): This represents the state of spiritual perfection and total mental purity (bodhi). It is associated with the White Tara and proclaims her perfect nature, a quality which is reinforced by the color of her body.

2). Red Lotus (Skt. kamala; Tib: pad ma chu skyes): This signifies the original nature and purity of the heart (hrdya). It is the lotus of love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It is the flower of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion.

3). Blue Lotus (Skt. utpala; Tib. ut pa la): This is a symbol of the victory of the spirit over the senses, and signifies the wisdom of knowledge. Not surprisingly, it is the preferred flower of Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom.

4). Pink Lotus (Skt. padma; Tib. pad ma dmar po): This the supreme lotus, generally reserved for the highest deity. Thus naturally it is associated with the Great Buddha himself."

(Source:http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/general_symbols_buddhism.html)