Chinatown

Friday we went to Chinatown for the first time, which is in south Singapore. A lot of foreigners think it's confusing or redundant that's there's a Chinatown here, since something like 75% of Singaporeans are Chinese. But Singaporean culture is a lot different from Chinese culture, since it's a mixture of Malaysian, Filipino, Indian, and more. And actually, some of the Chinese here are what's called Peranakan, which means part Chinese and part indigenous Malaysian. So it makes sense that there would be a specifically Chinese area, just like there's Little India and Arab Street.

Chinatown here is similar to the Chinatown in San Francisco, it had the same sort of messy, chaotic feel that I can only assume is innately Chinese. The streets were a bit narrow, with lots of shops and restaurants packed along the way. We saw a lot of street vendors set up, which is something we haven't seen much of yet. The food courts are so popular in Singapore, the only street food we normally see is ice cream sold from little carts. But we saw a lot of carts set up down one street, so we got some delicious dim sum rolls as we walked along. It was raining lightly, so everything looked wet and slick, and it added to the overall feeling of disorder. The photos I took came out a little blurry, but I think that totally helps with the mood. It's pretty much how I saw everything anyway, since my mind was cushioned by beer and food.

It was nice to be in that vibrant atmosphere, away from the usual orderly and spotless malls and streets of Singapore. There were lots of lanterns strung up (which I guess China has claimed as their "thing") and they looked so festive and colorful against the rain and dark sky.

It was fun to just meander through the streets, looking at the shops and eating satay and spring rolls, followed by beer and dumplings. We passed a huge and bright red Buddhist temple that was three stories tall at least and all lit up in lights.

Part of me wants to go back during the day to look around some more, but I kind of like the fuzzy, bright and loud impression that I got from our night. I'd hate to replace that memory with something more ordinary.

Saturday morning we finally caved in and did something we had been putting off for weeks. I knew it would happen eventually; once we learned about it, it was really only a matter of time. We tried not to, really we did, but it was raining outside and we didn't want to leave, so we did it. We had McDonald's delivered. I don't know how this happened, what insane and cruel individual thought this up, but it doesn't matter now. The point is, it exists, and there's no way to stop it. You just go online, select what you want, and within 20 minutes, SOMEONE BRINGS YOU MCDONALD'S. Who thought this would be a good idea? Isn't McDonald's bad enough, does it really need to come right to my door? There needs to be a middle man for this type of food, to keep me away from it. There needs to be some shame involved, but I won't feel bad if I'm eating fast food in the privacy of my own home. This is a dangerous thing, my friends. A dangerous thing indeed....