Singapore: Little India is Singapore's Tamil neighborhood

One reason I love visiting Singapore is because they have preserved significant cultural quarters within the modern city. These include Chinatown, Arab Street and Haji Lane, and Little India which was quite close to the hostel I was staying at along Lavender Street. So from the Little Red Dot, I walked along Jalan Besar (which also has some creative examples of adaptive reuse of old shop houses) to the Tamil ethnic neighborhood of Little India.

It's was quite an interesting walk around Little India which the local Tamils call Tekka. You get to see, smell, taste, hear and feel Tamil culture as you explore the preserved shop houses that line its streets.

Little India Arcade offers visitors a convenient concentration of crafts and souvenir shops. Of course, Little India is also a place where you can get really good Tamil food.

Just like in Singapore's culturally rich neighborhoods, there is a mix of cultures in Little India. It's major places of worship (and attractions) includes the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and the Abdul Gaffoor Mosque.

The main deity of the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple is the Hindu goddess Kali who is associated with empowerment. Bengali workers built the temple in 1881 which might explain why the temple was dedicated to Kali, with devotion to goddess being popular in Bengal. While the Abdul Gafoor Mosque, built in 1859, features Arabian and Renaissance-style architecture.

How to get to Little India
Take the MRT to Little India or Farrer Park

Check out more photos of Little India in the Ivan About Town Facebook page.

Singapore: Santa Grand Hotel Lai Chun Yuen in Chinatown

There are a lot of fine examples of adaptive reuse in Singapore. The hotel I stayed at in Chinatown was no exception. In fact, most branches of Santa Grand Hotels are heritage buildings that have been converted into boutique hotels. They have two branches in Chinatown right beside each other, Santa Grand Hotel Chinatown and Santa Grand Hotel Lai Chun Yuen where I stayed.

According to the marker in front of the hotel, "Lai Chun Yuen was by far the most popular Chinese opera theatre in Singapore in the late 19th century. Built in 1887 and originally designed in the style of a Chinese teahouse, its overwhelming popularity made it a prominent landmark. Patrons would sit around small tables, nibbling tidbits and sipping tea while famous opera singers performed on stage. Wealthier patrons had private cubicles where they enjoyed more personal services, rendered by the girls from the brothels on Smith Street. All these took place in high-ceilinged rooms with wooden balconies, decorated with ornaments and dimly lit lanterns."

The lobby of the hotel is actually the main hall of the old opera house. The Singapore Government required Santa Grand Hotels to preserve many elements of the opera house, including the stage which you can see right above the reception desk. Chinese lanterns adorn the hallways of the hotel.

And my room on the third floor leads to a common wooden balcony that affords guests a view of the street below. The room's furniture and fixtures are modern. But you can see that they've preserved the old wooden floor.

It's nice to see structures like these that survive generations because they are made relevant in changing times through adaptive reuse. The Chinese opera culture declined in the 1930s with the advent of cinema. In fact Lai Chun Yuen was converted into a cinema in 1941. But that did not survive the Japanese Occupation. Today, it is a charming boutique hotel. But you can still feel the spirit of the place as you enter its portals.

Santa Grand Hotel Lai Chun Yuen
25 Trengganu Street, Chinatown
http://www.santagrandhotels.com/laichunyuen.asp

Santa Grand Hotels Central Reservation
E-mail: reservation@santa.com.sg
Tel. No. +65 6298 8889; Fax No. +65 6396 8356

Thank you to the Singapore Tourism Board and Agatep Associates for arranging this visit!

International Day for Monuments and Sites 2012 celebrates World Heritage

In 1983, UNESCO endorsed April 18 as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, on the proposal of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). According to ICOMOS, "This special day offers an opportunity to raise public awareness concerning the diversity of the world’s heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as to draw attention to its vulnerability."

Every year, ICOMOS assigns a theme to the celebration. In 2012, we mark the 40th anniversary of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage or the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. And this year's theme is: World Heritage.

The Philippines has five UNESCO World Heritage inscriptions in 11 cities and municipalities around the country. These are the Tubbataha Reef in Cagayancillo, Palawan, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan, Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (Batad and Bangaan in Banaue, Nagacadan in Kiangan, Hungduan and Mayoyao all in Ifugao), Historic Center of Vigan in Ilocos Sur, and the Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte, Sta. Maria Church in Ilocos Sur, San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila, and Miag-ao Church in Iloilo).

To give you a quick background on how sites get nominated to the UNESCO World Heritage List, read Nominating properties to the UNESCO World Heritage List. To know more about the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Philippines, watch this AVP narrated by Archt. Augusto Villalon. To learn more about the International Day for Monuments and Sites and this year's theme, read the article presenting this year's theme by Alfredo Conti, Chair ICOMOS World Heritage Working Group.