Chinatown and Surrounding Areas

On Saturday afternoon, I set off for Chinatown armed with a map of murals to track down. This entry records some of the sights I saw along the way; the mural photos are in a separate entry.

I started my explorations at Chinatown Station. The first murals I looked for were between Chinatown Station and South Bridge Road to the east. At South Bridge Road, I turned north to explore some murals. Along the way, I saw two Atlas Obscura-listed places of worship - Sri Mariammam Temple, and Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. I then backtracked and made my way south to Ann Siang Hill. After that, I went southwest towards the Duxton Hill area, before turning heading west to Craig Road and north to Neil Road. From Neil Road, I turned north towards Keong Saik Road before ending my explorations at the Majestic Hotel which features another Atlas Obscura - a plaque site called the Place of Refuge. Unfortunately, I could not make sense of what the plaque was about, and the Atlas Obscura writeup also lacked context.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/buddha-toot…
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sri-mariamm…
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/place-of-re…

After my explorations, I took the MRT from Outram Station back to my mother's condo where I had a nice refreshing dip in the pool to cool off.

This was a fun outing and I got to explore an area I normally wouldn't have explored on foot. Chinatown and its surrounding area has been spruced up nicely, but, sadly, the lived-in authenticity is now gone. I much preferred Little India which I visited yesterday because it still feels lived in.

I wish I had thought to download mural maps of Little India and Kampong Glam, as that would have given additional structure to my wanderings yesterday. I intend to do more mural hunting in those districts when I return to Singapore in February next year.Read more