Shoes Off...again...and again...

One of Jim's main interests in Singapore is to visit places of worship. Last week it was the Buddhist temple, so today we set out to visit a Hindu Temple called Sri Mariamman. It certainly stands out, with its ornate tower. And yes, you have to remove your shoes and leave them at the door. It's weird to see Jim walking around in public in his socks. He doesn't even do that at home.



The first thing Jim did was ask one of the bare chested Hindu priests if he could have his picture taken with him. He agreed.

While we were there, a bell started to toll, joined by a drum beat and a musical horn that I didn't recognize. It was 12:00 noon and time for the priests to complete a ceremony to the main deity, Sri Mariamman. We hurried around to see it. Jim got one photo before the camera batteries died. I hurried to a nearby shop to buy some more (had to stop to put on the sandals). When I got back, the compartment door was closed and the goddess had been put to sleep. But Jim got several great photos of other statues.

Notice the flower garlands that I saw earlier in the market.

As they leave, devotees ring one of the bells attached to the door, and their prayers will be answered. I thought the bells were very high, I doubt if I could reach them.


Just down the street was a quiet Mosque with a very friendly young guide who declined to have his photo taken. Of course, shoes off again! He gave us a mini tour and explained how Muslims pray 5 times a day and showed us the timetable for the year. It was almost time for the 3rd prayer of the day, but we weren't allowed to take photos of the people anyway. So we left, ate some Indian food for lunch and went back to the hotel to cool off in the pool. It was a cloudy day but still hot for us. We were the only ones in the big pool -- oh, those crazy Canadians.