#lier??? vila?????

[karkkledoodle]

FLOYDS I NEVER POSTED + ocs (:

idk why lila and vier are kissing they are not together in canon (yet?)(never)(who knows)

[alibraryinmyluggage-blog]

Little India in Singapore is a neighbourhood where you can find a feeling of the “old Singapore”.  Small streets, colourful houses with elaborate decorations, temples side by side with strange shops selling gold and spices, henna and souvenirs.

When you are looking for a feeling from the past, perhaps occasionally shabbier but vibrant, food-oriented and not so much focused on keeping face take a walk in Little India in Singapore.

  Tekka Market the heart of Little India

As you probably know Singapore is (arguably) mostly about the food. As a mixture of cultures has gathered and intertwined on this island city-country, each has brought along their idea of food. 

Start your tour of Little India from Tekka Market. It is hard to imagine a place more packed with various foods. Despite it being a Monday when quite a few stalls are closed, I am being greeted by a smell of basmati rice.  This base smell casually mingles with aromas of different spice mixes, pungent and intense.

The place is hopping and popping. Rows and rows of booths offer hot, spice food or fruity cold drinks. Small tables are filled with people, groups of friends, families and working people. Each with a tray of food. Some trays are covered with banana leaves (in Singapore!) and the food is piled straight on top of it. 

  Food prices on Tekka Market seem to start from S$3.5 and S$6-10 will definitely get you a huge hot meal. Another truly amazing thing about this market is also that most items actually come with a price tag. If you have travelled in SE Asia (or Arab countries) for a while you might appreciate the fact as much as I did. 

  The second floor of Tekka Center

  The second floor is dedicated to Indian traditional costumes and inexpensive clothing. Elaborately embroidered and shining costumes in a full spectrum of colours are on the place of honour. 

    However, next to fancy garments are also the kind of dresses and leggings you can find in most markets around the world.  Stretchy one-size-fits-no one clothes and piles of socks. The kind of one-time wash items. There are some things that seem to be constant throughout the world. 

  Little India in Singapore

As the rain has lessened a bit I decide to walk on and explore the Little India neighbourhood further. 

    A mini-rant about travel blogging

There is one question that has been bugging me for a while about travel blogging, should we write about mediocre experiences as well?

When you read typical travel writing everything is perfect. According to travel blogs travelling consists of things being high phase and fabulous. Photos only have amazing hair days, perfect makeup and hot-dog tights. The food is only ever decorated with butterfly breath, fairy dust and dew drops.  

Or alternatively, everything is horrible. You hear about how the bus smelled like garlic, feet and armpits. Obviously, the intensity of the smell is in correlation with how much the bus ride will take longer than scheduled. Also, the horrible food poisonings and having your possessions stolen. Hostels where your bunk neighbours are having an orgy all night through and you are not invited, etc. All these things seem to be the breaks between everything being absolutely perfect.

However, taking a risk of being called a lier, I have to say that that is not how my travelling usually goes. Sure, there are plenty of awesome things and occasionally some pretty horrid stuff as well. Believe it or not, but a lot of travelling (even to all these exotic locations) actually ends up being somewhere in-between perfect and disaster.  

What inspired this rant? Well, it would not be possible for me to write about food in Singapore and not to mention what I had for lunch, right? As against all the internet odds some of my meal experiences in Singapore have been less than perfect and above a disaster. It does happen! Even in the world of travel bloggers. So let’s talk about it. 

  Blast from the past 

“The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question ‘How can we eat?’ the second by the question ‘Why do we eat?’ and the third by the question ‘Where shall we have lunch?” ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

  ‘Old Singapore’ naturally also means places that have been open since the 30s or 40s. Komala Vilas has been here since 1947 and serves traditional South Indian vegetarian food. So naturally, I had to give it a try. 

Food in Komala Vilas. Menu photo (left) and actual serving (right).

With affordable food, one does not expect much. Thankfully, as even with the modest expectations based on the menu photo reality turned out to be different.

Though to be fair, despite the disappointing visual reminding prison food from movies the taste was ok. So I wrote it down as an experience of an S$5 meal in Singapore.

Also, minimalistic tableware helps to cut down on waste (less water on washing dishes, no banana leaves to discard etc) and labour  (people in Singapore look so overworked so yippee). 

  There is an Indian sweets shop by the same name right next door. This gives me an option to finish off my meal on a sweet note. A single square of white I pick out turns out to be absolutely amazing. 

    The second attempt – Gandhi Restaurant

I am not kidding you, that really is the name of a restaurant where I went a few days later for another lunch.  Obviously I could not refrain from a remark implying that wasn’t Gandhi’s “weapon of choice” a hunger strike?

But silly jokes aside, it is possible to go too far with the political correctness. As the place is run by and frequented by Indian people, who am I to tell them that they can not honour their historical figure the way they like.

  It is around the time for a working people’s lunch. The place is busy, with a line reaching out the door. However, on the side is a food hall. You sit down and get served a tray of food, the meal of the day.

No dishes. Food is placed directly on the banana leaf. While you can get cutlery, most people eat with hands. Pile of rice and vegetables on the side. A guy walks between the tables and tops up people on rice.  Another guy walks around with a bucket containing dahl.

While the main meal is vegetarian you can pick an additional bowl to your carnivore cravings (for an added fee). This food is simple, filling and absolutely delicious. Base meal for under five dollars and meat (or seafood added) for another five is a fairly reasonable price for Singapore. 

Of course, a short walk after a meal brings me to another sweets shop. Finishing up my meal with an assortment of Indian sweets. 

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Little India in Singapore is a neighbourhood that is not overrun by tourists (yet?). Part of the Singapore inheritance it is well worth a day visit. Walk around in the neighbourhood, admire the temples, brows (or ignore) shops and find some food to taste.

  If you are looking for a feeling of "old Singapore" take a walk in Little India a neighborhood that still has some of it left. #VisitSingapore #nomadlife Little India in Singapore is a neighbourhood where you can find a feeling of the "old Singapore".