Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Sanctuaries



Holy dancing queens.

On our second day in Singapore, the itinerary dictated a half-day city tour in the morning. Having been there many times before, I was tempted to skip it in lieu of staying in bed - but good thing I didn't, otherwise I'd have missed the once-in-a-lifetime chance to grab Gwen Stefani's waist.

Anyhow, after our fortuitous run-in with Stefani in Little India, it was off to Chinatown. As you know, Singapore is made up of three main ethnicities: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. Since there is a Chinatown anywhere in the world, I would've wanted to visit the Malay quarters instead, but itineraries are itineraries.

I wasn't in a shopping mood, so I spent my time just looking around and taking these pictures:



Holy man?

 
 Holy light.


Holy smokes!

While the rest of my group worshipped at the bustling bazaars, I was drawn in by the quiet serenity of a nearby Chinese temple. I  lit a joss stick, dropped a token contribution, and offered a silent prayer. Had we known about the gathering tempest in Manila at that time, I would've said a prayer for everyone else. But we wouldn't hear of it until that night, and so my prayer was personal, and private.


Holy house.

A short distance away, I stopped at the doors of a Hindu temple, where a marriage was quietly taking place.

 
Holy matrimony.

Temples are peaceful and calm. Oases for the tempests life brings. Sanctuaries for our souls.


Holy cow!

16 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. In the same vein, I love in old churches here in the Philippines and abroad.

    Whether Romanesque, Gothic, or Baroque/Rococo, I could spend hours, I could spend hours gazing at the architecture and at every detail that the eyes can capture.

    But most of the time, it's always a great option to scoot into when it's too hot outside haha

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  3. @ Eternal Wanderer : Well, monuments of worship provide refuge for both body and soul - or should.

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  4. i remember the chinese bell church sa baguio dyan sa mga pics.

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  5. Rude: can i ring your bell while i pet engel's parrot?

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  6. @ E.W.: Gimme a little time to think about that, Quasimodo.

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  7. @ engel : Just brought my brother to the airport. Can't go back to sleep yet - had a stupid nightmare involving yapping housewives, a lynch mob, and a crazed dog.

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  8. ahhh housewives. yeah that'd be a nightmare =D

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  9. nasa SG 'yung ex ko. manganganak na any moment. wala lang bitter pa din

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  10. Rude: don't you just love how your comments evolved from churches to bells to nightmares to birthing ex's?

    hahahahha

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  11. @xtian1978iii : Ba't naman bitter?

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  12. @ E.W. : Well, you know how everything's eventually interconnected heheh.

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  13. kakaiba yung decoration ng hindu wedding. Dahon ng saging at palaspas. At least environment friendly and low cost.

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  14. @ Ming : Filipiniana ang motif, di ba?

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