Eating and Walking, Walking and Eating

Good morning! It is 6:30 am here, and I am clearly still adjusting to the time change, as I woke up at 5 am. I just uploaded pictures... be sure to check these out:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103282191594258450127/Singapore2?authkey=Gv1sRgCODWgICU_77Ldw&feat=directlink

These are mostly from Saturday and feature Chinatown, the walk through the Raffles/Marina area, Arab Street and Little India.  We most definitely ate our way through the city, starting at the Maxwell Hawker Center in Chinatown.  A hawker center is like an outdoor food court, and in Singapore the government tightly regulates the health standards in hawker centers.  We headed to this particular venue after some research.  Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" featured this locale as the best place for chicken rice, a typical Singaporean dish.  So we ventured to find a vendor called Tian Tian Hianese.  

Long queues reassured us that this was the place to be, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Others tried more dishes, soya smoothies, dumplings, even grass jelly drink, but I was more than satisfied with the chicken rice.  

Chicken Rice

Next, we walked from Chinatown through the Raffles/Marina area to Arab Street, another one of Singapore's famous heritage areas.  Here are some maps and photos to give you an idea of the route.  

Arab Street

Sultan Mosque (Arab Street)

After Arab Street, we cut through the Thieve Market to reach Little India.

Little India

We decided to eat at Banana Leaf in Little India, where you actually eat your food family style off of banana leaves instead of plates.  

Biryani Rice on a banana leaf

After a full day of walking and eating, we headed back to NUS (campus).  After taking a refreshing dip in the pool and much needed showers, we decided to explore some nightlife and headed to Clarke Quay.