Partaking in the National Pastime

Most guidebooks will tell you that life in Singapore is all about 2 things: eating and shopping.  Having been here 2 weeks now and making some new friends, I set out yesterday doing just that.  A few of the other pharmacists and pharmacy students from the National Cancer Centre took me out to dim sum today and we were not shy with the ordering!

The dim sum was fantastic but I'll wait and see how it compares to Hong Kong at the end of my adventure.  After lunch, one of the students (a local) took me and my co-student from Western all around the main parts of the city.  In a span of 12 hours, we went to 9 different malls and 1 museum!  One of the stops was the Peranakan Museum which (lucky for us) was free admission when we visited.

This museum is dedicated to the history and culture of the Peranakans, a mixed ethnic group that came into existence when traders from China settled on the Malay peninsula and Singapore and adapted into the local society and culture about 200 years ago.

One mall in particular was enormous beyond measure.  Mustafa Centre is open 24 hours and I can only describe it as a 6 story Wal Mart mega-ultra-supercenter.  On the 3rd floor, there are 50+ aisles of snacks alone!

I probably spent 2 hours inside and haven't seen everything yet but we got hungry and since we were already in Little India, of course we had to get some Indian food:

Chicken Tikka and Garlic Naan

All in all, a long, exhausting day but I did see a ton of stuff!