Sunday, December 30, 2007

Waterloo Street

The part of Waterloo Street flanked by KuanYin temple and the Indian temple, OG shopping centre, Albert Complex and the food centre is a microcosm of daily Singapore life. The rhythm of life is encapsulated on this street. Here, one can see a good representation of the different races living on this island and as well as the various groups of foreigners congregating on this lively street.

Every time I come to this street, I am also enthralled by the many ‘performers’ on the street. These can be peddlers selling some ‘magical’ charms or acrobats performing intriguing acts. Of late, I spot a tiny ‘performer’ (woman in a child’s body) borned with both legs twisted to the front, so that her feet and head face different directions. She was singing on a karaoke set and asking for donations from the crowd of on-lookers.

There are many other interesting ‘performers’ on this street and what I have observed is that many of these ‘performers’ do not look local. Though these performers liven up the street and make the street definitely more interesting than many others in Singapore, I do not know whether their acts carried out on this street contravene any laws or regulations.

Soliciting for donation or money in general has become almost central to this street, from beggars, performers, flower sellers to people asking for donations to help the unfortunate in other countries. Hitherto, I still do not know whether the donation seekers are genuine or bogus seekers exploiting on the charity of temple-goers.

Nevertheless, waterloo street with its mix of good food, culture, religious places of attraction, shopping centres, computer mega stores and a National library in its vicinity is certainly a nice place to hang out at.

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