Reflections on Singapore

While traveling around Singapore, we had the opportunity to see many different religious sites and places of worship. This included a Buddhist temple, a Hindu temple, and a mosque. Seeing all of these religious coexist in such a small area was incredibly interesting as the coexistence of these religions is an immense struggle in many other areas of the world. While we were unable to enter the mosque, we were able to go inside the Hindu temple and the Buddhist temple. In the Hindu temple we were instructed to remove our shoes and cover our shoulders, and we witnessed gorgeous artwork on the ceiling and many different relics of worship. In the Buddhist temple, we were also told to cover our shoulders, but our shoes were allowed to stay on until we entered the fourth floor where there were designating praying areas, a massive relic, and no photography allowed. Something interesting about this building was the orchid garden on the roof, which boasted an immense amount of flowers and plants that were an incredibly gorgeous bonus to this overall enriching experience. Seeing these religious sights within a big city really helped put Singapore into perspective for me.