I had the pleasure of visiting Chinatown earlier this noon time. I think it would be great to see what kinds of events are taking place there right now. It's Sunday so I'm expecting that it's going to be crowded. It's also a sunny day so squeezing through the narrow alleys of Chinatown may not be the most comfortable feeling but it's going to be a fun experience.
Aside from the variety of stores along the alleys of Chinatown, there's a beautiful temple that is situated directly across the Maxwell MRT station, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
As soon as I stepped out of the MRT station, I was welcomed by this amazing display for this year the dragon.
I had to wait for a while before I was able to take this photo as there were so many people who were trying to take a photo of them together with the display.
This temple has the most elaborate and intricate architectural design here in the city. I'm already amazed by its beauty on the outside but wait until you see the interior as well.
What I noticed about this Buddhist temple is the repetition of the ornaments, hanging lamps, and almost everything that makes this temple. The consistency and precision of the placement blows my mind. Let me show you what I mean by this.
Here's the entrance to the temple. I was welcomed by this intricate sculpture of a dragon that was showcased in different styles. The one below is carved from stone while the other one is a gilded metal sculpture.
After this foyer, I entered the main entrance of the temple.
What a great way to welcome visitors. The symmetry and the repetition of the hanging lamps feel amazing to pass through the massive doorway.
It's a very welcoming place. You don't have to be a believer to enter the temple, you may just wonder with the beauty of the design of the interior.
Here's the kind of repetition that astounded me. The backdrop of this main figure are tiny replicas of it that were arranged in such precision that each of the pieces were perfectly aligned with the rest.
Everything was arranged in arrays and every corner of the room was filled with ornaments and details.
Even the lights on the ceiling were in array arrangement too. It's unbelievable to see the attention to detail of the people who built this temple.
As I approach the main hall, my eyes wander around to see the displays that they have on the wall. I was curious about how long it took to complete everything. I feel like it took them years to create all of these. It shows the strong devotion of the people who made this happen.
As I reached the end of this short journey inside the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, I had high respect for the people who contributed to building this majestic temple. Everything was well thought out and it feels like it was built to last.
