Little India, Singapore

Little India

My boyfriend and I are utterly obsessed with Little India in Singapore for a multitude of reasons. First of all, it is so colorful. These pictures (which you might have seen on my Modcloth Travel Bug post) barely scratch the surface of this beautiful and dynamic rainbow-region of Singapore; the buildings, wall murals, street vendor wares, the marigold necklaces… And don't even get me started on the saris! There's so much to take in and look at - not to mention buy!

Another reason we can't enough of Little India is the food. Stephen is curry-crazy and eats it any chance he can get. For me, I'm all about the mint-corriander chutney and butter masala at Delhi Restaurant. Oh, and butter nan. (Basically anything with butter. You can take the Southern girl out of the South but you can't take the South outta the girl…) In between wandering around and shopping, we always get roti prata with gravy and lime juice for a snack at one of the side street hawker centers. We usually will grab a few beers at Countryside Cafe, too. It's this charming little bar on the backpacker's street where the lovely and welcoming owner, Shiree, will gladly chitchat with patrons. I don't think she's ever met a stranger!

Stephen and I also always feel nostalgic when walking around Little India. Even the smell of incense takes me back to three years ago. In summer 2012, Stephen was planning a month long trip to Northern India and at this point, we had been dating for about a month. He asked me to go with him and I laughed in his face! I thought he was insane. But luckily, Kristen and he convinced me to go and I'm so glad I did. It was hard work traveling there and India is full of crazy extremes but we experienced so much there and created so many memories together. The beginning of a long-lasting relationship is incredibly exciting anywhere but to do that in India…! So Little India holds a special place in my heart, personally.

For this particular visit, I actually went with my friend Lauren from Fried Green Kimchi. She had recently moved to Singapore so it was only too fun showing her my favorite little haunts and she did such an incredibly job capturing all the colors of the area! She also does amazing things with fusion food on her blog so I'm really curious to see what she'll cook up for the Singaporean-Indian-Western dishes... (**hint, hint**)

The Outfit

I bought this dress years ago on super discount at Target. I almost didn't get it because it's just a smidge too big for my taste. Or so I thought. But with the loose shift dresses being a huge trend now (and very necessary) for summer, it's just the ticket! And who can resist red and turquoise together in a bird print? No one in my book, that's who. To me, this dress is very much the style of many young Singaporean women I see: a fun and casual dress to easily throw on, a simple tote bag, great sandals. The girly little bow was a Lindsey touch, though!