I have to admit that I love the Indian culture. At least the visual part of it, so colorful, so full of life, full of fantasy, full of creatures and gods and heroes and all entwined together in what seems to be a zoo of semi mini beliefs which always sends me into long trips in my imagination.

I also have to admit I like Singapore, for many reasons, so I am not totally objective but who wants to be objective when you are walking into a beautiful Indian temple in the middle of sunny Singapore, when you pass the little india part of the city, with all the smells and visions of a mini Indian experience .

The Indian part of town is only three streets in the old center of town but it manages to capture a long heritage of Indian immigrants combined with a very open to minorities societies where culture is still regarded as something of value, something unique.

I grew up in a Judeo-Christian environment where god is invisible (or a guy with a big beard, depending how ignorant you are) and the whole story of religion is more a philosophical argument with some strong symbols or icons. More so, as the judeo part is less of a show-off than the Christian path, we did not even have the colorful iconography and artwork which comes with churches and their decorations.

And here I am in an Indian temple that looks more like a three dimensional video game, a huge tiger watching me from above, some blue skin demons sitting in the corner, a complete mythology that has grown out of the storybook into real life and in real size.

You just stand there and watch all around you, taking in some of the tales, some of the characters, trying to figure out who is more important by the number of flowers and offerings they get and the traffic of the people.

I haven’t been to india (yet) but this is a nice taste. And if you happen to be in Singapore? Make sure you pass by and when you are done taking in all those colors and beauty? There is a great cheap vegetarian Indian restaurant just down the street. Highly recommended.