Arab Street

We went on an excursion to Arab street yesterday. It was very neat and we saw some beautiful sights!

I think these men are pretty famous. My dad knows the story behind them. I have statues of them at my house also :)

Don't know what is up with this building but I thought it was very pretty.

These are very very colorful HDB's (housing complex's)

We accidentally came across this temple. It was very very beautiful.

But if you were a man, you couldn't enter through this gate.

I loved the windows on it!

This is a religious thing here too. This man is burning fake money for their God.

Found another temple. Very very ornate!!! Mom said we could probably view the inside but I thought my husband might divorce me if I did..lol

Temple at the end the street we were shopping on.

They had some very neat shops with some very neat things in them. This is some of mom's favorites.

We found some 'hookah' pipes here. That's not what they call them here but that's what I know them as in the states. I saw a documentary on them a while back and have been fascinated with them ever since. They such a huge place in history. They are very much a part of the culture, history, and politics of the people that have used them.  Read about them on wikipedia: Hookah Pipes

The Turkish restaurant we ate at had some beautiful things on the walls.

I wanted to take a nap after lunch, but this guy took my napping spot.

There dozens of fabric shops with THOUSANDS of fabrics..most of them silk. Unbelievable!!

I have seen these around here and there. They are how people drink their drinks here. I see kids with them and adults. My favorite place I have seen them is hanging over the handle bars of a motorbike.

Mom showed us the art of Batik. It is very cultural here and I was excited to see exactly how it was done. Mom got us a tool that we can use to make some at home. I am excited to try it when we get home. I ALMOST bought a painting to bring home..but I resisted.

Read about Batik Here

Here is the information that my dad posted in the comments about the first picture and the Hell notes (fake money):

Here are a couple of links for information on Fu Lu Shou.
Fu is the god of happiness and fortune.
Lu is the god of wealth and official ranking.
Shou is the god of longevity.
 
http://ezinearticles.com/?Feng-Shui-Fu-Lu-Shou&id=2031630

http://www.iching-fengshui.com/pFulu.htm


The fake money is called Hell Bank Notes and is burned so that ones deceased family members have sufficient money in the afterlife.
Hell doesn't mean the same to the Chinese as it does to us, see this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_bank_note