Australia Day

January 26th; Australia Day back home.

We started the day by bussing into Chinatown to check out the temples and the food.
Busses are very much like back home, you can buy a touch card to get on and off and the fares are only a few dollars, great value.

The first stop was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum, which was a functioning Buddhist temple and museum full of old relics.

When we rocked up there was some kind of procession occurring; people attending the Buddhist equivalent of a Church service. 

I was aware but didnt remember; when entering temples you must have your shoulders covered. Luckily they had shawls to use to cover up so that I could still enter.

Inside this museum was incredible. The detail that went into making these ancient relics is just incomprehensible. Carvings of all the different incarnations of Buddha and related gods were very impressive. 

The top-most floor was covered in gold, lining the walls and ceiling.

After, we grabbed a bite to eat from a stall in Chinatown's food court. A few dollars here buys incredibly tasty and filling noodle or rice meals.

We continued to explore the nearby temples, but the first was by far the most impressive.

We decided to head home but in the process stumbled across what turned out to be a great discovery.. an Aussie pub with free wifi that served Aussie beers, but much more importantly, was playing the Triple J Hottest 100!
Needless to say we stayed here for a couple of ($8) pints of Pure Blonde and listened to the tunes.
The staff here were all wearing Australian flag temporary tattoos and were kind enough to give us one, what a great service!

We then came back to the hostel, went out to a local hawker food stall for dinner. Once again, only a few dollars for awesome local food.

The plan for tomorrow is looking like the Singapore Zoo, we'll see what all the fuss is about!