Visita Iglesia (Seven Churches Visitation); Holy Week 2019

Visita Iglesia is one of the staples during Holy Week. And with my family being Catholic, we do it every Holy Thursday. I tag along every year, as I have always have, even if I am Buddhist.

Seng Guan See Temple; Philippines

It was my birthday and I kind of wanted to detox from all the mundane things I had been doing for the past few days. And since I haven't been able to visit a temple in months, I decided to take the day off and head to my "home" temple, Seng Guan See.

Goddess of Peace Shrine @ Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga; Philippines

Sitting on the gentle slope of Lily Hill in Clark Freeport Zone, sits a Buddhist shrine with a large 5-ton granite statue of Kannon (Tibetan: སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས Chenrezig, Chinese: 観音 Guan Yin); this shrine is called the "Goddess of Peace Shrine".

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery; Singapore

The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (Chinese: 光明山普覺禪寺 Guāngmíng Shān Pǔjué Chán Sì; English: "Bright Hill Pujue Chan Monastery"; Kong Meng San Monastery or KMSPKS for short) is the largest Buddhist temple of Mahayana tradition/teaching in Singapore. The temple has helped promote the teachings of Buddha and bring the Dharma (Chinese: 法 fǎ; Tibetan: ཆོས་ choe) closer to the people.

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple; Singapore

The Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin (觀音菩薩; also known as: Avalokiteśvara Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर, Chenrézik/Chenrézig Tibetan: སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས), the Goddess/Bodhisattva of Compassion and Mercy. The temple was built in 1884, and is one od the oldest Buddhist temples in Singapore. Its structure follows the traditional concept and design of Chinese architecture.

Japanese Cemetery Park; Singapore

The Japanese Cemetery in Hougang Singapore is the largest in South East Asia; spanning over 29,359 square meteres and having a total of 910 tombstones which marks the graves of young Japanese prostitutes, soldiers and convicted war criminals executed at Changi Prison.

Yueh Hai Ching Temple (Wak Hai Cheng Bio); Singapore

One of the oldest temples in Singapore, the Yueh Hai Ching Temple (Chinese: 粵海清廟Yuè Hǎi Qīng Miào; Teochew/Chaozhou dialect: Wak Hai Cheng Bio) was built in 1820 by sailors and traders from China to seek the Gods' help for safe travels on the sea. The temple literally means: "Qing Dynasty Styled Temple of the Cantonese Seas".  The temple was dedicated to the Goddess of the Sea, Ma Zu (Chinese: 媽祖) and was the first Ma Zu temple of the Teochews who settled in Singapore.

Leong San See Temple; Singapore

If there is a temple called Hong San See/Temple on Phoenix Hill/Phoenix Hill Temple there is a temple that is called Leong San See (Chinese: 龍山寺 Lóng Shān Sì; "Dragon Hill Temple" or "Temple on Dragon Hill").

Hong San See Temple; Singapore

Built between 1903 and 1913, for the Hokkien people settling in Singapore from Nan'an City Fujian Province, China. The temple is dedicated to the God of Fortune, Guang Ze Zun (廣澤尊王 or 郭聖王 or 聖王公). The Hong San See Temple (鳳山寺 Fèng Shān Sì; "Temple on Phoenix Hill") once had a view of the sea, but with high rise buildings now surrounding the temple, it no longer sees the sea. But the grandure of the temple still remains. The temple received the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2010.

Thian Hock Keng Temple; Singapore

The Thian Hock Keng Temple (天福宫 Tiānfú Gōng; Temple of Heavenly Happiness) is the oldest Hokkien style temple in Singapore. It's a mix of Taoist and Buddhist. Its main temple is for the Goddess Ma Zu (媽祖), the Goddess of the Sea and protector of fishermen and seafarers. The second temple, at the back, is dedicated to Kuan Yin (觀音菩薩), the Goddess/Bodhisattva of Mercy. The temple was built in 1839, for the Hokkien immigrants settling in Singapore from Fujian, China. Tan Tock Seng and Si Hoo Keh both contributed money for the construction of the temple.

The Graves @ Tiong Bahru; Singapore

There is a burial plot in Tiong Bahru, which used to be a cemetery, amongst the pre-war art deco flats, food centres/shops and its busy streets. Cemetries, especially the older ones, are some of the best places to see the traditions and culture of a country (in my opinion) and with me being an adventurous person with a love for culture, art and history, I decided to go and see it for myself.