Tooth Relic Temple and Museum
When I first visited Chinatown back in the day, one of the first things I spotted was this impressive-looking temple, which, after some digging, turned out to be Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
Now with my interest in both history and architecture, I really needed to get a closer look, take some photos and generally enjoy the atmosphere.
Heading over the street, and yes, I used the crossing, which, even though this is Singapore and not Kuala Lumpur, it's still a busy road, and be safe comes to mind.
Getting to the entrance is when the problem started, it was packed with both worshipers and mainland Chinese tour groups, who, BTW, you can identify by the flag the guide has.
Not wanting to do battle with crowds or get in the way of the worshipers, I decided not to worry about visiting the interior for the day.
For the day, I was going to see what I could, take some photos, etc.
Time to come clean, the above shot has had the people removed with Photoshop. As for why, it's personal preference, where I prefer my photos with few to no people. For those interested, the version with the people can be found here
Gate Guardian Statues at the Temple top
Anyhow, not going to make it inside to look around today, but I am going to have a look around the exterior, with the most striking features being the gate guardian statues.
These two statues are carved from natural granite and decorated with gold paint.
When it comes to the significance, I did some digging and found a summary on the temple website that gives some history.
The two figures are slightly bigger than life-size, carved from natural granite and rimmed with gold paint. Both are depicted contrapposto: their torsos turn inwards towards the temple's entrance while their hips turn outwards. Their feet, closest to the entrance, point towards the doors, forming an L-shape with their other feet pointing straight ahead.
Dressed in only a lower-body skirt and heavenly ribbons, they stand majestically on a big slab of rock. The main ribbons circle around their heads, forming aureoles. Their hair is tied up in a top knot with the ends of the thinner ribbons flaring up on top of their foreheads, resembling horns.
The thicker ribbons are tucked in by the sides of their waists and flow down, barely touching the rock upon which they stand.
Although I have not yet made it inside, my initial thoughts about the temple are its impressive architecture, with some of the best guardian statues I have seen in years. And with my liking for architecture and history, both make my visit well worth it.
Visiting the Main Prayer Hall top
While I was in Singapore in August 2025, I was wandering around Chinatown taking photos, and passed the temple, which, for once, was not crowded, so it was time to go in and explore.
Heading toward the main prayer hall, which had a service running, but still I was allowed to enter, together with a few other tourists. One of the guards asked me to take my hat off, oops, must have missed the signs. Not a problem and far from unexpected in some temples.
In my case, I had my action camera on a head mount, so I had to remove that as well and soon remount it without the hat. It was interesting as the guards did not mind the camera on a head mount, nor did they mind when I asked if it was ok to shoot video and photos.
Ok, that's impressive and worth the wait to see, although I would have liked to get closer to the altar to examine the carvings. Maybe that's something for a future visit, after checking the temple's schedules for downtime.