Many hotels in Singapore do not come with breakfast included. I think that is a benefit. It gives you the opportunity to try some of the local food. On my last trip to Singapore we went to Little India. This is an area Singapore full of merchants and shopowners originally from the Indian subcontinent.

The area runs either side of a road called Serangoon Road. It starts in the south at the junction with Sungei Road and officially ends at the junction with Kitchener Road. All the side roads are included in Little India. We made a mistake of getting their too early. Most of the shops do not start to open until about 9.30am.

By luck, we happened to choose one of the best food chains in Little India as our breakfast provider. It was at the corner of Kitchener Road with Serangoon Road. It is known Komala's. It is a vegetarian restaurant and serves the local Hindu population. I went up to the counter and asked what they would recommend for breakfast.

The member of staff pointed to a picture on the printed menu and said this is the most popular breakfast meal. So I ordered one. It was lovely, a large savoury pancake that encased a mild potato and mustard seed curry dish. You are given three side dips. With your hands you ripped off a piece of the savoury pancake and then put it in one of the dips.

With your next piece of pancake you tried one of the other dips. It was one of the most unusual but enjoyable breakfasts I have had. I really recommend you give it a try. To finish the meal they lady recommended we tried a mango Lassie. This is like a sweet yoghurt drink. It took away the mild spicy curry flavour and left a sweet taste in your mouth.

By the time we had finished our breakfast all the shops have opened. We then set about exploring what was on sale. The stores range from tacky souvenirs sellers to good quality cheap clothing shops. I have a problem finding large shirts. In Little India I was able to find large shirts that were of a good quality and only one third of the normal price that I have to pay for the same shirt back home.

Parts of Little India look scruffy and run down but many of the shops have been painted in bright primary colours. They are attractive to the eye and makes you forget about the crumbling plaster and peeling paintwork. If you look above the shop fronts you can glimpse back in time to see how Singapore used to look over 100 years ago. Many of the shops retain their original facade with wooden shuttered windows and ornate plaster work.

One of the other reasons for coming to Little India is to look at the magnificent carvings and external decorations on the Hindu temples. Most guidebooks only mention the one temple which is opposite the junction of Veerasamy Road with Serangoon Road. There are two additional Hindu temples that are worth looking at outside the main little in the area. I will give details of those on the next page will stop

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