Paradoxically in the middle of Chinatown, this is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, originally built in 1823, then rebuilt in 1843. You can't miss the fabulously animated, Technicolor 1930s gopuram (tower) above the entrance, the key to the temple's South Indian Dravidian style. Sacred cow sculptures grace the boundary walls, while the gopuram is covered in plasterwork images of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.
Every October, the temple hosts the Thimithi festival; devotees queue along South Bridge Rd to hotfoot it over burning coals.