at the corner of boon teck road and balestier road, there is this stand with two aluminium containers of warm tea. at least, it was warm that morning when i felt the sides of the containers. i did not take a drink because i did not feel the urge.
i remember during my younger days, when i walked back to my home from moulmein road, i would sometimes stop outside the kuang chee tng temple to quench my thirst from a container of tea. it did not matter that the tea was not warm. i was just grateful for something to drink on a warm day. i do not know whether that temple still provides free tea.
these chinese temples are just adhering to two of the taoist doctrines - distributing medicine to the sick and those in pain and giving tea to refresh the thirsty and weary. at the boon teck road temple, they not only provide free tea, they also provide free medical consultations by both traditional chinese medicine practitioners (tcm) and western-trained doctors.
however, i would like to suggest to them that they provide disposable plastic cups rather than those porcelain cups. there does not seem to be any facility for washing the cup after you have drunk from it.
