I decided to go to the Singapore National Museum after school. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the Lee Kwan Yew exhibition when I was there. I googled and searched, what is the easiest and most efficient way to get to the National Museum. I traveled from school so at that point, the easiest way for me to get their was via the 518 express bus. I stopped at the bus stop in front of the YMCA and walked from there. The bus ride was approximately 35-40 minutes and walking time is about 5 minutes(depends on speed) before I got to my destination. The building is really hard to miss. It is a huge white building with colonial architecture. In my opinion, it was beautiful (I am a person who likes vintage stuff and buildings). I was immediately drawn to the architecture of the building that I just had to snap a picture of it.
This mat actually showcase the talent of the Nonyas. They are known for their beaded items.
Here is a close up of it. Look at how much work is put into actually create this piece. Truly amazing.
When I entered the museum, immediately I felt the cool air of the museum. My immediate react was "shiok" because it was a very hot day. I thought I would get lost in such a big museum like this being the "Direction Idiot" that I am but there were many signage to lead you to where you intend or need to be. When I start to go in further, it was very peaceful, very quiet. I think if you dropped a pin people would have heard it. I decided to go up to the free Lee Kwan Yew exhibition on the second floor. I really wanted to go for the main exhibition but I was almost a month too late. It ended on the 25th April 2015. I was only left with the free exhibition. You all might think like "Oh free exhibition = Lousy" or "Free exhibition leaves you with 0 knowledge of Lee Kwan Yew" but no. The exhibition was small but there were a lot of information on the boards.
Not to bad right? The boards were filled with information! Read up and learnt quite a bit about him too.
After exploring the free exhibition, I decided to head over to the other side of the museum. On the way there, I found this machine under the staircase. Want a cheap souvenir from the National Museum? I highly recommend this.
I carried on my way to the main area of the older side of the building and to my disappointment, the second level of the museum is currently under renovation till the end of September. That did not stop me from appreciating the designs of the museum.
Since there were no exhibitions in the National Museum that I can go to, I decided to check out the area where all the pamphlets and brochures of the other museums. There, I found a brochure on the Peranakan Museum and the Singapore Philatelic Museum.
Peranakan museum was the nearest so I decided to head to the Peranakan museum first. On the way to the Peranakan museum, you would pass by a restaurant that sells authentic Peranakan cuisine but they were closed because we went around around 4 plus. They only open from 11am-3pm and 6pm to 9.30pm. I also passed by substation. I found out through the brochures there that substation is a theatre that showcase local productions and just next door is Peranakan Museum.
Took a mandatory tourist shot and proceeded into the museum. At such museums you would not really expect a guard or a doorman to open the door for you right? One of the staff opened the door for us to enter and actually greeted us. Immediately you would feel very welcomed. Best part of this museum is that LOCALS ENTER FOR FREE! Just remember to bring your IC along when you visit this museum. I got my sticker and I went to the exhibition on the first floor.
Here is a short video of what you see at the area on the first floor. I proceeded up the stairs to the second floor, there they will show you the ways of the Nonyas and Babas.
Here are just the type of furniture that are used by them in the old days.
These are just some of the costumes that are worn during weddings.
Last but not least, another mandatory tourist shot at the top level of the musem. I would have to say I enjoyed my visit to the Peranakan Museum I really enjoyed myself will definitely make a second trip there.
Since there was some time left, I decided to head to the Singapore Philatelic museum which was also walking distance from the Peranakan Museum. That day I saved a lot of money and burn quite a lot of fats due to the walking and of course the weather. The Philatelic museum is easy to spot because it is hard for you to miss a European style red mailbox in the middle of a pathway in Singapore. The moment I walked in, I saw a sort of messy surrounding due to the small building so everything seems very cluttered. It was very quiet, it seemed very much like a ghost town. Could be due to the lack of marketing? I am not very sure. To be honest, I did not come across this museum until I saw the brochure at the National Museum. Again, free admission for locals. I got my sticker and proceeded into the museum. The first thing I saw was a Elvis Presley tribute area.
Headed up to the second floor to see their old mail systems and the old kind of stamps.
Here is a video of me attempting to play the piano at the children play area in the Philatelic museum.
This pretty much sums up my day and my trip to the 3 museums. I would say that I would definitely return to the National Museum as I have been there quite a few times before they commenced renovation and I really like the exhibitions they carry out there as for Peranakan Museum I would go back again to make sure I cover every corner of the museum, I saw an area which is an up and coming part of the museum. Probably a new exhibition. I would recommend to go to Singapore Philatelic museum at least once in their life but if you ask me, I do not think I would be heading back a second time until there is a new feature or exhibition there.
No comments:
Post a Comment