Marina Barrage and Singapore at Sunset

Saturday afternoon we had a program field trip to the Marina Barrage, which is a giant water conservation and purification project on the coast of Singapore. The museum and area were interesting, but we were all exhausted and were not the most attentive students. In Singapore, everything (especially what the government is in charge of) seems unreal in compared to the American version. Museums are a prime example, and this museum did not disappoint. From a wall made of recycled water bottle, to floor tiles that responded to your movements and interactive computer exhibits sitting on top of waterfalls, I was continually in awe. At this point, I should be used to it, and I did expect it, but everything is so overdone and perfectly pristine, I can't help but marvel at all of it over and over again.

A view of the Singapore skyline and the reservoir 

Singaporeans head to Marina Barrage to have picnics and fly kites!

Afterwards I went with Heather, Sarah, Lisa, and Helena to the top of Marina Bay Sands hotel to watch the sunset. We had been saving this event for the end, to cap off our time in Singapore, and it turned out to be a great decision to save it for that last free evening. The views of the city and the port of Singapore were phenomenal, absolutely breathtaking.  A major part of the Singapore skyline up until that point had been the Sands hotel, with the giant boat across the top; it was just unreal to view the city from atop the boat.

Singapore Skyline from atop Marina Bay Sands - before sunset

Singapore skyline from atop Marina Bay Sands  - after sunset

View of the Port of Singapore, Marina Barrage, and the new Gardens by the Bay from atop Marina Bay Sands.

Saturday night also happened to be the night that the National day performance was being rehearsed. Therefore, we got a birds eye view of various boat formations, military helicopters carrying a giant Singapore flag through the air, and towards the end, fireworks! Moreover, military planes were practicing the flyovers right on top of us. We were so close, we could see the flames coming out of the engine and I my ears hurt even after jamming my fingers into them as soon as I saw the planes approaching. If I couldn’t see the dancers practicing below us, I would have thought I was in a war zone. 

Military helicopters carrying the Singapore flag across the Singapore skyline

The beginning of fireworks shooting off from the Nation Stadium

After peacefully enjoying the sunset, Heather, Lisa, Helena, and I went to grab some dinner at a nearby Hawker center. I had some delicious Muslim food called Prata. The atmosphere was lively and the weather was beautiful. On our way to grab some of the traditional Singapore ‘brick’ ice cream sandwiches, we noticed a show getting ready to start at the Esplanade outdoor amphitheater. We got our ice cream, took our seats, and enjoyed a fantastic dance show followed by a B-Boy showcase. I was so excited to see some local dance. All of the hip-hop and modern dance crews were great, but my favorite was a troop from Melbourne. They wore black sequined hoodies that zipped up to cover their faces and had the most incredible technique! I was in awe! The night was a perfect way to wrap up our time in Singapore, and made me so sad to leave such an incredible place.

MacRitchie Trails

Saturday morning one of the NUS students who had studied at UNC, Alexius Yeo, took us hiking at the Bukit Timah Nature reserve. I almost didn’t wake up in time (we had a late night clubbing the night before); I rolled out of bed exactly 5 minutes after we were supposed to meet, threw on some clothes and ran out the door! The MacRitchie trails were really nice, clearly marked, and not too far from civilization (my kind of trails). About 5 minutes in, we saw some wild monkeys! They were absolutely adorable and very close to us! There was even a little baby holding on to its mothers stomach!

Our destination was the canopy walk, deep in the jungle.The trails were extremely physically taxing, almost all uphill, and it was HOT! The canopy walk was incredible though. I felt very safe on the suspension bridge and got a great view of the amazing rainforest, and (somewhat ironically) could see the city skyline in the background.

Me on the canopy walk

View from the canopy walk

The hiking group!

The walk back to the city was slightly less tiring, but only slightly. I was completely exhausted and disgustingly sweaty at the end. Lucky for us, there was a surprise waiting at the end of the trails. Wild monkeys were grazing, yes grazing, like cows, it was weird, in a field outside of the nature reserve. It was an incredible sight, but I didn’t want to get too close!

Monkeys hanging out in a field near the Nature Reserve.

After lunch at a nearby Hawker center, we headed back to NUS to get ready for the rest of our day. I was so glad I woke up for this unique experience.  

The oh so famous Durian. In case you
are unfamiliar with the Durian (as I was
before arriving in Singapore) it is a fruit that
smells absolutely AWFUL. It smells so bad
that it is illegal to take them onto the subway.
It does not taste as bad as it smells, but it
doesn't taste very good either.
Singaporeans love Durian (I will never know why).

Funny signs like this are all over Singapore. The ones
in public restrooms urging people to be clean
are the most hilarious.

Temple Running

I had a mad rush to see a few more temples before I left Singapore for Bangkok. I went to Chinatown to hunt down some ancient (or not) religious sites. First, I saw the Sri Mariamman temple. The Sri Mariamman temple is a large and ornate Hindu temple. I afraid to go into the last temple I saw, but I decided to be bold, take off my shoes, and hop on in. I was lucky to arrive when a service was going on. Hindu devotees were walking about, a religious leader was singing loudly and offerings were being made. It was a great experience that I may not have again for a long time. The temple itself was beautiful. The outside was covered in colorful and very three-dimensional carvings of Hindu gods (I’m assuming?). The inside walls were painted elaborately with wonderful bright colors. I wanted to look for some other nearby temples, but my efforts were not successful.

The front facade of Sri Mariamman Temple

The inside of Sri Mariamman Temple

The next day (Friday) I had a little bit of free time in between our program event (the NUS Science Center) and my homestay group’s dinner with Joe. I tried to find the Temple I had missed on Thursday. I came from a different direction and found what I was looking for easily! I saw a Chinese Methodist Church,

the Al-Abrar Mosque,

Photo Credit: Wikipedia (I couldn't really get a good picture from where I was)

and the Thian Hock Keng chinese temple.

The area was neat because it was a less touristy part of Chinatown, with businesses and restaurants as opposed to street stalls selling chopsticks and postcards. I could see clearly into the mosque; men were barefoot and lounging on the floor while the women waited outside. I would have loved to go in, but I didn’t know if it was appropriate so I decided to move on. Unfortunately the Thain Hock Ken temple was under renovation, so I could not see much of the outside, but the inside was intact and very interesting. I was the only person in there. Little cubicles with Chinese style shrines lined the walls and a interesting black object with smoke coming out of the top. Seeing that temple meant that I had officially checked off all ten things in my guidebook’s top ten list! So that was really exciting.

Colonial District

After visiting the Chinese and Japanese gardens on Thursday I decided to venture off on my own and explore the colonial district! My first stop was CHIJMES, a Christian monastery turned orphanage turned building for restaurant and bars (ironic, I know). The Cathedral was beautiful, but I could not go too far inside. I took a quick look around the restaurants in the church complex, looking for a snack. There were many options; it looked like it would be a lively spot closer to dinner time or at night. However, the eateries looked a bit nicer than what I was looking for, so I headed out in search of something else. 

The Cathedral at CHIJMES

My next stop was the Singapore Art Museum, or SAM. The museum was small (I gather that the main art museum in Singapore, the National Gallery, is under renovation) but its collection was great! The size was actually perfect for me, because I didn’t have to devote too much of my day to the museum, but was still very happy with what I saw. There was a lot of modern Asian art, and some more traditional pieces.  

An exhibit in the Singapore Art Museum. This Giant
Inflatable Bunny was positioned in the front of the
museum, and an exhibit showed it positioned in various
places all over Singapore!

An exhibit in the Singapore Art Museum

After a stop at the Coffee Bean for a quick latte and snack (The Coffee Bean is the main coffee chain in Singapore. Although there are Starbucks’, the Coffee Bean is more popular), I set off to find Fort Canning Park. Fort Canning Park is where Sir Stanford Raffles first built his home in Singapore. During WWII, it was converted to a Fort. It took me a little while, and I ended up walking in circles. I almost gave up, but I finally found the entrance to the park, which happened to be an enormous 9 story staircase straight up a hill. My legs were DYING! The whole way up I was thinking “why am I doing this? It’s just a park, it can’t be worth all of this trouble”. Luckily, it absolutely was. The view from the top of the hill was spectacular! I was looking through a flag-shrine type thing through the Singapore Skyline straight to Marina Bay Sands! 

The view from 'Raffles House' (which is not actually
Sir Stanford Raffles' house) at Fort Canning Park

The rest of the park was beautiful. I could definitely see myself spending time there if I had more time in Singapore. One side overlooked Clarke Quay, there was a big old colonial building with piano music drifting out of one of the windows, and plenty of large grassy areas and gardens. I even saw an old Chinese man practicing Tai Chi (or some other form of Martial Arts?).  Afterwards I was going to go look at some of the old colonial buildings, but I decided I could see enough colonial history in America. When in Asia, see Asian things! So I decided to take another trip to Chinatown. Check out my next post for my temple adventures.

Chinese and Japanese Gardens

Beautiful seven story pagoda in the
Singapore Chinese Gardens

I have been wanting to visit the Chinese and Japanese gardens for awhile now, and Thursday I finally got the chance to do it! Emily, Bridie, Daron, Dinesh, and I headed out to the gardens after class. Luckily, it was overcast, so not too hot. The first thing I saw when I stepped onto the grounds was a giant pagoda! We thought it would be good idea to climb to the top, not realizing that the only way to get there was a seven story (or storey, in Singapore) winding staircase. My legs were killing me, but the view from the top was breathtaking! We got a great birds-eye view of the gardens and the city in the background. We walked around the gardens for several minutes and took in the beautiful Chinese buildings and plants. We even saw a huge water monitor lizard! Then we switched over to the Japanese Gardens. They were very 'zen' feeling, with bridges over ponds and rock formations. 

View from atop the Pagoda

I'm glad I got a chance to visit the Chinese and Japanese gardens, however I still liked the Botanical Gardens much more. The Botanical Gardens were put together much better and were much better kept up. I guess I can see botanical gardens all over the world, but there are only a few places where I can find Chinese and Japanese Gardens!

The Singapore Japanese Gardens

Peranakan Museum

Tuesday we took a trip to the Peranakan museum at the suggestion of our professor in Singapore, Dr. Quek. What is a Peranakan, you ask? A Peranakan is a person who is of mixed race basically, but the term is more specific to Southeast Asia. It usually refers to Malay and Chinese or Indian marriages. This mixing of cultures created a new and unique culture, known as the culture of the Peranakans!

Isabella, Sarah, and I outside of the Peranakan museum.

The inside of the Peranakan Museum is so colorful!

In Singapore, there is a whole museum devoted to this culture. The museum is in the heart of the colonial district, close to downtown, and is filled with the most amazing artifacts! There were gorgeous beaded slippers, pieces of art,  jewelry, and more! I loved the wedding exhibit, which featured items and told of customs from traditional Peranakan weddings!

This piece of art features flowers and native birds, 

and is made ENTIRELY out of glass beads!

A closer view of the tiny glass beads used to make these shimmering tapestries.

There is also an exhibit devoted to Perankan living (food, clothes, homes, etc.) where there are ceramic bowls and plates painted with intricate patterns and pastel colors, typical of the Perankans.

A painted ceramic bowl.

A Peranakan outfit.

The museum was beautiful and informative! I explored the colonial district for a little but afterwards, but then I set off on a mission to find water shoes for Brunei. I finally found some in Marina Bay Sands mall - and I got the kids sized ones so they were not expensive! Now I'm all set to go to Brunei!