I woke up Sunday, refreshed and ready for another packed day of touring to see the sites. If you happened to read my previous post, you’ll recall that I forgot my sunscreen at home (amateur move, but hey, it was my time out during the day–rather than night–when you really feel the heat of the tropics). I wasn’t going to let that stop me from taking advantage of my day off from project work, though, so I decided to hit up a few museums.
First, I took the MRT from my hotel over to the Colonial DIstrict, where I ventured into the Peranakan Museum, which explores the culture of Peranakan communities in Southeasat Asia.
Some brief backgroud, Southeast Asia has been a crossroad between countries in Asia since anicient times. The monsoon season brings not just rain, but also a change in wind direction, which allowed people of times past to travel via boat from China, India and elsewhere to Southeast Asia. Many of these foreign visitors stayed and settled, marrying local women. The decendants of these unions of different cultures are called Peranakans. Included at the museum were a large collection or art and other objects of historical importance. I actually had the chance to learn a lot about Peranakans, as I was the only person to show up for the English tour, and so got a private 1:1 session through the museum. The beaded artwork was especially amazing … I posted a picture on Twitter @adamwandering of a quilt that took almost a year to make, comprised of 1M beads! The picture below show a ceremonial bed used after a Peranakan wedding ceremony.
From there I decided to take a break and grab some lunch. Unfortunately, the only place open in the area was a McDonalds. So, like any traveler to a foreign land should do, I decided to do a comparative taste test of the Singaporean McDonalds vs USA. Surprisingly, the chicken nuggets and fries I had tasted identical to what I get in the USA, with the exception of a curry sauce as an option. I also noted the addition on their menu of a Terriaky McChicken. So, I suppose similar but not exactly the same.
After lunch, I headed over to the Asian Civilization Museum, which is dedicated to exploring the rich artistic heritage of Asia, especially Singapore’s ancestral cultures. Art from China, India, Vietnam, and elsewhere was included in the museum. A highlight was a room that included traditional instruments from some of the countries. It was also an opportunity to learn more about some of the world’s religions–Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, to name a few.
Next, I spent some time at a local Kite Festival on Marina Bay. An annual event, the Kite Festival attracts thousands of kite flyers to take to the sky and show up their flying skills. Beyond the amateurs at the event, there are folks who are experts at flying kites of all shapes, sizes and colors–from a small bird-looking kite to a huge kit they had with a wingspan of over 20 feet. Unfortunately it was not very windy, and so many of the larger kites were unable to take flight. It was still cool however to see everyone together for this event and see some of the street performers drawn to the event.
Finally, it was time to head to the Night Safari. Since I had some time to kill, I decided to take public transportation rather than a taxi. I got on the MRT and took it further then I ever had, excited to see a “more rural” area of Singapore. When I arrived at the train station, I was surprised to be dumped into another one of Singapore’s malls. I haven’t mentioned previously, but there are malls EVERYWHERE in Singapore. With the fast growth of Singapore’s economy, as I walk through the crowded Singapore malls I can almost feel the macroeconomics at work, with people earning salaries and having a myriad of options where they can spend their earned money, thus driving additional growth. But I degress. At the mall, I found a restaurant called Ministry of Food that had sushi which was quite good — the best I had to date in Singapore. I then caught a bus, wondering the whole time whether I was on the right bus and whether it would stop at the Night Safari until it dropped me off there 20 minutes later.
With over 1 million visitors per year, the night safari is the only of its kind and has been extremely successful in bringing in tourists from all over. Immediately upon arriving I knew I was in for a treat. Rustic buildings, beautiful trees and plants, and statues of different animals greated me at the main entrance. I grabbed a ticket and first took the tram through the park. It is an open air park, meaning there are no cages for animals or visible fences. They are free to roam throughout the park. Given it is a night safari (with doors opening at 7:30), these nocturnal animals are just waking up for the day. The result is a breathtaking display of what it means to really see animals of this region in their naurla state — playing, eating, and actively moving around. The lighting is kept extremely dim to mimic moonlight, so it feels pretty mysterious and almost dreamlike to see elephants walking around (somtimes just 50 feet away), hippos lazying in a pond, lions on the prowel, or zebras grazing. Unfortunately most of my pictures didn’t turn out well due to the lighting, but it was an amazing experience that I know I won’t soon forget.
After the tram ride, I also had a chance to see a show where they talked about some of the animals in more detail, as well as to take a walk on foot through the park. At one point, I walked by some Hyennas when there was no one else nearby — and one of them started walking towards me, just 25 feet away. Creepy! I hurried away down the path. Just to clarify, there are measures in place to keep animals away from visitors … for instance, moats, hidden fences, etc … but you can’t really see them as you walk through the park.
Itinerary Highlights
–Peranakan Museum
–Asian Civilizations Museum
–Kite Festival near Marina Bay
–Night Safari
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