Hopping various kinds of museums in Singapore

[Introduction]

I visited Singapore for the first time in three and a half years. Actually, I used to live in Singapore for one and a half year to attend a business school. A reunion was held in Singapore, so that’s why I came back there. This times, I spent about a week going around Singapore to take as many photos as possible. In this article, I will write about hopping museums in Singapore as part of Day 6.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1 (1) Fly to Singapore with Singapore Airlines
* Day 1 (2) Merlion Park
* Day 1 (3) Merlion Park (night view)
* Day 2 (1) National Gallery Singapore and Raffles Hotel
* Day 2 (2) ArtScience Museum and Singapore Flyer
* Day 2 (3) Marina Bay Sands
* Day 2 (4) Marina Bay Sands (night view)
* Day 3 (1) Singapore Botanic Garden
* Day 3 (2) Orchard Road
* Day 3 (3) Gardens by the Bay
* Day 3 (4) Gardens by the Bay (night view)
* Day 4 (1) Little India
* Day 4 (2) Chinatown
* Day 4 (3) Arab Street
* Day 5 (1) Singapore Zoo
* Day 5 (2) River Safari
* Day 5 (3) Clarke Quay (night view)
* Day 6 (1) National Museum of Singapore and Peranakan Museum etc. [This article]
* Day 6 (2) The Fullerton Hotel Singapore (night view)
* Day 7 (1) Sentosa Island: S.E.A. Aquarium etc.
* Day 7 (2) Sentosa Island: Merlion and Siloso Beach etc.
* Day 7 (3) Orchard Road (night view)
* Day 8 (1) Fly back home with Singapore Airlines

[Travel Date]
2016.08.23-30

[Main Part]

It was the 6th day of my Singapore trip. I went around museums in Singapore in the morning and afternoon.

Snap photos part 1

To begin with, I will post some snap photos. I visited TOAST BOX to have a breakfast.

I ordered a kaya toast set, which was a typical local breakfast in Singapore.

After breakfast, I moved to around City Hall. Before museums were open, I took snap photos around here.

Sir Stamford Raffles landing Site.

National Gallery Singapore, which I visited on the 2nd day.

Singapore river with a river cruise ship.

Asian Civilisations Museum

The first museum I visited on this day was Asian Civilisations Museum.

Asian Civilisations Museum is a museum that exhibits items regarding cultures and civilizations in Asia. The museum was opened in 1997 and moved to the current site on 2003. The first president of the museum was Lee Hsien Loong, the current Prime Minister in Singapore.

“Tang Shipwreck” gallery.

“Trade” gallery.

“Southeast Asia” gallery.

Exhibitions related to Christianity.

Artistic objects.

“South Asia and the Islamic World” gallery.

“Chinese Ceramics” gallery.

Snap photos part 2

After Asian Civilisations Museum, I walked around City Hall area again.

Victoria Thatre & Concert Hall.

There was a stature of Sir Stamford Raffles.

Raffles City, a shopping mall that was directly linked with MRT City Hall station.

I had a lunch at foodcourt in Raffles City. I ordered Laksa, a local food in Singapore.

Raffles Hotel, which I also visited on the 2nd day.

Last time, I forgot to take photos of famous doorman with turban, so I revisited Raffles Hotel.

I just happened to see a Duck Tours car, an amphibian vehicle.

Singapore Management University (SMU). It seemed to be a graduation season and I happened to see a group who wore gowns.

Peranakan Museum

Now I arrived at Peranakan Museum.

Peranakan is originally referred to people of mixed race and in Singapore, Peranakan especially means descendants of mixed race between Chinese and Malay. “Peranakan culture”, which was a mixed culture of Chinese and Malay, was developed as an unique culture and the Peranakan Museum shows exhibitions related to Peranakan culture.

The first gallery visitors see was “Origin”, which showed large pictures of Peranakan people.

Beaded stitch-work was one of the features of Peranakan culture.

Salon kebaya, a traditional ethnic dress.

Potter’s work.

Subtle colors are another characteristics of Peranakan culture.

National Museum of Singapore

After Peranakan Museum, I visited National Museum of Singapore.

National Museum of Singapore, which was opened in 1887, is the oldest museum in Singapore.

The museum mainly exhibits items about history and culture in Singapore.

Sir Stamford Raffles.

Exhibition about World War II.

As you may know, Japan ousted the UK and occupied Singapore from 1942 to 1945.

There was a video about the Singapore declaration of independence by Lee Kuan Yew (the first Prime Minister in Singapore and father of the current PM Lee Hsien Loong).

In the latter part of the gallery, visitors are able to understand how Singapore has developed after its independence.

FYI: Lee Kuan Yew died on March 23, 2015 at the age of 91, and there was a exhibition about his funeral.

Singapore Art Museum

The last spot was Singapore Art Museum.

Singapore Art Museum is a museum that focuses on modern arts all over the world, especially in Asia. The building, which was originally built as a mission school in the 19th century, was renovated and turned to be a museum in 1996.

Singapore Art Museum holds several exhibitions and here are some photos.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about hopping museums in Singapore as part of Day 6. Singapore has a variety of various museums more than tourists think. Perhaps, this is due to diverse cultures in Singapore as a multiethnic country. In addition, these museums, including National Gallery Singapore which I visited on the 2nd day, were located close to each other (see the map below). So, if you have a chance to travel to Singapore and you love arts, I would recommend you spend a day to go around museums 🙂

In the next article, I will write about night view of the Fullerton Hotel as part of Day 6.

[Map]