SINGAPORE (PART 2)

Singapore will never fails me.

I am pretty sure about my statement above.

It is not about they have a lot of shopping malls, like Jakarta. It is not about you can buy anything you want or shop till you drop, but it is about the environment. It is about their culture. They can make sure its people and their foreigners feel safe, comfortable, tidy, and clean to stay in their country.

That's what I love about Singapore.

Every corners that they have always amaze me. They have so many old buildings, just like in Jakarta, but they always maintaining those buildings and keep the originality of the buildings itself, without trying to change the infrastructure or even the decoration much. They always keep and maintain the conservation areas, such as; Little India, Arab Street, Chinatown, etc.

Language is not a big matter in Singapore. We can use English to speak with local people in Singapore, as we called it with Singlish.

“Singlish” is a local patois of English mixed with Chinese syntax. Words from Malay and one of the southern Chinese dialects, Hokkien being the most common, are also used just to make it confusing for foreigners. (Source by: National Geographic)

But, since they are so many Indonesian or Malaysian people who live in there, you can also speak Bahasa or Melayu in Singapore.

You also don't have to worry about the transportation in Singapore. The transportation is really good, easy to understand and well-managed. I even often used the local bus, either than MRT. I could spend alooong day strolled around Singapore with their local bus or when I went shop to IKEA Alexandra.

Uwwh.. I love this shopping place! So many cute home decor things around <3

Ok, stop talking about IKEA.

Below, I am trying to share some places that I ever visited in Singapore, completely with short historical about each building. that I gather some information in other webs.

Enjoy every pictures that I took!

Chijmes

Resto, Bar and Cafe

I've stumbled onto really great historical building that I loved the most in Singapore, named Chijmes. This place is incredibly awesome! I went to this place twice or third times, in the morning or at night. But, if you wanna see the details of its architecture of this building, you better see it in the morning.

Chijmes is known as a hype places which contains restaurants, cafes, and bars. Located in the middle of the city, Chijmes is really good place to hangout with friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, colleague, or even family.

Just bit a history of this building, it makes sense when you realise it used to be a Catholic school for girls and chapel. Chijmes began with one building – Caldwell House – which was designed by prominent colonial architect George Coleman (who also designed Old Parliament House) as a home for a Senior Magistrate’s clerk. The property was bought over by Father Beurel in 1853, in addition to surrounding parcels of land, for the purpose for building a girls’ school.

Other structures slowly sprung up around Caldwell House, most notably a grand Anglo-French Gothic chapel in 1904. One of the most elaborate places of worship in Singapore, its intricate plasterwork, wall frescoes and Belgian stained glass windows still inspire wonder today. (Source by: YourSingapore)

Red dot Design Museum

Contemporary design museum

If you really love something about design or if you are categorized yourself as a design-person, you should or even MUST visit this Museum. The Museum is really closed to the Maxwell Food Centre and opposite to the Urban Redevelopment Authority Building. You can easily find the building because of their eye-catching red color all over the building. I also had a chance to took so many selfie picture in there. Viva la selfie!

Red Dot Museum is the first contemporary design museum in Asia and is housed in the former Singapore Traffic Police Headquarters, a colonial-era building. It was converted in 2005 into a creative hub known as Red Dot Traffic, whose facade was then painted in its now signature red hue. Besides the Red Dot Design Museum, the Red Dot Traffic building also houses food and beverage outlets, creative agencies and a bar.

The building was given conservation status by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 2007.

Step in here and you will find more than 1,000 product or communication design exhibits from over 55 countries, all of which have won the prestigious international red dot design award, one of the world’s leading design competitions. While there, pick up a copy of The Design Journey, a comprehensive guide to the interesting places in the vicinity, such as shops and boutique hotels, that showcase noteworthy design.

GO MAAD

And also check out the monthly Friday night flea market at the museum called MAAD, or Market of Artists And Designers. You can find unique and quirky creations ranging from fashion, plush toys, art, crafts and accessories to literature, photography, furniture and even food. Local bands and musicians will also stage live performances on market nights. (Source by: YourSingapore)

The Cathay Cinema

I supposed to capture the picture of this building at the night. Because the building it's really beautiful to take at night. There are a lot of decorative lights around this building. And yup, it is looks very stunning!

This building was built in early 1930s designed by British architect, Frank W. Brewer. The building was the first and tallest skyscraper in Singapore and in Southeast Asia, with a height of 83.5 metres from the Dhoby Ghaut entrance to the top of the building's water tower.

Opened on 3 October 1939 as Cathay Building, with a 1,300-seat Cathay Cinema, and the tower block as Cathay Hotel, it was the island's first air-conditioned cinema and public building, and where one could sit in an arm chair to watch a film, which was rare in those days. (Source by: Wikipedia)

Now, there is a lot of new functions in the Cathay building, you can easily find shopping mall, dining area, cinemas, and apartment building. You can use MRT if you wanna go here. The MRT stop will be in Dhoby Ghaut station.

If you want to watch a movie in here, the ticket price you should spend is around $SGD14.50/single seat and $SGD 27.50/couple seats (including online booking fees $SGD 1.50) on the weekend. For weekdays, the price is a bit different, $SGD 10.50/single seat and $SGD 19.50/couple seats (including online booking fees $SGD 1.50). Well, the price it is a bit expensive if we compare with Indonesia's cinemas

For the movie schedule and reservation, please visit: Cathay Cineplex

Sri Mariamman Temple

Singapore's oldest Hindu Temple

When I was in Chinatown, I was mesmerized with two of the building in the middle of Chinatown. There is an oldest Hindu temple with really nice sculpture, named Sri Mariamman Temple; and other ones there is a Buddhist temple and museum.

The Sri Mariamman Temple originally built in 1823, then rebuilt in 1843. Sacred cow sculptures graze the boundary walls, while the gopuram (tower) is covered in kitsch plasterwork images of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. I've been there on October 2013 and the temple looks bit different. In fact, every October, the temple hosts the Thimithi festival; devotees queue along South Bridge Road to hotfoot it over burning coals! (Source by: Lonely Planet)

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

Tang-styled Chinese Buddhist Temple

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple & Museum is a Tang-Styled Chinese Buddhist Temple in the heart of Chinatown. The temple features many facets of Buddhist arts and culture of Singapore. It also houses what the Buddhists regard as the Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic in a stupa weighing 3.5 tonnes and composed of 320 kg of gold donated by devotees. (Source by: YourSingapore)

Marina Views

School of the Arts (SOTA)

"There was a star danced, and under that was I born"

William Shakespeare

This picture I took in front of the School building. There was some stairs that showed some quotes about arts. And it's really fancy! I am dying to took picts of all of the stairs. But this one is my best shot!

National Museum of Singapore

Here we go!

The last incredible place in Singapore. The National Museum of Singapore.

The National Museum of Singapore tells you the intriguing story of this country in a manner that is both fun and rewarding. Imagine standing in the midst of a vast darkened space surrounded by a massive video montage showing everyday life in Singapore while a rousing symphony plays in the background. That’s just a taste of the immersive experience you can expect here.

With its history dating back to 1887, the National Museum is the nation’s oldest, and one of the city’s architectural icons. Its permanent offerings, the Singapore History and Living Galleries, piece together the past and present in a compelling narrative. The building itself is a wondrous structure that has seamlessly fused the old with the new, enhancing the elegant neo-classical building with a new modernist extension of glass and metal. The museum hosts a dynamic range of events through the year – from art installations and festivals to performances and film screenings – in addition to presenting exhibitions involving historically and culturally important collections of artefacts. A selection of cafes and restaurants, as well as a retail space to pick up that souvenir round off a spectacular cultural offering. (Source by: YourSingapore)

Best,

Astrid Maharani C

#travel #Singapore