Last weekend was Hari Raya Puasa. The Museums had an 'Open House'. We visited the Singapore Philatelic Museum to look at stamps.
The building is in Coleman Street in the Civic District.
I noticed the church down the street. It is the Armenian Church. See the date on the church in the photo above. 1835! wow! So old!
A sign welcoming visitors to the church.
A plaque out the church set up by the National Heritage Board.
The Central Fire Station was built in 1909 , almost a century ago.
If you walk down the street in the photo, the Armenian Church is on your left.
Another interesting building i saw - the Freemaon's Hall built in 1879.
I found this postbox from the Queen Victorian era outside the museum. As you can see, this old postbox is still in use and you can post letters here.
When i went into the museum, i found that there was an exhibition on the spice trade.
South East Asia since the 1400/ 1500's have been growing spices which was shipped all over the world. Many European countries and China all came looking for spices . It was intersting to see all the stamps on the posters.
They even had a poster on the foods with herbs and spices.
Look at the stamps. Sadly they are not for sale....
Behind the Museum was Fort Canning Hill and we all went for a walk up the hill to look at the Spice Trail. Yes! A section of the park has a herb garden. Bet you didn't know that!!
Fort Canning was also home to the First Botanic Gardens built by Sir Stamford Raffles after 1822.
The kanaga and champaca plant
The spice trail banner along the route...
There is also an archaelogical site on Fort Canning.
The cola plant
The peppermint is a herb
Another banner highlight the important spice trade in Asia.
Sign board showing the Fort Canning Park.
The gateway on the hill is all that remains of a church that once stood there...
Walking further down you can see the tunnel known as Fort canning tunnel. It used to be where the National Library stood . This building was demolished so that this tunnel could be built.
We then went to the National Museum. Notice the shining chandeliars? They were swinging in the covered building ... How was it so? Because of the electromagnetic force. Sometimes physics sure comes in handy...
A mockup of the Chinese puppet opera house was on display.
Some intricate Chinese costumes....
I noticed the spiral staircase of olden days...But i could not go up.
I visited the Singapore History Gallery.
It was the history of Singapore and very interactive. I enjoyed playing with the exhibits.
At the same time there was an exhibition on Empire of Nature. Sir William Farhquar had collected the drawings of the fruits, vegetables and animals of his time (early 19th century ) when he was in Singapore. They are now being exhibited.
When we left, it was night. Really enjoyed myself and learnt alot today.
