Insight Guides: Southeast Asia by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Amsterdam
Publisher: APA
Published: 2014-08-12T04:00:00+00:00

The exterior of the Peranakan Museum.

Vincent Ng/Apa Publications

Down Hill Street and left into Armenian Street is the Peranakan Museum (www.peranakanmuseum.sg; Sat–Thur 10am–7pm, Fri 10am–9pm; charge), noted for its comprehensive collection of Straits Chinese artefacts. Around the corner on Stamford Road is the National Museum of Singapore (www.nationalmuseum.sg; daily 10am–8pm; charge, free admission from 6.30pm). The museum has reinvented itself as a venue in which to learn about history with interactive displays and lifestyle programmes. Look out for the permanent exhibitions at the Singapore History and Singapore Living Galleries. Also in various galleries are 11 national treasures, from the Singapore Stone, a rock with inscriptions dating back to the 10th century, to 14th-century Majapahit gold ornaments.

At nearby Bras Basah Road is the Singapore Art Museum U [map] (www.singart.com; Mon–Sun 10am–7pm, Fri until 9pm; charge, Fri 6–9pm free), with rotating exhibits covering Singaporean, Asian and Western artists. The museum houses the world’s largest collection of contemporary Southeast Asian art.

Orchard Road and environs

The de facto heart of modern Singapore is Orchard Road, which begins just north of the Raffles Hotel area. Plaza Singapura and Park Mall are the first of the big shopping centres that have given this thoroughfare its international reputation.

Near Plaza Singapura is the Istana V [map], the official workplace and expansive residence of Singapore’s president. The palace and its lavish garden are strictly off-limits to the public, except on National Day and certain public holidays, when the gates are thrown open to curious sightseers. The Istana was built in 1869 on the grounds of an old nutmeg plantation, and it served as the residence of the British governor until independence.

Northwards on Orchard Road are the famous shopping malls that inspired one commentator to call Singapore the world’s largest shopping centre with immigration controls. Near the Centrepoint mall is the charming Peranakan Place W [map], a complex of six Peranakan-style terrace houses that have been transformed into a commercial hub of restaurants and bars. Take a walk behind the houses to Emerald Hill, where there are some lovely old restored homes that once belonged to wealthy Peranakan families.

Little India

A walk down Scotts Road leads to Newton Circus Hawker Centre X [map], where you can sample Singapore’s famed cuisine. Not far from here is Serangoon Road, where the visitor is plunged into a replica of the Indian subcontinent, with undulating music punctuated by car horns and bicycle bells, women drifting gracefully along in vivid saris and the pungent aromas of spices. This is Little India Y, a marvellously colourful and atmospheric part of the city. It is filled with interesting religious sights – not just Hindu temples, but shrines representing the entire spectrum of Singapore’s various faiths. Tucked away on Dunlop Street is the lovely old Abdul Gafoor Mosque (daily 9am–6pm), with an entrance elaborately decorated in carvings and Arabic calligraphy.

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