Having been to Singapore previously we decided to try
something new and visited the National Museum of Singapore, which as it
happened was only five minutes from our hotel. The museum is housed in a
beautiful historical building with a tastefully added modern annexe.
We spent several hours there; viewing the Singapore History Gallery which displays the development of the colony through 700 years including the Japanese occupation and post-war struggles, and four separate exhibits showcasing life in Singapore during the past 100 years. All the exhibits were well presented in written information, photographs, memorabilia and interactive screens and interviews.
We spent several hours there; viewing the Singapore History Gallery which displays the development of the colony through 700 years including the Japanese occupation and post-war struggles, and four separate exhibits showcasing life in Singapore during the past 100 years. All the exhibits were well presented in written information, photographs, memorabilia and interactive screens and interviews.
We then discovered the Glass Rotunda, a digital interactive
installation inspired by 69 drawings from the William Farquhar Collection of
Natural History Drawings. The drawings have been joined together in
movie-theatre size and animated, and we were delighted by the colours of the animals,
birds and foliage as we made our way down the circular ramp to the bottom.
National Museum of Singapore
Modern interior
Second World War exhibit
Retro films where everyone sits in cars
The beautiful Glass Rotunda
Displaying Singapore's history across the ages
Modern exhibition
Cruise Day 3 – Phuket, Thailand
Now on board the Celebrity Constellation, we docked at
Phuket where the temperature was already 32 degrees at 9.00am. After
disembarking the tender boat we wandered along Patong Beach where dozens of taxi
drivers and tour operators harangued us for business.
Finally we located the Jung Ceylon shopping centre, a modern air-conditioned complex, and spent time lapping up the cool while we browsed., in cool comfort browsing the market stalls and enjoying iced coffee at Coffee Club.
Finally we located the Jung Ceylon shopping centre, a modern air-conditioned complex, and spent time lapping up the cool while we browsed., in cool comfort browsing the market stalls and enjoying iced coffee at Coffee Club.
After enjoying iced coffees at The Coffee Club we made our way
back to the ship passing dozens of market stalls that sell everything from
clothes to electronics, and cosmetics to souvenirs. The beach is beautiful, as
is the vista from the ship with the surrounding hills covered in resorts and
high rise apartments dotted along the beach front. But it is all a little too
warm for us Tasmanians!
At the Coffee Club
On Patong Beach
Cruise Day 6 – Colombo, Sri Lanka
We arrived early in Colombo, Sri Lanka and left the dock in
a modern air-conditioned coach for our half day walking tour. Our guide, a UK
educated Sri Lankan, walked us through the enormous food markets and then on
through the old city with its wonderful colonial buildings. The Portuguese
settled Ceylon first, followed by the Dutch and then the English and much of
the colonial past remains. Many of the buildings have however been neglected
and are now empty.
Dripping from head to foot in the high humidity, we stopped
at Sri Lanka’s oldest hotel, the Grand Oriental, which in its heyday vetted
potential customers as to their ‘feasibility’ after receiving written requests for
accommodation. Nowadays, our guide told us, it is the customers who vet the
hotel… which now only asks $60-70 per night. We climbed up several flights of
stairs to a large room overlooking the harbour and enjoyed Ceylon tea, coffee
and biscuits.
We then walked back to the harbour past several important
buildings including the President’s palace, the Post Office, various banking
institutions, the Economic History Museum and the world’s only combined lighthouse/clock-tower. We finished our walk in the renovated Dutch Hospital which
is now a mecca for stylish restaurants including Next Innings which features framed cricket shirts including that of
Launceston-born Ricky Ponting.
Fresh fruit and vegetable markets
One of many mosques in Colombo
A Portuguese-built canal in the city
Grand Oriental Hotel
Colombo Harbour
World Trade Centre, Colombo
This beautiful building once housed Cargills department store, the 'Harrods' of Sri Lanka.
Now part of the building is occupied by a Chinese bank and the rest is sadly empty.
The world's only combined lighthouse and clock-tower
Outside The Next Innings restaurant within the redeveloped Dutch Hospital
