An Unplanned Visit to the National Museum Became Our Trip's Highlight

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cthings977.3025 days agoPeakD6 min read

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When I visited Singapore, @gabbiebi and I were on a packed schedule. I still had work at night because that the only time for interviewing people for our company’s articles, so going out late wasn’t really an option.

It was a Friday. We started our day with breakfast at Bukit Batok West Mall since it was just nearby. I had wanton soup and dumplings because the weather was gloomy and it looked like it was about to rain.

After breakfast, we headed to the bus station. We were on our way to Funan to buy Crocs.

They say when you’re visiting another country, you’ve got to bring good shoes with you. All that walking will really hurt your feet. That’s why we were getting Crocs. I used to hate them, honestly. But once I gave them a try, there was no going back. These days, I barely wear anything else. My Crocs are my go-to 😁

It was my first time at Funan and I was so amazed by the interior. Everywhere I looked, I was like 😲. I literally got lost just admiring the place.

After we got our Crocs, we stepped outside to find the famous Library @ Orchard. To be honest, we didn’t really plan our route properly. Even though Gabbie’s been in Singapore for a year already, she waited for me to arrive before exploring. We wanted the trip to be chill and spontaneous, just discovering places together.

Right outside Funan was the Central Fire Station. Who would’ve thought that building’s a fire station? It’s way too pretty! I was amazed.

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We kept walking, hoping the library was nearby. Along the way, we stumbled upon the Peranakan Museum. We really wanted to check it out, but we were running short on time. We have to find the Library as soon as possible because we still have to pack for our Indonesia trip the next day. Maybe next time.

Near the museum, there were these colorful buildings that looked like shops. Not totally sure if they were, but they gave off that vibe. Then it started to rain and we didn’t bring an umbrella 😭 so we stayed there for a bit until it was okay to keep walking.

At that point, we had no clue where we were going 😆 We just kept walking. We decided to cross the street because we saw a shed on the other side. While waiting for the signal, we took a selfie in front of a glass wall behind us. Just a remembrance of how far we've walked just to find the Library.

Funny thing, we found out the shed we were talking about was actually part of Singapore Management University. We ended up sitting there while waiting for the rain to stop. We watched students practicing on the ground floor. It made us miss our college days.

The rain didn’t seem like it was stopping anytime soon, so I told Gabbie we should just go or we’d be stuck there forever.

So we walked some more, using Gabbie’s jacket to cover our heads. Then we spotted this place that looked like a cafe, and I told Gabbie we should check it out.

We walked in and to our surprise, it wasn’t just a cafe. It was the National Museum of Singapore! We had just entered through the Food For Thought restaurant.

We wanted to eat there but it was full, so we decided to explore a bit while waiting. Right beside the restaurant was this cute souvenir shop called Supermama.

On the left side of the restaurant was the Singapore History Gallery. If I remember correctly, the entrance fee was 10 SGD.

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There was also a photo booth nearby, and since we were already there, we gave it a go. While waiting for our turn, I noticed a funny sticker on the directory table and couldn’t help but laugh. Why would someone stick this here? 😅

When it was finally our turn, we paid 10 SGD for three copies of our photos. At the time, the theme was Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore Through Travel 1800s–2000s.

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Since we both love museums, we decided to explore more but only the free exhibits and in fast pacing 😆

As we walked around, we found this giant departure board. I loved the concept! Then we saw a directory of galleries inside the museum.

We headed upstairs and found two exhibits. One about the history of Singapore Airlines, and the other about Goodwood Park. I’ll write more about those in my next blog.

We got so into the exhibits that we didn’t realize how late it was. Our stomachs started grumbling 😂 It was already 7 PM and we hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

We left the National Museum with our photobooth print and the thought that we'll definitely come back.

That's it for my #WednesdayWalk, an initiative of @tattoodjay.