Sights in Singapore City
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Tan Yeok Nee House
Near Orchard Rd, on the corner of Penang Rd, Tan Yeok Nee House was built in 1885 as the townhouse of a prosperous merchant, and is the sole surviving example in Singapore of a traditional Chinese mansion. Today it’s part of the Asian campus of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, but you can still admire its fine roof decoration from outside.
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Isan Gallery
The home gallery of Percy Vatsaloo showcases intricately crafted and exquisitely beautiful clothing and other textiles made by tribal craftspeople of Isan in northeast Thailand. Visitors are welcome by appointment, and most of the items on display are also for sale. Percy works closely with the craftspeople themselves, and half of the sale price goes directly to them.
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Peranakan Terrace Houses
Just off Joo Chiat Rd you’ll find some of the finest Peranakan terrace houses in Singapore. Exhibiting the typical Peranakan love of ornate design, they are decorated with stucco dragons, birds, crabs and brilliantly glazed tiles. Pintu pagar (swinging doors) at the front of the houses are another typical feature, allowing in breezes while retaining privacy.
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Pu Ji Si Buddhist Research Centre
Inside this fantastic four-storey building, which is part educational facility, part house of worship, visitors will find meditation halls, Buddhist libraries filled with books and scripture, and a seeming endless well of serenity. Take the elevator up for a sit by the fountain in the rooftop statue garden. Breathe in the air of serenity while pondering the eternal.
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Labrador Secret Tunnels
In addition to old gun placements on top of casemates, there’s the intriguing Labrador Secret Tunnels. This series of storage and armament bunkers leads to the base of a 9.2in-circumference gun emplacement. Look for the buckled and caved-in walls from a direct hit from a Japanese bomb. Ring before visiting, as the tunnels aren’t regularly manned.
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Yeo Swee Huat
Superstitious locals may give this shop a wide berth, but travellers with an interest in Eastern religious rites will be fascinated by this family-owned workshop which, for three generations, has handcrafted paper effigies and accessories for Buddhist and Taoist funerals. The Yeo family also creates all manner of auspicious paper items, which make excellent gifts.
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Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum
Inside the large compound of the Chines & Japanese Gardens, near the bonsai display is a Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum, where, among other things, you can see a live two-headed, six-legged turtle – one of the few in the world ever to have survived – and a large pond literally teeming with the little, one-headed fellows.
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Singapore Cricket Club
Ringed by imposing colonial façades, there are few more obvious symbols of British imperialism than the Padang's manicured lawns. Defying the tropical heat, the Singapore Cricket Club (est. 1852) struts its stuff to choruses of 'Huzzah!' and 'Cracking shot old bean!' from the members' pavilion. Rugby, bowls and football get an airing during the off-season.
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Seng Wong Beo Temple
Tucked behind red gates next to the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, this temple, seldom visited by tourists, is dedicated to the Chinese City God, who is not only responsible for the well-being of the city but also for guiding the souls of the dead to the underworld. It’s also notable as the only temple in Singapore that still performs ghost marriages.
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Jurong Reptile Park
Check out the Jurong Reptile Park, across the car park from the bird park. It's a little run-down and probably not much fun for the crocodiles (they also appear on the park restaurant's menu), but kids will get a kick out of the croc feeding (10:30 and 17:00), giant tortoises, Komodo dragons and pythons. There's a reptile show at 11:45 and 14:00.
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NUS Museums
Ask any local about the trio of small art museums in the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus and you’ll probably get a blank stare before they reply, ‘Huh? NUS has got a museum?’ Which is a shame, as these galleries are top-notch and house a more exciting collection than the heavily advertised Singapore Art Museum.
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Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom
You’ll be fluttered by more than 50 species of butterfly inside the Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom. The Insect Kingdom museum has thousands of mounted butterflies, rhino beetles, Hercules beetles (the world’s largest), scorpions, and other critters and varmints – kids stare wide-eyed while adults feign disinterest.
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Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery
Take a few hours to explore the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, Singapore’s largest (12 buildings) and most stunning. ‘Don’t speak unless it improves the silence’ is the creed here, the resultant quiet a surreal counterpart to dragon-topped pagodas, shrines, plazas and lawns linked by Escher-like staircases.
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Peranakan Museum
Singapore’s newest museum stands as a testament to the Peranakan (Straits-born Chinese) cultural revival in the Lion City. Opened in 2008, it has 10 thematic galleries featuring over 1200 artefacts and a variety of multimedia exhibits designed to introduce visitors to historical and contemporary Peranakan culture.
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Malabar Muslim Jama-Ath Mosque
The sky-blue hexagonal-tiled Malabar Muslim Jama-Ath Mosque is hard to miss. Malabar Muslims from the southern Indian state of Kerala have worshipped here since 1963. Overgrown with time and tree roots, the RoyalCemetery is behind the mosque, its shambolic tombstones slowly succumbing to gravity.
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Chettiar Hindu Temple
Officially known as the Sri Thandayuthapani Temple, the open-walled, blue-green Chettiar Hindu Temple was completed in 1984, replacing a temple built by Indian chettiars (moneylenders). Dedicated to the six-headed Shaivite god, Lord Subramaniam, it’s at its most active during the Thaipusam festival.
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Xuanhua Art Gallery
Dedicated to showcasing the finest works of contemporary Chinese ink painters from Singapore and China, Xuanhua also hosts exhibitions and other events. Lovers of sweeping charcoal-and-ink landscapes featuring the karst mountains of Guilin and other picturesque scenes of middle-kingdom splendour, this is the place for you.
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Armenian Church
Dedicated to St Gregory the Illuminator, Singapore’s oldest church (1836) is the neoclassical Armenian Church, designed by eminent colonial architect George Coleman. Pushing up orchids in the graveyard is Agnes Joaquim, discoverer of Singapore’s national flower – the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid.
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Jurong Lookout Tower
A curious relic of the 1970s (as if you couldn't tell), this viewing tower boasts a stained glass ceiling and a futuristic night-time view over the lights and flaming stacks of the Jurong Island industrial zone. Take a hike up after the Jurong Bird Park and eat at Hilltop Japanese Restaurant in the basement afterwards.
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Hajjah Fatimah Mosque
Painted cream and brown, the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque was built in 1846 and named after the mosque’s wealthy Malaccan-born Malay benefactor. Equally curious is its ‘Leaning Tower of Kampong Glam’ – a European-style minaret tilting about 6 degrees off-centre. The outbuildings are also well out of kilter.
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Reflections at Bukit Chandu
Atop Bukit Chandu (Opium Hill), this WWII interpretive centre is set inside a tiny renovated villa. The focus is on the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Malay Regiment, who bravely (and unsuccessfully) defended the hill against the 13,000 Japanese in the Battle of Pasir Panjang in February 1942.
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Singapore Tyler Print Institute
The white-walled, polished concrete spaces of the Singapore Tyler Print Institute hosts international and local exhibits, showcasing the work of resident print- and paper-makers. Exhibitions often have a ‘how to’ component, and there’s an impressive program of visual arts courses year-round.
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Sri Mariamman Temple
Paradoxically cast in the middle of Chinatown, the Sri Mariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore, originally built in 1823, then rebuilt in 1843. The S$3 fee for taking photos is a rip-off, but tourists still descend in droves – and many trigger-happy snappers ignore the fees.
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Singapore Philatelic Museum
Housed in the attractive former Methodist Book Room Building dating from around 1895, this museum holds a well-presented collection of rare and not-so-rare stamps from Singapore and around the world. While some of the artwork and design is impressive, the museum is a must-visit for stamp collectors only.
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Thian Hock Keng Temple
Also known as the Temple of Heavenly Happiness, Thian Hock Keng Temple is one of Singapore’s oldest and most eye-popping temples. Dedicated to Ma Cho Po, Goddess of the Sea, it was built by early Chinese Hokkien immigrants in gratitude for safe passage to Singapore.
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