This post mostly comprises of photos I took while I was at Raffles Place and after I coompleted all my banking needs at the United Overseas Bank (UOB). Its a pretty impressive bank, let me tell you.
The big highlight of my day was visiting the Asian Civilisations Museum. The museum is mostly dedicated to Southeast Asian history, culture, archeology and art, so of course I easily spent at least three hours in the museum.
But before I post some photos of the more interesting artifacts I have a few other photos I would like all you peeps to look through:
Here is the area that used to live in at Kallang. These shop houses are quite indicative of many Singaporean neighborhoods.
This is the walkway at Boat Quay, another area of the Singapore River.
Lau Pa Sat is a giant hawker food court located on Boon Tat Street. The structure was built in 1894, and it is the largest remaining Victorian cast-iron structure in Southeast Asia. A pretty enviable distinction no doubt.
This is the iron clad ceiling.
My lunch at Lau Pa Sat pretty much made me realize how long its been since I was in Singapore. The tissue packet on the table means it is taken. And of course completely forgetting my hawker etiquette I waltz into the place and promptly sit down at the table. A lady came over and we just stared at each other for five minutes. Then she finally said, “Sorry, lah, this table taken already.”
Here I am with a Malay chieftan and a Chinese merchant talking to some white guy.
This is the Cavenagh Bridge on the Singapore River. It was one of the last public works in Singapore built by convict Indian labor. That's a pretty exciting fact. I should know, just look at me in this photo.
This is a photo I took in the Asian Civilisations Museum. This is a bronze drum. There are only a very few artifacts of this size, preservation and sophistication left in the world. I would recommend this as your alarm clock Angela Li. At a certain hour, you can automate a large drum stick to vigorously beat on the surface. It will also take up the vast majority of space in your Bradford room so it will be physically impossible to ignore the noise it will make.
This is a gold plated bronze statue of Quan Am who is a Bodhisattva. You can tell this particular statue originally came from Thailand as it depicts Quan Am with many arms. There is a legend that states the Amhitaba Buddha gave Quan Am thousands of arms so she could stop people from achieving samsara or reincarnation. No point in delegating this type of job to more than one Bodhisattva. Clearly. But she totally has legit bragging rights. "I prevented thousands of souls from re-entering the cylce of rebirth, pain and suffering. What have you done with your life?"
This is a stone statue of the Hindu god Ganesha. Ganesha's feet are touching in this particular pose which is very indicative of a Southeast Asian influence.
This is an excerpt from the Ramayana manuscript which is part of the Hindu canon. The poet Valmiki is attributed for writing the original Ramayana. This manuscript was originally written in Sanksrit and it details the life of a Prince named Rama.
This is what I want to wear on my wedding! This photo is of a women from the Minangkabu people. The Minangakabu people are originally from Sumatra, one of the largest islands in the Indonesian archipelago. This group of people is also one of the few remaining matriarchal societies left in the world. Well when you wear hand coverings like that you know you rule the zip code.
Last but not least this is sandstone statue of a seated Buddha from the Mathura period in 96-97 CE. This statue is in the padmasana or lotus seated position. The bump on his head is called ushnisha, which is a very classical aspect of Buddha's image.
Next time I will be sure to include photos of the place I will be living at for the rest of the semester and my first day of classes at NUS!
Best,
Kavanaugh
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