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Published: December 11th 2010
Swatting
with a snide Lonely Planet...yes they do exist! It only took a quick ride on the MRT and the reluctant help of a grumpy bus driver to reach the Changi Museum which is situated in close proximity to the Changi prison, where criminals are keep to this day. We made the mistake of not eating or drinking before setting out and so were forced to eat in the only café in the vicinity and pay the bumped up prices. I scanned the menu for the cheapest thing – mushroom soup and garlic bread it was! Good job the soup was palatable at that price!
The Museum was free, small, but very informative about the sufferings and strength of the POW in WW2 which were held captive in Changi Prison from 1942-45. We spent a good few hours in there and were surprised to see the crests and shields from English Battalions including Leicester and Nottingham. We also found out that Stes great Uncle was held as a POW in Singapore and so he was most likely held here, Very interesting! After some heavy lessons, we jumped back on the bus and decided to lighten the mood with a trip to the
Chinese Gardens
We grabbed a ‘Mr Bean’ our new favourite snack in Singapore – a pancake and soya drink from the MRT station and crossed the bridge decorated with hundreds of tiny lanterns. The gardens were spectacular and I think it was the Garden of Plenty or Abundance that we visited first. Here, there were statues of all the signs of the Zodiac. But our attentions soon turned to something large thrashing in the lake. At first we had no clue what it was and were a little scared, but it turned out to be several giant Monitor lizards. I couldn’t believe the size of these things! Like some ancient dragon.
We then ventured into the Japanese gardens, which were equally as beautiful, with their pillar box red bridges and stepping stones dotted in the water. It even included a pond filled to the brim with terrapins and a scary looking owl!
Nightfall and we explored the rest of the Chinese gardens, unfortunately by this time the Pagoda was closed, but we got some magnificent views out across the immense lake to the city.
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