Treasures Galore

It took us a few extra days to find out, but at last Luke and Tahlia have settlement on their house in Wagaman. Another lot of homeowners in the family. Well done to them. At this stage they intend to stay on in our place and rent theirs out to the current tenants, then move in Dec. 

We visited the National Museum on Thursday morning to see the Treasures of the World from the British Museum exhibition. It was very well displayed in rooms so that we began at Africa, then moved to the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Oceana. It contains over 200 objects, none of which we saw on our visit to the Museum in London in December. What I found interesting was that while many of the pieces are iconic examples of a particular time and place, others displayed very similar characteristics. That was particularly true of an eagle statue from Syria that looked to me, so similar to one I have seen depicting Horus, the ancient Egyptian deity. The exhibition also includes items from the personal collection of Sir Stamford Raffles, such as a Javanese mask and a kris and scabbard dating back to the early 19th century. The relics from ancient civilisations and treasures from more recent cultures makes you appreciate the diversity in human social development across the globe.

After work we went to Nectar and Vine for a drink then crossed the road to the strip of restaurants known as Teck Chye Terrace. We chose Yaowarat Seafood for some Thai and it was delicious but probably the hottest green papaya salad I have ever eaten! You sure know you are alive when you eat Thai food.

On Friday we went bird watching with Heather to Eco Green in Tampines. We really had a day out seeing a fabulous range of birds. We met up with some enthusiasts who were trying to find the Cinnamon-headed Green Pigeon which is very rare in Singapore but on Wednesday an individual was spotted right here in this park. We didn't find it, but later in the week we were sent a post to say a pair of males were found again on Saturday. It is a fabulous looking bird. The experts believe these 2 have flown over from Johore, in Malaysia, due to forest clearing. This picture was taken by one of the Singapore Bird Group, Alan Ow Yong, at Eco Green. 





Among the colourful ones we saw, and Eric managed to snap, were the crimson-rumped waxbills. Waxbills are African in origin, one of the finch family, and are brought here by the bird trade. There are many who keep them as pets and subsequently some escape. Then there are those who have been released during certain religious festivals. They are popular since they are both colourful and sweet songbirds, but their presence in the wild here threatens the local grassland bird species as they disturb the ecological balance. That is the waxbill to the left, the other grassland birds in the area were the common, but rarely that close, scaly breasted munia (centre) and on the right the busy nest building baya weavers. 

We got through the big days at work across the weekend, both very tired but taking it in our stride knowing that the end of term is nigh. On Sunday night we returned to Grapevine for the first time this year and were pleasantly surprised by the service and menu selections so I expect we will be back as it is in such a handy location for most of us. 

On Monday we both dragged ourselves out of bed to join the walkers at Bukit Gombak for a walk through Bukit Batok and on to Jurong East. A coffee and a stop at the beautiful Little Guilin (Bukit Batok Town Park looks similar to that of Guilin in China - a granite rock sitting within a lake) made us feel glad we had taken the early train trip out there. The towering rock cliffs make a majestic backdrop to the large tranquil lake, overseen today by a grey-headed fish eagle.

We followed the park connector to Bukit Batok Nature Reserve which surrounds an abandoned quarry site, now a still, deep lake at the foot of a high cliff wall. We followed the nature trail and climbed uphill until we reached the very top of Bukit Batok. Two war memorials once stood here, both built by Australian POWs to commemorate the war dead of the Japanese and the Allies who fought during the decisive Battle of Bukit Timah. The two memorials were destroyed after the war and only the road and stairs that used to lead to them mark their legacy today.

Adhering to the signs in the park warning of falling fruit, we looked up at one point and were rewarded with not one, but two colugos. A rare and delightful find as they are shy, nocturnal animals. 

We finished off the weekend with a return visit to the National Gallery. It only opened last year and on our first visit it was very crowded. We only got to see a small portion of the galleries in the old Town Hall Building. This time we focused on the old Supreme Court Building. Much of the design of the courts has been retained, lots of dark wood and beautiful marble floors.  It provides a lovely setting for the 'Between Declarations and Dreams' exhibition which is permanently displayed on levels 3 to 5 of this wing. The most outstanding was one by Raden Saleh depicting animals pushed to the edge of the earth by bush fire. He is an Indonesian artist and this work was done in 1849 yet remains so relevant, except for the lack of tigers in the wild these days.

Two special exhibitions were also available. The first featured Singapore's leading ink painter Chua Ek Kay: 'After the Rain". Many of his works feature water either as rain, water reflections or lotus ponds.

The second was the largest display ever assembled of Chinese master Wu Guanzhong: 'Beauty beyond Form'. Amazingly, after he studied in Paris in the 1940's he returned to China, only to destroy his paintings and books because he feared he would be killed for adopting European techniques. This was a smart move as even then, he was sent for years to be re-educated in harsh labour camps.  

We finished at the Smoke and Mirrors Bar on the rooftop and enjoyed the view across the padang to MBS. We walked from there around to Sque at Clarke Quay to have our first meeting of the Great Race committee. Peter joined us for dinner after that.