Tag: fort siloso

10 Cannot Miss Activities to End March With A Bang [15 – 31 March]

March. If you’re between the ages of 7 and 19, you’re probably enjoying the blissfulness of the school holidays!

If your school holidays haven’t begun yet and you’re struggling to get to the weekend, don’t fret, we’ve got 10 activities happening over the next two weeks that are bound to lift your spirits!

Play & Discover

1. St. Patrick’s Day Street Festival 2017 

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, which can mean only two things: a whole lot of green and a whole lot of Guinness. This year, the St. Patrick’s Day Street Festival will be spilling onto the streets of Circular Road.

2. Take A Hike At Chestnut Nature Park 

Looking for a quiet spot for a moment of serenity? Head to Singapore’s newest nature park, Chestnut Nature Park. Spanning over 81 hectares, Chestnut Nature Park is Singapore’s largest nature park.

Joining up with the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Chestnut Nature Park stretches along the BKE. Hiking trails within Chestnut Nature Park are split into North and South, bringing the total length to 5.6km. If you’re looking for a quiet spot away from the crowd, why not head down here?

Chestnut Nature Park
Opening Hours: 7am – 7pm (daily)
Website

3. Singapore Festival Of Fun

Spread over 3 weeks, the Singapore Festival Of Fun features a different theme every week. This week (14 – 19 March), head to Clarke Quay for Street Fest. Featuring street performances, you’ll be kept at the edge of your seats watching some death-defying acts.

International Comedy Festival Singapore
Where: Clarke Quay
When: 16 – 19 March
Website 

4. Camping By The Beach @ Sentosa 

For the month of March, Sentosa will be offering up night activities that will have you experiencing a whole new side of Sentosa.

Here in Singapore, there aren’t many spots to pitch a tent other than East Coast Park. As part of Sentosa’s March-only night activities, guests will be given the opportunity to pitch their own tents along Palawan Green.

Grab a blanket, some good friends and some snacks as you catch movies like Our Times, Pitch Perfect and The Internship. Best part? It’s free and there’s no assigned seating, so do get there early for the best view!

Movies By The Beach
Where: Palawan Beach
When: 17 – 19 March, 25 – 26 March; 7.30pm – 9.45pm – 12am
Sentosa[/caption]

Make your way through the underground tunnels of Fort Siloso while getting a history lesson on warfare and the events that led to the Japanese Occupation. While there aren’t any boogeymen or scare tactics at this night tour, it can be a bit unnerving to explore the tunnels way past the sun has set.

Registration booths open at 6.30pm on event dates, so remember to head down early!

Fort Siloso Nite Tour
Where: Fort Siloso
When: 17 – 19 March, 25 – 26 March; 8pm & 9.30pm

Eat 

7. Durian Fiesta 

Back for its 34th run, the Durian Fiesta at Goodwood Park Hotel celebrates all things durian. This year’s festivities stretches from 10 March to 31 July, boasting a total of 14 premium confections.

Popular Japanese ramen operator Keisuke Takeda, known for their chain of ramen shops, has just opened his 12th food concept, Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei. Conveniently located at Tanjong Pagar, this eatery serves up prime US beef patties on sizzling hotplates.

Sound pretty mundane? Wait till you cut into these juicy slabs of meat, because the real star here is the hot, oozing cheese. Hungry for more? At Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei, you’ll find an open salad bar (for the health-conscious) and free flow eggs that are cooked to your liking!

So, if you’re looking for a spot where you can fill your stomach with decadent slabs of meat, head on down to Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei!

Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei
Where: 72 Peck Seah Street Singapore 079329
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 10:00pm

10. The Big Cheese

Who can say no to cheese (sorry vegans and the lactose-intolerant)? Here at DiscoverSG, we believe that the cheesier, the better.  A little food spot has opened up at Sunshine Plaza which sells only one delicious item… MAC AND CHEESE!

Specialty cafes, restaurants and bakeries are no stranger to the food scene but we’ve never seen a food spot dedicated to this humble dish. Tagged at an affordable $5.90, hungry Singaporeans can build their own mac & cheese here!

Choose from an array of cheeses, fillings and toppings. Too hungry to get creative? The Big Cheese has a selection of mac & cheese dishes all sorted out for you so you can focus on the important part… EATING!

So, why not head down to Sunshine Plaza and dig into a comforting bowl of mac & cheese!

The Big Cheese
Where: 91 Bencoolen Street #01-59, Sunshine Plaza, S189652
Opening Hours: 11am – 2pm, 6pm – 10pm (Tues – Sun, 3pm – 10pm on Fri), Closed Mon

Excited yet? With this list of exciting events and enticing food spots, there’s no reason to stay in this month!

Grab your friends and family and head down to these events! They’re sure to offer a well-deserved break from the work desk!

Also read, 6 Places In Singapore With The Dreamiest Bespoke Cakes For Your Special Day

5 War Museums In Singapore You Must Visit At Least Once In Your Life!

February…Chinese New Year festivities and the month of love and romance! But do you remember the important event Singapore commemorates in the same month?

Observed annually on 15 February, Total Defence Day marks Singapore’s fall to the Japanese in 1942. This commemoration seeks to remind people of the pain and suffering endured by our forefathers during the Japanese Occupation, as well as to instill the strategy of “Total Defence” in our people, understanding that each one has a part to play in the survival of our country.

To learn more about the Japanese Occupation in Singapore and the tenacious spirits of our forefathers in protecting this land, here are the 5 war museums in Singapore you should visit.

1. Image Credits: Sentosa[/caption]

Located on Sentosa Island, Fort Siloso is the only preserved coastal fort in Singapore today. It was initially built in the 1880s to protect the island from sea invasion, and the guns were turned inwards facing the land when the Japanese invaded during World War II. Upon seizing Singapore, the Japanese used the fort as a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp.

Today, Fort Siloso is a military museum with gun displays and remains of military structures and tunnels. Admission is free, but admission into the Surrender Chambers is chargeable. The Surrender Chambers feature waxworks of the British Surrender at the Old Ford Factory, commentaries, and exhibitions. Guided tours are available too.

Siloso Point, Sentosa Island
Daily: 10am-6pm (last entry at 5.30pm)

2. Image Credits: Channel News Asia[/caption]

The Changi Museum provides valuable but heartwrenching insights of the POWs who were taken into captivity during the Japanese Occupation. The exhibitions are split into five sections, showing visitors what happened during the war through a collection of photographs, paintings, letters and personal artefacts donated by former POWs. Wartime art pieces produced by the prisoners are also on display, recording their experiences in Changi Prison. Changi Chapel, dedicated to the memory of the POWs and the civilian internees, is located on the museum grounds as well.

Visitors can choose to go on a guided tour, or rent an audio set to listen to first-hand stories and experiences of the POWs.

1000 Upper Changi Road North
Daily: 9.30am-5pm (last entry at 4.30pm)

3. Image Credits: YourSingapore.com[/caption]

Reflections at Bukit Chandu is a heritage centre housed in a restored colonial bungalow. Bukit Chandu (Malay for Opium Hill) was where one of the fiercest and last significant battles took place before the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese. The Battle of Pasir Panjang, also known as the Battle of Bukit Chandu, saw 1400 valiant soldiers from the Malay Regiment fight dauntlessly against a 13 000 strong Japanese army. Despite being severely outnumbered, Lieutenant Adnan Saidi refused to retreat and surrender, and the troops even engaged in hand-to-hand combat after running out of ammunition.

The museum exhibits photographs, maps, artefacts and interactive media, showcasing the tenacity of the Malay Regiment, and other wartime experiences.

31-K Pepys Road
Tues-Sun: 9am-5.30pm
Closed on Mondays, except on Public Holidays

4. The Battle Box

[caption id="attachment_1812" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Image Credits: ST Photos Lim Sin Thai[/caption]

The Battle Box is a 9m deep emergency bunker located beneath Fort Canning Hill, where the British army set up their headquarters in Singapore. It was once the nerve centre of British military operations, consisting of 30 rooms including a cipher room where messages were decoded, a signal control room, and a gun operations room.

The Battle Box is also the site where Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, the General Officer Commanding (Malaya), held a conference to discuss the war situation with other commanders, and then reached the decision to surrender to the Japanese.

The bunker was later converted into a museum in 1992, with artefacts on display depicting the final days before Singapore fell to the Japanese. It has recently undergone a revamp, and will feature multimedia guides, 3D technologies, and a retelling of the story of Singapore’s capture.

2 Cox Terrace
Reopening in March 2016

5. Image Credits: National Archives of Singapore[/caption]

The Ford Motor Factory was the site where the British surrendered Singapore to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, drastically altering the lives of the people in Singapore. Lieutenant-General Tomoyuki Yamashita, head of the Japanese invading forces, seized the factory as his headquarters after capturing Bukit Timah, and demanded for the British’s unconditional surrender.

During the Japanese Occupation, the factory was used to assemble military trucks and other vehicles for the Japanese war effort. Today, the restored factory captures the memories and reflections of the hardships faced by those who had lived through the war. Visit the Boardroom of Surrender where the Surrender Papers were signed, and the Syonan Garden where some of the common food items during the wartime are grown. The Talking Map is an interactive exhibit that traces the route of the Japanese as the advanced into Singapore, with oral histories and first-hand experiences of survivors of the war.

351 Upper Bukit Timah Road
Mon-Sat: 9am-5.30pm
Sun: 12pm-5.30pm
Closing on 16 Feb 2016
Reopening in 2017

(Featured Image Credits: Sentosa)