Automatically got up before 7 this morning, which set my whole day askew, having been up well past midnight the night before (and having little sleep the night before that). Decided to go with it anyway, got myself ready, and went out. Had a breakfast of mee goreng at a Malay place near the hotel, then set off on the MRT.
Jurong East MRT
It's a bit over half an hour to the Jurong East station, and then a bit of a walk to get to the science centre. Once I got there, I was very pleasantly surprised to see a giant balloon advertising Body Works by Gunther von Hagen. I'd thought this was what was showing in Clarke Quay, but apparently that was a knockoff (which explained Winnie's dissapointment). On entering the building I was greeted by a dinosaur. Admission was $20 for just that show, or $21 for that and the science centre, so I went with both.
Greeter at the Singapore Science Centre
The science centre was definitely worth the dollar. It was for kids, of course, but some of the displays were really good. They had a whole section dedicated to mathematics, which was pretty impressive in itself. There was a quantum mechanics section as well, which was very well done. And like all good science centres, there was a massive Tesla coil giving regular performances (ending with another science show favourite, hydrogen balloons).
On to Body Works. This was informative, interesting, impressive and a bit creepy. Not only are there posed bodies, with parts removed to reveal the inner workings, there are displays of organs in different states of health, some animals (a giraffe!), bodily systems separated (the models of the circulatory system are amazing), and an incredible "exploded model" with all parts separated out so you can see how everything fits together. There were also posters explaining the process used to create them (plastination) and some of the diseases and processes shown. No photographs, and it's not for everyone, but I would reccommend it to anyone with an inquiring mind. It's clear how useful these are as teaching tools.
With my morning and a small slice of afternoon taken care of, I headed to Raffles Place to see another reccommended place of interest, the Asian Civilisations Museum. I was surprised however, leaving the MRT station, to discover an Imperial Star Destroyer under construction.
Imperial Shipyards at Singapore
Clearly Singapore was to be at the centre of the new Galactic Empire, so this was even more motivation to learn more about the history of the region. The museum was a short walk along the river from the station. Inside were some fascinating exhibits covering the kingdoms and empires from Indonesia to Turkey and everywhere in between. There was a special display of precious gems from the Mughal empire (of medieval India, and the source of the English word "mogul") and a very informative gallery on the Islamic world.
Observant readers may have noticed no lunch included in what I did today. I did snack through the day, but not much, and so by the time I met Winnie for dinner, I could've eaten a plastinated horse. Fortunately I didn't have to, as we went to the Arab area for dinner (there is a well-known Arab Street, but it appears to be full of carpet shops, and the surrounding streets are the ones with food). After dinner we had a walk around the area, and I was a bit surprised to see how popular hookahs are here. We walked along to Bugis, and had a look at some interesting architecture. There is a striking building designed such that at certain angles it looks like a flat plane. None of my night photos turned out well, so here is one of it from far away I took earlier today.
After a close inspection of this unsettling building, I had to see Winnie off, and get back to my room as well. I would have to get up at 5 the next day, for almost a full day of travelling.
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