Outside Singapore Art Museum

Singapore Art Museum
For 120 years, the building was the home of St. Joseph Institution (SJI), an all boys school founded by French priest Father Jean-Marie Beurel and a small group of LaSalle Brothers on 1 May 1852. Then the school was relocated in 1987. In 1992, the building was gazetted as a national monument and it was converted into the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), which opened on 20 December 1996.

The mission of SAM is to preserve and present the art histories and contemporary art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region, so as to facilitate visual arts education, exchange, research and development.
- National Heritage Board -

Statue of St John Baptist de la Salle 1
The statue was created by Cesare Aureli.

Statue of St John Baptist de la Salle 2
St John Baptist de la Salle found the Brothers of the Christian School in 1680. He is the Patron Saint of Teacher. SJI is one of the Lasallian Institutions.

The Verandah of Singapore Art Museum 1
This verandah was once filled with boys studying and playing.

The Verandah of Singapore Art Museum 2
Afternoon in Dome Cafe

The Royal Peacock Hotel

I stayed in hotel for a week after I came back from Jakarta. This is because of my flatmates' relative came to visit them. Anyway, they paid for the hotel. ;)

So I spent the night in the Royal Peacock Hotel for four days and in Quality Hotel for two days.

Quality Hotel is a nice, clean, and quite cheap hotel in Balestier area. Probably because of the location is a bit far from MRT station, although there are quite some buses go to City Hall, Bugis, Orchard, and HarbourFront areas passing Balestier Road. Balestier Road has quite a lot of hotels and I think most of them may be categorized as a dirty hotel, if you know what I mean. There is also a famous Ba Kut Teh shop if you go further down along the Balestier Road. But because the Quality Hotel is just like a typical hotel, I will not put any photos in this blog.

The Royal Peacock Hotel is a budget boutique hotel located in Keong Saik Road, Chinatown. The former shop-houses turned hotel is using a Chinese theme as its concept. The ambiance is quite warm. The room that I occupied is not bad considering it is an attic. Unfortunately my room does not have any windows and uses yellow neon lights. So it is a bit dim for me, but hey... maybe that's the concept of the hotel to create the warm-like atmosphere. There is one important thing that I need to complain about the room though. The wall is thin. I can hear people talking at the other side of the room. Overall, the hotel design is interesting.

The Royal Peacock Hotel Logo

The Royal Peacock Hotel Replica 1

The Royal Peacock Hotel Replica 2

The Royal Peacock Hotel Replica 3

Hotel's Room Sign

A Classic Chinese Round-back Armchairs in the Lobby

A Classic Chinese Style Couch Bed in the Lounge

Aunty Tong's Restaurant
I had my breakfast here for four days. The food is not bad considering this is a budget hotel.

Teck Lim Road Scene
Located just opposite the Royal Peacock Hotel, this road offers the travellers other budget accomodation and affordable eateries places.

Hotel 1929
In contrast with the Royal Peacock Hotel, Hotel 1929, which is located just opposite the Royal Peacock Hotel, is a boutique hotel with hip, retro, and vintage theme. It was a shop-houses built in 1929, hence the name.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

It was the 3rd night I stayed at the Royal Peacock Hotel, Chinatown. As to why I stayed at hotel will be told in another entry. That night I was bored. No computer, no internet. So I decided to visit and take pictures of Buddha Tooth Relic Temple after my delicious porridge dinner at Maxwell Food Court.

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is a living cultural monument in the heart of Chinatown housing what Buddhist leaders regard as the Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic in a magnificent Relic Stupa composed of 420kg of gold donated by devotees.

- from www.visitsingapore.com -

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum
The architecture is very beautiful. It is so big and magnificent. According to the temple's website, the design incorporates the Tang Dynasty architecture style and Buddhist Mandala concept. The temple is dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha, which means "The Compassionate One", and also called "The Future Buddha".

The Right Statue that Guard the Entrance of the Temple

The Left Statue that Guard the Entrance of the Temple

Interesting Chinese Door Knocker

Bell Tower

Temple's Roofs Viewed from Below