History and a lovely lunch

On our final morning in Singapore we visited the country’s oldest museum, with roots going back to 1849 when it began as part of the Singapore Institution’s library. The current building on Stamford Road opened in 1887, its neoclassical dome and wide façade obviously colonial. It was declared a national monument in 1992.

Inside, the galleries lead visitors through centuries of Singapore’s past from early settlements, through the colonial era, to the nation’s modern identity, blending traditional artifacts with immersive digital experiences. Exhibitions like Story of the Forest and the new Singapore Odyssea: A Journey Through Time use light, sound, and animation to make history feel immediate. Maritime tales surface in Once Upon a Tide, tracing how the island grew from a port into a global city.

Interesting that the Poms used Indian convicts for labour. It seems Australia wasn’t special in that respect. I’m also old enough to remember when Singapore separated from Malaysia. It caused quite the stir back in the sixties.

For our last group lunch we went to the very popular Straits Nyonya restaurant. Our guide explained it was Peranakan. The word refers to the descendants of Chinese immigrants who settled in the Malay Archipelago from as early as the 15th century. When these Chinese settlers married local Malay women, their families developed a unique hybrid culture blending Chinese and Malay traditions, with influences from Portuguese, Dutch, and later British colonial life. Peranakan literally means “locally born” in Malay. “Baba” refers to men, “Nyonya” to women in this community.

The culture is known for rich, aromatic dishes like ayam buah keluak, laksa, and babi pong tay, often involving spice pastes (rempah) pounded fresh, coconut milk, and tangy-sweet flavors. In other words, the type of food we made at our cooking class several days ago.

The food, served at a round table with a lazy susan, was absolutely delicious. Once again, it was a shame we weren’t able to spend a bit more time to savour the flavours.

And then it was time to collect our bags and head off to the airport for the trip home. We left our fellow travellers in Terminal One and caught the sky train over to Terminal Three for our flight home. Or so we thought. In the past all Singapore Airlines (SQ) flights used Terminal Three and the SQ lounges are located there. But when it came time to board we had to return to Terminal One. Maybe SQ has outgrown Terminal Three.

After a reasonable night’s sleep we picked up the car at Brisbane airport and drove home.

Despite a few hiccups it was a great trip which covered many aspects of this fascinating island country. It’s clean, safe, and well run with an abiding interest in its own history. I love its multicultural vibe and the way it combines nature into a necessarily urban city. For scale, Singapore would fit into Tasmania, Australia’s little island state, about 98 times. It has an excellent public transport system for those wanting to do it on their own. For anyone looking for a four or five day getaway, Singapore has so much to offer. It’s a perfect place to take a break on a long-haul from Europe. Get yourself out of the airport terminal and take a look around.

By the way, if you’ve come here by accident and want to follow the whole trip, tap here.