Visit The Coins and Notes Museum while shopping at Chinatown Singapore

The Singapore Coins and Notes Museum is located at 40 Pagoda Street, Singapore.  While shopping at Chinatown, you can also visit it as a one of your destinations in your itinerary.  It is the Singapore only museum dedicated to displaying currency. Through their exhibits, you will have a journey through a world of coins and notes from the earliest objects used for barter trade to the latest cutting-edge polymer notes.

Coins and Notes Museum at night

The museum has 2 floors. At first one you can find ancient currencies, the history of currency used in Singapore, and the coins & medallions of today, whilst the other features the different cultural usage of coins as well as a video presentation on the minting of coins. They also offer a minting service whereby visitors can obtain their own souvenir coin for some prices.

The museum also showcases the earliest coins used in Singapore, which were foreign in origin and brought here through trade. These came from as far such Holland, and remained in use even after indigenous coins surfaced in the region. Some consider the Spanish dollar, widely used in the East Indies and other parts of the world during the 19th century, was the first truly global currency.

showcase of Coins and Notes Museum Singapore

The museum also exhibits more recent currencies such as that produced in 1938 by the Board of Commissioners of Currencies of Malaya. Following the onset of the Japanese Occupation in 1942, this production was stopped abruptly.

The highlight of the exhibition, however, are the uniquely designed Singapore coins and notes that have been produced for circulation since Singapore’s independence in 1965.

The Board of Commissioners of Currency was set up in 1967, for there was great urgency to produce Singapore’s own currency at the time. Since its inception, two series of coins and of notes have thus far been issued for national circulation.

level 1 - Coins and Notes Museum Singapore

The smallest coin in the museum is a Majapahit gold coin-like piece with a stamped design.
It is suspected to have originated from as far back as 800 years ago, a product of the Majapahit empire centred in Java, Indonesia, from the 13th to 16th centuries. Until today, ‘coins’ like this are still being uncovered throughout Southeast Asia, proof of the empire’s bygone influence.

Coins and Notes Museum Singapore

Spare some time for the museum’s shop, as it is literally a treasure trove. There you can purchase commemorative coins and medallions, currency memorabilia and other souvenirs.

sources: http://www.myonlinetour.com/poi/scnm/index.htm ; 

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The beautiful Garden By the Bay - Singapore

Garden by the Bay is a park on a reclaimed land in central Singapore, adjacent to the Marin a Reservoir. It is a favorite place in Singapore today and It's a 'must.' even if you only have a few hours in Singapore. It is a great sight and it is very close to the Marina Bay Sands hotel at Shoppes at Marina Bay.

the supertrees at night

It is a Singapore's premier urban outdoor recreation space and a national icon too. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden. There is a fee to enter the domes but you can walk around the gardens for free.

The park has proven popular for event planners, with demand so high that the park has to limit the number of events to three per week.

bridge from Marina Bay to The Garden

Flower Dome
It is the lower but larger of the two, at 1.2 hectares  and it is 38 meters high. It maintains a temperature between 23°C and 25°C. It replicates a mild, dry climate and features plants found in the Mediterranean and other semi-arid tropical regions (e.g. parts of Australia, South America, South Africa).

The Flower Dome features 7 different "gardens" as well as an olive grove with a bistro and a central changing display field has also been incorporated to enable flower shows and displays to be held within the conservatory.

Cloud Forest
It is higher but slightly smaller at 0.8 hectares. It replicates the cool moist conditions found in tropical mountain regions between 1,000 meters and 3,000 meters above sea level, found in South-East Asia, Middle- and South America. It features a 42-meter "Cloud Mountain", accessible by an elevator, and visitors will be able to descend the mountain via a circular path where a 35-metre (115 ft) waterfall provides visitors with refreshing cool air.

The "cloud mountain" itself is an intricate structure completely clad in epiphytes such as orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, spike- and clubmosses, bromeliads and anthuriums. It consists of a number of levels, each with a different theme.

The Supertrees
These are tree-like structures that dominate the Gardens' landscape with heights that range between 25 meters and 50 metres. They are vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens.

The Supertrees are home to enclaves of unique and exotic ferns, vines, orchids and also a vast collection of bromeliads such as Tillandsia, amongst other plants. They are fitted with environmental technologies that mimic the ecological function of trees – photovoltaic cells that harness solar energy which can be used for some of the functions of the Supertrees, such as lighting, just like how trees photosynthesize; and collection of rainwater for use in irrigation and fountain displays, exactly like how trees absorb rainwater for growth. The Supertrees also serve air intake and exhaust functions as part of the conservatories' cooling systems.

the supertress view from bridge

There is an elevated walkway, the OCBC Skyway, between two of the larger Supertrees for visitors to enjoy a breathtaking aerial view of the Gardens. A food and beverage outlet is planned atop the 50-metre (160 ft) Supertree. At night, the Supertrees come alive with a light and music show called the OCBC Garden Rhapsody

This place is very different day and night! Visit the dome in the day time, they have exhibitions sometimes. They had an exhibition in the Flower Dome sometimes.  You will love the exhibition and walk around the Cloud Forest, so paying to get into both Domes were totally worth it. Visit the Supertreea Grove at night, you will love the light against the night.

Google

source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardens_by_the_Bay

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Jalan Alor - Kuala Lumpur - for the atmosphere and the experience local culinary

Jalan Alor is popular among the locals and tourists for offering food served in a traditional open-air atmosphere, with chairs and tables dotting the curbs and road-sides. It is an entire street dedicated to cheap hawker food of mainly local Chinese cuisines. While some hawkers erect stalls along curbs, others operate food stalls from utilitarian restaurants. At night, the place has a very festive atmosphere with red lanterns strung along lamp posts and quite a bit of traffic. The place is teeming with tourists who are looking for a taste of genuine Malaysian cuisine without the high price tag

jalan alor - kuala lumpur

Jalan Alor is a short walk away from the modern shopper’s paradise of the Bukit Bintang Walk and its many malls and plazas. This is a place burgeoning with activity both during night and day. It is quite an overwhelming experience for the first timers, who may have some difficulty on deciding where to eat. . It's generally filled with mostly tourists because they've read about the "experience" of "hawker food stalls". There is a wide array of food to choose from, some of the best being the grilled fresh seafood.

bubble tea stand at jalan alor

You can see hawker stands selling durian fruits, sweetcorn bbq, fried chestnut and bubble ice tea. The culinary are varies, you can try barbecued meats, hanging roasted ducks, hokkien mee, grilled fish, Chinese noodle, fried rice, chicken satay, sweet and sour chicken, the local delicacy Stingray, the sea bass and red snapper came in a garlic and chilly marinade, the garlic kangkong, perhaps the penang fried kway teow and so on. The steamed vegetables, salad and fresh coconut drinks all complemented the fish very well. they will cook for on a big fire and the soup has a good pepper taste and best chicken wings

night live at jalan alor

tips

• They will roller grill fishes on fire but you have to be patience to wait for yours to be ready
• For the atmosphere and the experience, this is as a must-try street culinary for first-time visitors to KL.
• The food is great at an average price. It is not cheap but it is not that expensive. 
• They are selling Durian. It smells odd, but it tastes different. Please don't do this if you have been drinking a beer. it could be one of your worst days.
• It’s easiest to arrive at the Bukit Bintang monorail stop and walk along Bukit Bintang. When you're about the KFC you have to go left and than you have to walk 20 meters and turn to the left.
• Jalan Alor is a street full of Malaysian authentic food like curry laksa, assam laksa etc. It should be an amazing scene for trying Malaysian local foods.

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