I've been looking forward to visiting the museum because I wanted to relive the days when I was an avid stamp collector. I have quite a lot of stamps. I got most of them from my Kuya and the others from being a member of our school Philatelic club and my Mom's friends who'd collect and pass on their stamps to me (special thanks to Fr. Bernard!). Anyway, I hope I find time to unearth my collection sometime this year.
An old-style mail box greeted me as I entered the museum. After paying SG$5 I immediately went through the exhibits on the first floor. The first exhibit detailed how stamps are made. It's quite a long tedious process. I realized though that nowadays only a handful of kids are probably collecting stamps since not many people send snail mail anymore.
What excited me a lot was seeing the Penny Black (one famous rare stamp) in the flesh! I probably peeked through the magnifying glass for about five minutes. I only moved on because a kid stepped inside the room and I kinda got embarrassed. Haha. Anyway, I've seen the Penny Black in magazines/write-ups only, so it was my first time to actually see one. (Hyperventilating!!!).
Other things of interest were old mail boxes and post office paraphernalia in the Room of Rarities. I was disturbed with how long postal mail took to deliver in the past. I remember sending my sister snail mail to the US when I was a kid and she relayed to me that it would take at least 2-3 weeks for her letters to reach her husband (back then her boyfriend). Now it just takes a split second for our mail to reach anyone in the US. Communication has definitely changed a lot in the past three decades!
I wanted to bring home a replica of an old-style mailbox, but I found it quite expensive. I guess I'll save up for it so I can match it with my locker replica. In good time. Anyway, I just got myself a copy of a 2009 Singapore-Philippines joint issue.
Hope to find my collection soon!
Singapore Philatelic Museum (map)
Open hours: Monday 1-7pm; Tuesday to Sunday 9am to 7pm
Admission: adult SG$5; Senior citizen/child SG$4
It's just a 5-minute walk from City Hall MRT and is just one tawid from Funan IT Mall
