Singapore Philatelic Museum

I've been meaning to visit the Singapore Philatelic Museum since 2009, but I've just been terribly busy every time I'm in Singapore. I finally got the chance to visit last January because I took an early morning flight, so after checking in at the hotel and eating lunch I took a short walk to the museum.

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

Iloilo: San Joaquin Church

Makasaysayang Simbahan ng San Joaquin is a church like no other because of its militaristic facade. I was surprised it was designed that way, but our tour guide/friend, Bernie, said that the townsfolk wanted that in to remind them about how hard the Spanish fought the battle against the Moors. (More about the history here)

It was a beautiful day to go to Iloilo's countryside and the San Joaquin Church was our first stop after travelling an hour a half from Iloilo City. The church was indeed majestic and was situated on a plain overlooking the sea. It reminded me somehow of the Zamboanga's Fort Pilar which also had a "battle-like" facade, but with Mama Mary commanding waves to stop its rush towards Zamboanga.

Despite what the facade depicted, the church surroundings was serene and I can just imagine the area looking the same when it was built in 1859. It's always a wonder how we manage to preserve our churches despite earthquakes or fire. It just goes to show how deep the Filipino faith is.

 

Makasaysayang Simbahan ng San Joaquin
San Joaquin, Western Visayas

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=san+joaquin+church+iloilo&sll=14.583333,120.966667&sspn=0.216635,0.41851&ie=UTF8&hq=san+joaquin+church&hnear=Iloilo+City,+Iloilo,+Western+Visayas,+Philippines&ll=10.58595,122.141018&spn=0.013752,0.026157&z=16

Kopi Roti Express

Kopi Roti Express, an expansion of Kopi Roti into rice meals. It started with their siewmai offering and then I was just surprised to see a Kopi Roti Express at the airport. I was in a hurry though so I wasn't able to try it out the first time.

And then we saw a branch at Newport City. Jay, Miguel and I tried it out when they picked me up at the airport. We tried out the following:

I was really hungry that time, but was disappointed with the dishes. It looked delicious, but it was bland. I tried adding some soy sauce to my pork ___ dish, but it was beyond repair. Miguel said that his pork tonkatsu was "okay" though. Jay's beef ____ dish was also bland. I just ordered some siewmai to silence my angry worms.

I guess rice meals isn't the forte of Kopi Roti Express. I'll stick to their usual stuff -- kopi bun, iced milk tea, kaya toast and their poached eggs. I'll also stick to their branch in SM Mall of Asia since I'm protected from smokers when I'm inside the resto.

Kopi Roti Express (map)
Cinema Level, Newport City Mall
Villamor Air Base, Pasay

Must have: iced tea with milk and stick to their breakfast/snack menu

Price range: PhP200 should do you good if you really want to get a meal; snacks at PhP100-150 per set

Lakwatsera Rating: sticking to their old menu, no rice meals for me