Treasures of the East

Posted by angela under Heritage Sites and Trails, Museums/Heritage Galleries
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To a West-side dweller like me, Eastern Singapore is as foreign as Timbuktu. So yesterday, in the mood for adventure, I hopped on one of the IMD’06 Shuttle Buses and went exploring in the “Far East”.

My First Stop - NEWater Visitor Centre.

The place was an oasis of… well, NEWater. For the uninitiated, NEWater is the PUB’s Reverse Osmosis creation. It is, essentially, purified/recycled used water.

Our extremely engaging guide, Ronnie, took us through the NEWater production process.

There’s Ronnie, quite literally walking on NEWater.
Before the used water reaches the NEWater factories, it is already treated through conventional processes.
The first step is microfiltration, where treated used water is passed through hundreds of spaghetti-looking membranes to filter out impurities.
The smaller unwanted molecules are then gotten rid of through the second stage, reversee osmosis.
These are actually pretty standard procedure, which have been practiced in the US and Germany for years. After reverse osmosis, the water is actually fit for human consumption, and in the US and Germany, it is released for use.

Ultrafiltration device

Reverse osmosis device

However, in true Singaporean spirit… we just had to be safe. Or kiasu, depending on which way you want to look at it.
So, the PUB added an extra stage of treatment: Ultraviolet disinfection to kill off whatever germs etc. that might have been left behind (this is even though none of such particles have been found after reverse osmosis to date).

Ultraviolet disinfection device

The underlying message? NEWater is safe. Very, very safe.

The NEWater Visitor Centre has regular shuttle buses from Tanah Merah MRT as well as guided tours. For more info, check out http://www.museums.com.sg/MRM_newwater.asp. Admission is free.

My 2nd Stop - Air Force Museum

Aircraft
Aside from an outdoor display of aircraft and missiles, the museum details the history of the Air Force.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is a pretty new creation, starting up only in the 1970s when Britain pulled their miiltary out of Singapore. It was previously known as the Singapore Air Defence Command (SADC). Prior to that, Singapore’s aerial defence was provided by the British’s Royal Air Force.

One of the most interesting factoids is this: The Air Force used to grow pineapples and sell them. :S What for, I don’t know. Perhaps someone could enlighten me?

A small 3D reenactment of the Cable Car incident, where the courageous Air Force crew saved about 13 people trapped in cable cars after the cable was dislodged by a passing ship.

Admission to the Air Force Museum is free. For more details, go to http://www.museums.com.sg/MRM_airforce.asp.

My 3rd Stop - Art Retreat (Private Art Museum)

Right now, the Museum, set up by Indonesian collector Kwee Swie Teng, is featuring the works of 5 contemporary Chinese artists.

1. Gong Lilong
Gong Lilong’s paintings are of peasants influenced by popular culture. His works reminded me of that of Fernando Botero (whose artworks were shown at the Singapore Art Museum last year) as they both feature very round, robust subjects.

A picture of peasants dancing the tango.

2. Ming Jing

Ming Jing’s painting of a wedding proposal - can you spot the man and woman?
Ming Jing’s painting are considerably less colourful than Gong Lilong’s. As they lack clearly defined lines, they almost seem abstract. However, if you observe carefully, you can make out distinct subjects. With such painting techniques, Ming Jing, our guide told us, was trying to create a dreamy, surreal atmosphere.

3. Chen Junde

Chen Junde is influenced by Chinese calligraphic stokes, evidenced by the thick defined strokes of his oil paintings.

4. Wang Huaiqing

Painting of antique Chinese chairs by Wang Huaiqing
Wang Huaiqing sees things in a more abstract way. The above painting of antique chairs shows only their outline in red, and if you didn’t observe carefully, you might just mistake it for something else.

5. Xin Dongwang

“The World Out There” by Xin Dongwang
Xin Dongwang brings out the hope of peasants for a better life through paintings. His success in portraying their emotions may be attributed to the fact that he was one of them before he made good as an art professor.

Admission to Art Retreat is free. For more info, visit http://www.museums.com.sg/MRM_artretreat.asp.

The Regional Bus Tours organized in conjunction with International Museum Day 2006 run till this Friday. For more details, visit http://www.museums.com.sg/shuttle_bus_wday.asp

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