Walk the “Journey through the Land of Lotus” at Singapore Philatelic Museum

Posted by Angeline under Buildings and Monuments, Exhibitions, Hobbies and Toys, Museums/Heritage Galleries, Reflections, Traditions
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Come to think of it, the last time I visited Singapore Philatelic Museum (SPM) was a school trip during my Secondary school days. I remembered that not many of my classmates were able to go because there was limited space. And I was really lucky at that time to be selected. I still remember that it was for History class and the theme then was on Singapore’s History. Our school even got the second prize for the ‘Old Maps of Singapore’ contest that was organized by the SPM.

This time round, I am here for the ‘Journey through the Land of Lotus’ exhibition which is one of the newly launched Vietnam Festival events. As I observe the entrance of the Singapore Philatelic Museum, I always find it to be perfectly adorned for the event on hand. In fact, kudos to the people who are behind the scenes at the museums under NHB, they are always so meticulous about the theme decorations. Hence, I can’t help but go all the way to the opposite road to snap this entrance photo.

At the ground level, there are some exhibitions of postcards and costumes from Vietnam but the main exhibition is at level 2.

Entering the Journey through the Land of Lotus…

While touring the exhibition, Jocelyn from the museum told me that stamps are the window to the world and the exhibits featured here can provide us witn a good introduction to Vietnam. It allows us to have a glimpse of Vietnam’s history and culture without the need for us to be physically present at the country.

Take a closer look at these stamps which carries the theme of flowers. On the top row you can spot the featuring of lotus, Vietnam’s national flower on the stamps. The flower is also known as ‘flower of the dawn’ and it can be easily found throughout Vietnam at lakes and ponds. The Vietnamese also find the flower to represent purity, commitment and optimism for the future.

Over here, the stamps here highlight the 54 ethnic minority groups in Vietnam. Apart from the stamps, there are also displays on 30 lovely dolls dressed in the styles of Vietnamese minority groups which are on loan from Vietnam Women’s Museum, Hanoi.

Apart from studying the culture of the country, I also find the arts section to be very fascinating. There is even an actual water puppet being displayed at the top of the wall. In case you didn’t know, water puppetry is an important form of art in Vietnam. It has a thousand year old history it was created by the Viet people in the Red River Delta region. Hence, each water puppet reflects the life of the villagers and in order to perform the water puppetry, the performers have to stand in the water!

Other than water puppetry, the Vietnamese arts are also well-known for its bamboo products and lacquer ware.

These stamps over here are on the Vietnamese cuisines.

Not forgetting to mention the elegant traditional costumes.

After making this trip down to the Singapore Philatelic Museum, I really concur that the study of a stamp can really help you to learn about the richness of the world in the fun way. And guess what, when I have kids in the future, I will definitely bring them to the Singapore Philatelic Museum. It is just an excellent platform to educate them on the history of not just Singapore but also other nations. And for those who already have kids now, here is some info which you may find useful.

For avid stamp collectors who also like to collect special postmarks, you will definitely like this. You can just have this unique postmark on your letter or postcard when you post it at the SPM counter. I got mine over here just by donating the recommended amount of $0.50. FYI, I like it so much that I decided to mail it to myself and I can’t wait for it to arrive in my letter box now.