Discovering MY SINGAPOREAN HERITAGE at the BRAND NEW Peranakan Museum // Local History and Culture

We finally had a free day to go to the Peranakan Museum.
It was a super hot day but we took a walk by the river to enjoy the views at a less crowded time of day.
The museum's building itself is beautiful. Having recently undergone renovations and touch ups the pristine painters really stands out in bold colours such as the Peranakan are famous for. Set along the road of the first Botanic Garden in Singapore there is plenty to admire before you even step inside.
Welcoming the cool air we bought our tickets and headed into the first of three exhibits. The exhibits take you on a journey from the start of the Peranakan culture and customs onto home and fashion, including some exceptional pieces of jewellery.
***The lighting in the museum in low to protect the precious collection inside, many items have been donated by local Peranakan families, so please bear this in mind when watching!
Do take a visit for yourself, especially if you are local or PR as you get in for FREE!
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[@ghiberti]

Singapore did a great job in preserving the Peranakan culture. Little Nyonya (the drama series) renewed the world's interest in Peranakan culture. Thanks for sharing this, wonderlust.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Thank you for watching with us! We love the Peranakan heritage and feel very fortunate that much of it has been preserved 😊

[@itsmetiag]

This nyonya sends her love! Good to see the museum looking so well cared for :)

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Yes!! They have done an amazing job at refurbishment and the artefacts are beautiful.

[@kenzone]

Coming from a Peranakan family myself, I remember my grandmother’s host of nyonya kebayas, metal belts, beaded slippers (kasut manik) and batik sarongs. When she passed away years ago, my aunt managed to frame some of the best ones and she displays them in her home these days.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Oh wow what a lovely way to preserve them and admire rather than tucked away. I love the beaded shoes - such details.

[@CKology]

Fabulous, the museum looks amazing! Always giving us ideas for the weekend

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Our pleasure!! Please let us know when you take on any of our wonderlust ideas into your weekend!! We’re working on something exciting for all our subscribers soon too!

[@new2melbtango]

Hope to bump into you again in October!!! Unfortunately you were busy at Maxwell Center recording a video and I only got to briefly chat to you.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Always happy to stop and chat!! October will come by soon enough - do reach out before you arrive! 😊

[@new2melbtango]

My wife and I visited the museum when we were there in March. Found out that one of the recipe books (which was written by LKY's mum) we have in our bookshelf LOL. The museum is wonderous, but we like how they're wanting to find more artefacts from other Peranakan backgrounds since they mainly have the Chinese peranakan historical stuff. The jewellery and dresses were amazing.

[@new2melbtango]

BTW - the guy at the service desk, we had a good chat about Peranakan history and the need for the other SG cultures to contribute to the museum

[@sngjoolian]

LKY's mum was a great cook

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Yes!! Jonty’s mum has the same book!! She was very shocked to hear it was behind glass in a museum 😂 made her feel old! Heheh.

[@new2melbtango]

@@WONDERLUSTworld 🤣😂😁 Well, hopefully get to meet you guys on our next trip to SG in October when we attend Singapore Tango Festival. For now, enjoy the food during Hari Raya!!!! Share video of the food please!!! Make us more homesick!! 😂😅

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Heheh. We have missed out on the bazaar this year, just had a passing visit!! But it’s on our priorities list for next year!!

[@adriansim5940]

Hey Jonty and Millie, great video as always, thank you. Visited the museum with wife and son only last month. Was surprised to see my uncle's photo on the wall! And my grand aunty's own wedding gown on display on level 3! Ya, pretty cool. My wife has done some of the intricate manek shoes, but not any more as it's hard on her eyes. Parliament, when in session is open to the public. Entrance from the side across the road from the old supreme court...bring your IDs and dress appropriately ie no shorts, singlets or jandals. Yup, my son and I went to one of the sessions. It was interesting for us... Of 4.5 million people on the island, we were the only 2 visitors to Parliament's session that day!! 😮😮🤭🤭 But is was cool to see the senior politicians in the debating chamber...not recommended for kids though...it is not like the English Parliament with exciting debates....this one's quite 😴😴😴 for the kids...😂😂

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Wow!! It must be quite a special feeling to have family on the wall at the museum!! Very interesting about parliament! We’ll try to get along, although I’m sure we can’t vlog it! Heheheh

[@WWK186]

Peranakan craft and art is elaborate and beautiful. The artefacts give us a picture of what was trending and valued in that generation. Thank you for sharing with us.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Thank you for joining us on the journey!! Glad you enjoyed it 😊🙏🏼

[@limchyehock6722]

Peranakan cooking as well. The Bibiks and Wawaks and Babas too don't believe in taking short cuts and cutting corners in using the ingredients. A lot of hard work goes into the rempah. They are very meticulous even in their kueh making, bead slippers, kebaya stitching. I know because I grew up in the 50s and 60s surrounded by Peranakan neighbours in a mainly Peranakan neighbourhood. Missed those glorious days. Glad that the Government is putting in lots of effort and resources to preserve this unique heritage for the present and future generations.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Absolutely!! It’s an art, not just a heritage and culture! Intricate, delicate and beautiful!

[@WisdomforDessert]

I used to work in the peranakan museum! It was such a special experience during the last opening in 2008.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Oh wow!! Yes, Jonty’s sister went before and said there were some wonderful exhibits, including one where she tried on Peranakan clothing!

[@sayhowong3764]

Thank you for your series of videos around Singapore! You probably saw more places than I had despite me being a Singaporean. Thank you and please continue to do what you do! And you have a beautiful family too!

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Thank you so much! That is so kind!! We will continue exploring and sharing with you all! 😊 please keep watching! Heheh.

[@VicariousWalker]

I like the museum! Especially the jewellery section 😍

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Yes!! And the 15 carat diamond is quite sizeable!! We did a bit of research and we think it would retail at around S$5m!!

[@noorirwan686]

Unique museum.. im malay n my mom is half chinese by the way slamat hari raya to me 😅 im an introvert orelse invited u guys over

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Salamat Hari Raya to you! That’s kind - thank you 😊

[@timfitzmaurice537]

Love that this place is reopened. Much new to explore

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Yes! Lots of beautiful things to see and learn 😊 we didn’t go before it closed, so I’m not sure how it changed?

[@crowe286]

Thanks guys. On my to see list when next in Singapore in June. Looking forward to seeing myself.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Oh that’s amazing!! Do tag us in any photos you might post on social media?? @wonderlustvlog on Instagram - I hope you enjoy visiting!! 😊

[@marjietan4112]

Love what you’ve shared. We will def go explore when we visit next month. Thx ❤

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Very worthwhile going! Do take time to read everything and watch the on-screen stories too 😊🙏🏼

[@anneashdown5539]

So glad this is open again! Definitely planning a visit on the next trip 👍

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Enjoy your trip when you go! Do share what you think of it.

[@weesoekyin]

Just saying hi to another fellow prankana. Love your kids, so cute.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Hello! Oh thank you - that’s very kind!!

[@SuccessforLifester]

Ah I was there last Friday 14 Apr 23 at about 530 pm. I only visited the souvenir shop which doesn't have much. A lady paid 10 dollars to get access and I was feeling guilty as I didn't go in. I was telling myself to go on another day when the day is early.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Yes, definitely worth going!

[@joodiff]

Enjoyed your video again this week. ❤ Jonty is not wrong in suspecting his grandpa was probably related to one of the donars of the furniture pieces in the museum. That’s because every Chinese male has a generational name through which the Chinese keep track of their genetic and blood family members. All male children of each generation are christened with their generational name, so that the entire Clan knows how they are related to everybody else with the same surname for centuries. The Generational Name List is called “Family Poem” Pretty cool! Unfortunately, many of us don’t follow this practice anymore.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

That’s awesome!! We have asked someone in Malacca to try to find out more for us!! Let’s hope we come up trumps!

[@joodiff]

@@WONDERLUSTworld Wonderful! Good luck!

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Thank you!! We need a Malacca trip soon 😁

[@joodiff]

@@WONDERLUSTworld That’s so exciting! Lots of Peranakan heritage places and museums to visit in Malacca. Have stayed at a traditional Peranakan style hotel when in Malacca a number of years ago. It’s called Hotel Puri Malacca, I believe. One of the lower end, economical, traditional style hotels. But there are many slightly posher ones around these days. It was a truly immersive experience and highly recommended! Looking forward to a Malacca video 👍🏼

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Thanks for sharing! Any other suggestions of places to go or things to see there?

[@jaslynkoh7364]

You are also a Peranakan? Cool.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Yes! Proudly!

[@asylumhengah]

how about ideas of escape rooms, virtual reality simulators, go karting or going to the museum of ice cream or children's museum? or visiting a cat cafe

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Go karting sounds heaps of fun! I think VR simulators is not going to be such good KZbin content? Just watching us wander around a booth with headsets on… 😂🤣

[@DamselflySnaps]

Great video as always! Thanks for sharing. Just a suggestion, maybe you might want to use a microphone for places like these where you don’t want to speak too loudly. This will make your audio clearer and cut out the ambient noise.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Thanks! Good idea - we have one we have stopped using since we got good mics for the cams…. We need to remember this in future! Thank you!!

[@SuccessforLifester]

Jonty, the walls of donors names still has a lot of vacancies. You could consider getting your name up there with some donations

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Thanks. There are many things I’d love to donate to, but not in order to get my name anywhere… but we’re not in a position to be able to make a significant enough donation to warrant a plaque - plenty of heart, not enough money! Heheh

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@WONDERLUSTworld hehe just teasing. National museum has a similar set up. I think for as little as 5000 the donor name can be up there.

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Wow - that’s not little for some… it’d be wonderful to be able to give back to these places with a significant donation though!

[@crosbyong]

14:23 Hahaha….”Singapore Aviation Museum”? Did you mean to say it was briefly a wing of the Asian Civilisations Museum before it became fully the Peranakan Museum. Another nice vlog introducing another interesting bit of Singapore. 👍👏

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Oh nooooo!! 🙈 I combined Asian Civilisation and it became Aviation!!! Hahahah. Don’t tell anyone!! 😂😂😂

[@crosbyong]

@@WONDERLUSTworld slip of the brain, no fault of the tongue 🤣🤣🤣

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

😂😂

[@mindawareness]

thanks for the info' as a 47 years old singaporean myself i dunno abt this places

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Ah! Lots of hidden gems in Singapore once you start looking. I guess it’s of particular interest to us because of Jonty’s heritage.

[@kennyzeng21]

I'm 25% BABA !

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Awesome!! I hope you enjoyed discovering some of your heritage in this video 😊👍🏼

[@abelfilmroom]

Do you need to apply for a permit to film a video like this?

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

Hello! Thanks for asking - nope! Filming in the museum is all good and welcome 😊

[@SuccessforLifester]

@@WONDERLUSTworld in one recent vlog, a man said that he was not allowed to take video in National Museum. I think this is bad as I like to record my visits and to slowly digest it at my own time

[@WONDERLUSTworld]

I can understand why some places don’t want to allow it, but personally I think it’s good - even to be able to share on KZbin or other platforms as it helps to spread the love for these things. For example, we were in Venice not too long ago and went to an orchestral concert. They encouraged you to take photos and videos and to share them as they wanted to keep it all alive. They only asked that you remain considerate to those around you. I thought that was a wonderful idea.