Istana Open House

It felt particularly apt to be visiting the Istana on its Open House Day the weekend before National Day. 

I’ve been meaning to go for an Open House for ages now, so when Delphine alerted me to the fact that it was happening last Sunday, I promptly put it on our calendar. I haven’t been to the Istana for a long time (possibly since my age was a single digit!) while DD and the kids have not been before so we were all pretty excited. And since it was a Sunday, we decided we might as well make a picnic of it since we would be making our way down after church at lunch time.

We arrived at around 12pm, food in tow, and found ourselves arriving just as most folks were leaving. It was a good thing, since there were no queues, allowing us to breeze in rather quickly. Also, with droves of people leaving, there was less of a crowd.

Not that there wasn’t plenty of room for everyone. The Istana grounds are HUGE. I knew there was a 9-hole golf course in there, but seriously didn’t expect to have to make a 15 minute trek uphill from the front gate just to another gate: the centre gate. It was a hot, hot day, and with the kids (and adults) fast wilting, we decided just before arriving at the centre gate to find some shade under a tree and fuel up before proceeding further.

Noey’s current stilted smile. At least he finished most of his lunch.

All done with food and ready to explore!

The annual Istana Art Event, organised by the Singapore Art Museum and National Heritage Board was also being held on the grounds during the Open House. We were too late for the On-The-Spot Art Competition, but there were other acitvites still on-going at the different museum booths and we popped by to check out them out.  The kids were thrilled with a couple of simple paper punch-outs – a paper Makohta (crown) for Nomi and a paper Keris (dagger) for Noey from the Malay Heritage Centre booth.

The unsuspecting little Queen poses while an intruder brandishing a weapon approaches.

The threat is rebuffed and the little Queen smiles! All is well.

We popped out a cute set of Andy Warhol’s glasses courtesy of the ArtScience Museum and rearranged the huge jigsaw puzzle stamps at the Singapore Philatelic Museum’s booth, but really, all the kids wanted to do was run around the sprawling grounds. I don’t blame them – there was really just so much open space begging to be covered! Honestly, if I were a young child with boundless energy rather than a naggy ol’ parent, I’d want to do that too.  

“I think this is a good spot to build my new kingdom…”

“Me and my cannon are going to take you down!”
Incidentally, the cannon is a Japanese cannon captured during WWII and presented to the People of Singapore by the allied forces. Cool huh!

“Think anyone will notice if I just jump into the fountain for a bit to cool off?”

Since we made it all the way to the Istana Main Building, we decided to pop inside to take a look. Entry is $2 per person (free for kids 3 years and under). Inside, you are allowed to view 3 function rooms, including the State Room where dignitaries are received, and view a display of gifts which have been presented to the President and the Prime Minister by different diplomats and heads of state. It was quite an eye-opener to view the beautiful colonial architecture and stately furnishings within the building. It was a pity they didn’t open up more areas for viewing. Photography isn’t allowed so there are no pictures, unfortunately.

I’ve got to admit though, the part we all enjoyed best was the air-con. Haha. Would gladly have paid $2 for that!

It was past 3pm by the time we were done with all that, and with the kids nearing breaking point, we decided to call it a day. I was kind of glad that Noey didn’t see the play area that was set up with plastic slides so we could make a quick exit. He was really quite the grumpus by then anyway.

Both Papa and Nomi were totally wiped out, though they still managed a smile for the camera.

We didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the President and First Lady this time round, though we did hear their presence being announced. Maybe next time! I’m sure we’ll be back.

The next Istana Open House will be on Sunday 19 August for Hari Raya Puasa, from 8.30am to 6pm. Entry is free for all Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. An entry fee of $1 applies to all other visitors. You can check the Istana Website for more details.