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Showing posts with the label barracks

Changi Museum and Chapel - Remembering WWII and POWs

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On 15 February 1942, Singapore came under a new master, Japan. The city was named Syonan-To meaning the Light of the South. Life on the island changed dramatically. Many people feared Japanese brutality and suffered from a lack of food and other supplies. Changi gained prominence during World War II when the Japanese used Changi Prison, originally built by the British in 1936, as a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp. Thousands of Allied soldiers were detained under harsh conditions and interred POW. Changi Museum and Chapel is a small and free museum (free for the local residents, small fee applies for foreign visitors) in the eastern corner of Singapore that depicts the darkest days in Singapore history when Singapore fell on 15th February 1942, and this museum is a tribute to those who fought for Singapore. Inside the museum are remnants of Changi goal, photos, letters and personal artefacts of the POWs, and highlight the imprisonment, suffering and life of the POWs and how human spirit triu...

Changi Point - Village with Nasi Lemak, Beach, Park, Nature Trails and former British Barracks

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Changi was famous for its coconut plantations in the 1800s. By 1845, Changi Point was already a fashionable retreat for picnics and beach parties. At Changi Village, also known as 14 1/2 milestone Changi Road, prior to World War II, many facilities sprouted to serve the British officers and families of the Royal Air Force. Before British colonisation, the area around Sungei Changi or more commonly knows as Changi Creek, which is a short river that runs next to Changi Beach Park, was inhabited by indigenous Malay communities. These villages relied on the creek for fishing, which was the primary source of livelihood back the. Now, Changi Village is still a rustic village at the eastern corner of Singapore where the tallest building is barely five storey high due to the close proximity to Changi airport. If you walk along Changi Beach closer towards Nicol Drive, you can see and hear how low the planes are flying toward the runway. If you compared to the glitzy downtown areas of Marina Ba...