MacRitchie Reservoir Park

Last weekend I left Bryan at home with his video games and headed over to MacRitchie Reservoir Park.  It was a great day- the sun was shining but there was a nice breeze coming off the water.  Even though it was a weekend, the park was pretty empty.  Aside from a few kayakers and runners, I was the only one around.  I decided to take the Prunus and Petai trails, which run near the reservoir for awhile.  They're easy trails but I'd never taken them before and was hopeful that I might see something new.

MacRitchie Reservoir

Right away I heard some noisy birds in the bushes.  I saw a crimson sunbird and a little further along the path, what I think were a pair of Asian paradise flycatchers.  I can't be sure about that though, because I didn't manage to get a good photo- I needed Bryan with his photography skills!  These bright dragonflies perched nearby, glistening in the sun.

The heat can get really oppressive in the forest- sometimes the air feels so thick with humidity that it's like breathing in through a wet washcloth.  So when I came to a bench at the edge of the wooden pathway, I decided to relax and have a big drink of water.  I zoned out for a while, staring into the undergrowth and enjoying the peace and quiet of the forest.  And then...shit.  Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit. There, about six inches from my feet.  A vine that wasn't a vine.  That distinct, red to yellow pattern.  My dad's voice echoed in my head "Red to black, friend of Jack.  Red to yellow, kill a fellow."  I fought the overwhelming urge to scream and jump and run.  I took a deep breath and slowly drew my legs up to my chest, spun around, and took a giant step away from the pit viper.  Safely out of striking distance, I stared at it, making sure it didn't move while I took some deep breaths and tried to get my heart to stop hammering out of my chest.  Then I crouched down and took some photos.

Thanks for not biting me, man

It was either a male or a young female- all the juveniles start out green with the red and yellow pattern, but by the time the females reach adulthood, they've changed substantially.  They grow to be much larger than the males, and they have a black and greenish-yellow pattern, the bright green and red totally gone.  The males stay smaller and keep the bright pattern, so their adult selves look similar to the juvenile version.  I think this was probably an adult male, and as I looked at him, it seemed silly to have been so afraid.  He was so small  that it seemed impossible that he could do much harm.  But it would be a mistake to underestimate the little guy- while their venom isn't known to be fatal to humans, it could certainly ruin your day.  Hemotoxins in their venom prevent blood clotting and inflict serious organ and tissue damage.

See how I missed it in the foliage?

After I had my fill of the snake, I headed onward down the path, still feeling a little spooked by my encounter on the lonely path.  About 10 steps later, I heard a loud twig snap and I stopped and whirled around and saw...nothing.  I stared into the woods for a second, then mentally mocked myself for being such a wuss.  I took another step forward and almost tripped over a monkey that seemed to have materialized out of thin air.  He must have crawled out from under the wooden path, and he'd planted himself right in front of me, seemingly unconcerned by my presence.  He startled me so badly that I jumped.  He looked annoyed and stood up and backed away a few steps.

I skirted the irritable monkey and moved on.  About another 10 steps on, I heard a noise and assumed that the monkey was just following along.  I glanced to the side and instead saw a large water monitor digging in the leaf litter.  Sheesh, had the jungle shrunk overnight?  I was literally tripping over the local wildlife!

Not much farther along, I ran into the rest of my monkey friend's group.  The group was rather large, and I guessed that their range on the edge of the forest probably meant that they got a lot of human food.  I was proved right a few minutes later.  As I chatted with some German tourists who were admiring the monkeys, everything seemed to happen all at once.  A Singaporean family rounded the corner- parents with their two kids, Dad toting plastic grocery bags with potato chips inside.  I saw him just before the monkeys did, and shouted" PUT YOUR BAG OVER YOU HEAD!  THE MONKEYS ARE GOING TO STEAL YOUR FOOD!"  He looked at me like I was crazy, and I threw my hands over my head, "Your GROCERIES.  The monkeys are going to TAKE them!"  He continued to gape at me like I was an idiot.  In the meanwhile the monkeys snatched the bags from his hands and began feasting on fattening potato chips.  His kids screamed, and he stared at the monkeys angrily.  I shook my head and rolled my eyes.  While they were all still screaming, an old man walked by and something happened that I'd never seen before.  All of the monkeys that didn't already have food in their hands jumped onto the path and started following the man.  He had a big trail of monkeys behind him, crawling all over one another in an effort to get closer to him.  It dawned on me that he must feed them all the time.  Sure enough, as he rounded the corner, I saw a bag drop out of his hand.  Now the monkeys had been fed on either side of me and the tourists, and the monkeys were rushing past us in both directions, fighting over junk food.  It was a scary few minutes as about 80 monkeys screamed in the trees and on the ground all around us.  I wanted to smack that man.  He'd put us all in danger by intentionally feeding the monkeys, even though he knew very well he shouldn't.  There were signs everywhere.  As soon as they saw an opening, the tourists took off in the other direction.  I waited until the fighting died down and walked in the direction the old man had gone.  There was food all over the place.  I sighed.  It seems that people just won't learn.

Monkey Feeder

After all the monkey excitement, I was glad to just walk along quietly, without seeing any people or animals for a while.  I did stop to stare at this funky fungi.  I liked the geometrical pattern.

 I also spotted a red-eared slider sunning himself on a log.  The invasive species is often released by locals who get them as pets and then decide they don't want them.  Releasing them into the wild is bad- turtles raised in captivity often die in the wild, as they don't know how to fend for themselves.  In addition, they decimate native species.  I felt a little pity for the turtle, but for the time-being, he looked pretty content in the sunshine.

Along the trail a little more, I found a newly completed little rest hut.  I poked around and was surprised to see a lizard on the ground near the hut.  I inched closer to get a better look and was even more surprised that the lizard didn't dart off.  They tend to be pretty skittish, and understandably so- the monkeys think they make tasty treats every now and then, snakes like to munch on them, birds gobble them up, and little  human children make a game out of trying to catch them.  They have a lot to be worried about.  But this one stayed put.  I saw that it was probably a Sumatran flying dragon, and wondered if it might be stunned- perhaps it had been gliding and had missed its mark.  It was neat to see one up close, but I didn't stay long- even though the lizard wasn't moving much, I figured my presence was making it a bit jumpy.

Not so  fierce for a dragon

Eventually I popped out at the end of the trail and headed for the visitor centre to use the bathroom before I headed out.  I was shocked to see monkeys raiding dumpsters right in front of the visitor centre.  I don't think that the bins belonged to the park, but they were right out in front of it, and I couldn't believe that they were properly bungee corded shut.  NParks officials are always telling people not  feed the monkeys, but here the monkeys sat, right in front of the visitor centre, happily chowing on food out of wide open trash bins.  It certainly didn't send a good message.

Mmmm...free trash, a monkey favorite

After the visitor centre, I headed over to catch a taxi home.  There were more monkeys on the sidewalk, just hanging around.  I watched them for a little bit, then had a strange experience- I stepped away from the wild monkeys and directly into a waiting taxi.  Weird.

MacRitchie Baby

Happy Halloween!

Halloween in Singapore isn't much to make a fuss about, so Bryan and I decided to just go see a scary movie.  You can imagine our surprise when we showed up at Jurong Point to see Paranormal Activity 2 on Halloween night, and were greeted with this...

 

It's HALLOWEEN!  NOT CHRISTMAS!!!  And this in a country where Buddhism and Islam are more common than Christianity!  It's weird enough seeing Christmas trees in the tropics, but holly, angels, bedecked evergreens, and SEASONS GREETINGS banners in October are really just beyond my comprehension.  Sometimes I feel like I'm living in the most confused place on the planet.  Oh well.  Happy Halloween...Merry Christmas...whatever!

A Misadventure in Little India

Last weekend, I was itching to explore someplace new, but the haze was making Bryan and I hesitant to spend the day outside.  I dusted off our Singapore guidebook and found the Museum of Shanghai Toys, which looked like a delightfully bizarre way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  The museum's website boasted photos of boatloads of toys, most of them antique, some of them creepy enough to star in their own horror movie.  I though my dad, who enjoys collecting old toys, would particularly enjoy seeing photos from this little adventure, so we headed off.  Our destination was Little India, which seemed to me an unlikely location for a museum featuring Shanghai oddities.

Little India was all decked out in anticipation of next month's Deepavali festival, which is huge for Indians- most of our Indian friends are flying home for the celebration, and plane tickets to India for next month have increased to the preposterous rates usually reserved for flying to the U.S. for Christmas.  Little India looked like it was ready to start the celebration now.

Deepavali street decorations

Me!

The museum was quite a walk from the MRT station, so we set about the tedious task of weaving our way through the extraordinarily crowded streets of Little India.  A stroll through this neighborhood is an absolute assault on your senses- the smell of Indian spices permeates the air, horns honk almost continually as pedestrians plunge out into the streets wherever they please, Bollywood music blasts from speakers mounted outside shops, and every bright shade of the rainbow is represented in the stands along the street- bright yellow thalis, vivid red saris, deep orange pakoras, lush green herbs.  If you weren't hungry before you got there, you will be after a couple of minutes of smelling all that food!

We passed by a temple that we'd seen a couple of times before- the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple (say that five times fast).  No matter how many times I see it, I always want to pause to photograph it.  At my request, Bryan snapped a few shots from across the street.

Beautiful temple with a not-so-attractive backdrop

Mind-boggling detal

We finally turned down Rowell Street, where we expected to find our museum.  Instead we found a vacant building at the address we'd gotten from the website.  We walked up and down the length of the street, but despite the fact that the Shanghai Toy Museum's website is still up and running, the place itself was obviously gone.  We were out of luck!  We'd planned to spend a few hours at the museum before trying out Banana Leaf Apolo for dinner.  Unfortunately, the restaurant closes between lunch and dinner, so we were now just kind of stuck with nothing to do but wander around.  We roamed awhile, admiring the blend of modern and colonial architecture that characterizes Little India.

Futuristic architecture with old townhouses in the foreground

See the plants growing out of the building wall?

The little girl in me has always wanted a purple house

Love this funky staircase

We ended up at a place called Sitara for an early dinner.  It was tasty enough to make me forget all about the restaurant we intended to visit, and we both left with full stomachs and smiles.  To end our day, we headed to the positively chaotic Mustafa Centre to buy some frozen paneer.  Mustafa is ludicrous- it's a massive shopping centre, taking up four or five stories and covering more than one city block (I honestly don't know how big it really is.  In my mind, it's endless).  They sell everything, from frozen Indian dinners to Playstation 3's.  And it's ALWAYS packed with people, every day of the week, day or night.  The aisles are close together, and apparently they're always being cited for violating fire codes, but I guess they just pay the fines and keep doing their thing.  They have to be raking in so much money that those fines are barely a blip on their radar anyway.  Whenever you buy stuff at Mustafa, they seal up your shopping bag to prevent shoplifting.  It sure looks funny!

On the purple line train, we noticed a little window that was originally built for the driver to look out.  I don't know if the trains are automated now, or if a separate compartment for the driver was built, but the place where the control panel used to be was boarded over, so we stood in the little window.  Bryan took pictures as we sped through dark underground tunnels.  It was a perspective we don't usually see, and it made me feel like we were rocketing through outer space!

Zooming through the MRT tunnel

The Haze Descends

Here in Singapore, we haven't seen the sun in about a week.  Everything outdoors smells like a campfire, visibility is awful, and the air is stale with every breath you take.  The constant exposure to the caustic air makes me cough, and headaches have been coming and going all week for me and many others in Singapore.

The haze that has engulfed Singapore is coming from Sumatra, where farmers burning land to plant yet another palm oil plantation (just what the world needs, right?) lost control of the fires, and they burned wild.  The smoke has blown over to Singapore and Malaysia, causing the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) to spike over 100, into the "unhealthy" range.  As if anyone needed to tell us that inhaling smoke for a solid week isn't good for our health.  The Indonesian government has done little to control the situation, despite Singapore's repeated offers to assist with fighting fires.  Perhaps obviously, the problem has been a little worse on the west side of the island where we live, closer to Sumatra.

The view out our window last month (no haze)

View out our window Sat. morning, when the PSI was in the 70's.  On Thurs., the PSI was over 100.

Bryan did a neat juxtaposition- the stripe down the middle is from a clear day last month.

Left= Saturday's haze.  Right= A clear day last month.

One the left, the haze this morning.  On the right, a clear day last month.

Doesn't exactly make you want to step outside for a breath of fresh air, does it?

For the first couple of days, we really didn't know what was going on- there was nothing in the news about the haze, and having never experienced it before, we were kind of clueless.  All the information we got came from asking native Singaporeans what was going on.  Eventually the Straits Times started covering the story, and you can read some of the coverage on the issue here, here, here, and here.  Apparently this is not a new problem- in 1997 and 2006, environmentally irresponsible burning in Indonesia generated haze that spread over Southeast Asia and lasted for months.

For the sake of everyone in Sumatra, who are much worse off than we are, for everyone in Malaysia and Singapore, and for the hard-hit wildlife of Indonesia, I hope that action is taken soon to get the fires under control.  In the meanwhile, we'll be roasting inside our apartment with all the windows and doors shut!

Singapore Books: Notes from an Even Smaller Island

A friend at work referred Bryan to a few books on Singapore by author Neil Humphreys, a British expat who lived here.  The first of his books, Notes From an Even Smaller Islandis hilarious.  His life in Singapore shares a lot in common with ours- living in an HDB flat, hanging out at the hawker centres, struggling to understand Singlish and to have his accent understood by the locals.  All of his adventures are recounted with a somewhat cynical but always funny slant, and I found myself giggling out loud more than once (how can you not laugh at the image of a 6 ft 4 white giant with a cockney accent lumbering around Singapore's heartland?!).  Humphreys does criticize some aspects of Singaporean life, and sometimes I think he makes somewhat unfair sweeping generalizations, but for the most part I agree with what he's saying.  And I share his fascination with and respect for the little old ladies (the Singaporean "aunties") who seem indestructible.  Like him, I'm continually awestruck when a hunched, 80-year-old lady lugging four shopping bags hobbles past me and onto the bus.  How do they do it?  I recommend the book, especially for any westerners living in S'pore, or thinking about moving here.

More Miscommunication Hilarity

One Friday evening, Bryan and I were hanging out at a hawker centre in our neighborhood.  It's a place we go to relax and have a few beers sometimes, so the people who work there usually recognize us (after all, they don't have many Caucasian regulars over here in Jurong East).  As Bryan and I sipped our Tigers, we noticed that a couple at a table near ours had bottles of Tsingtao, a Chinese beer, on the table.  Bryan and I both like Tsingtao, but we didn't know that this hawker centre served it (it's not on their drink board).  So we decided that the next time the drink girl came around to see what we wanted, we'd get a couple of Tsingtao.  If only we'd known what we were getting ourselves into.

Drink Girl: You wan' 'notha Tiga?

Tsingtao- the beer that plays hard to get

Crystal: Actually, can we have two Tsingtao?
Drink Girl: (eyes widen) Wha?
Crystal: Tsingtao?  Two please?
Drink Girl: Siiiiing....toooooe, ah?  Wha?
Bryan: Tsingtao? The beer?
Drink Girl: Wha' you wan'?  Wan' Tiga?
Bryan: Ummm....the green bottle?  Tsingtao?
Drink Girl: Siiiiiiing...toe.  Ah?
Crystal: Yeah!  That's it!
Drink Girl: Huh?  (looks around, taps nearby woman on the shoulder.  They converse briefly in Mandarin, probably saying something along the lines of, hey, can you understand what these crazy white people are saying because I sure as hell can't.)
New Woman: Wha' you wan'?
Bryan and Crystal: (in unison) Tsingtao!  Two!  Please!
New Woman: Sing tow ah?
(To my inexperienced ear, what we're saying and what they're saying sounds EXACTLY THE SAME, and I cannot fathom how they are not understanding us).
Crystal: (hopefully) Yeah! Tsingtao!
(At this point, half of the hawker centre has turned around to stare at us.  Drink Girl and the woman exchange a look that suggests that I am perhaps trying to order something that doesn't exist.  We give it one more try.)
Bryan: Tsingtao...beer...green bottle.
(A woman at the next table turns around and gestures to us)
Woman #2: Tsingtao.  China beer, lah.
Bryan and Crystal: Yeah!!! China beer!!!!!
Drink Girl: OHHHHH  TSINGTAO!!!!! Be righ' back.

So we finally got our beer, and it was delicious.  As it turns out, it's cheaper than Tiger, so we've been drinking it ever since.  And now they now what we're asking for, although they still grin every time we say it.

On another fine day, I was in the produce section at Giant.  You may recall my previous humiliation there, but this time I managed to top it.  I was a little spaced out, just trying to get a few things and get out of there before the after-work rush began.  It was already a little crowded, so I left my cart parked off to one side as I went to grab some bread, then I picked it back up and pushed it off to another aisle.  The next thing I knew, I felt a sharp smack on my arm and turned to find an angry little old lady next to me.  She shook an accusing, arthritic finger at me, then at the cart.

Angry Old Lady: MINE!!!!  THIS MINE!!! NOT YOURS!!!
(I stared into the cart and immediately realized that it was, in fact, NOT mine.  I flushed bright red.)
Me: OH MY GOSH!!!! I'm so sorry!  I left mine over there (pointing) and I must have grabbed yours in confusion!  I apologize, ma'am!
Angry Old Lady: MINE!!!!  THIS MINE!!!!!
(needless to say, there was staring at this point, as everyone was wondering why this overgrown ang moh was harassing this poor old woman. I backed away, still apologizing, but that didn't appease her.)
Angry Old Lady: NOT YOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!! MINE!!!!!!!!!!!
(I felt that I wanted to melt into the floor as she continued to stare me down as though I'd just intentionally kicked her in the shin or punched her grandchild.)

OK, here's the thing.  I know that was my fault, and I was being flaky.  I shouldn't have been wandering around with someone else's cart.  And I would understand her flipping out and humiliating me if her purse had been in the basket but it wasn't.  In fact, the only things in there were some bok choy and some lettuce.  So I really don't think her castigation was necessary.  And why would I intentionally steal it?  Did she think I also came to the store to purchase bok choy and lettuce, and that I just wandered around until I found a cart with exactly what I wanted in it?  And it's not as though I was stealing the cart itself, because Giant never has a shortage of those.  Even if she didn't speak English very well, she had to understand from my face and tone of voice that I was apologizing.  I think she was just a bitter old lady and I got in her way that day.  But I'll tell you this- from now on, I'm going to be in my toes in the Giant produce section.  I can't bear any more public disgrace there.

On a less mortifying note, my super nice landlord was hanging out at our flat one day, waiting on a maintenance person to come examine our broken aircon (oh, the misery).  I had How I Met Your Mother on the TV, and he suddenly got excited, and pointed at Robin, the character played by actress Cobie Smulders.

Landlord: Crystal!  Is Demi Moore, lah.

Close...but not quite

Me: Oh, um, actually, I don't think that's her.
Landlord: No!  It's Demi Moore.  She is married to Bruce Willis.  Do you know Bruce Willis?
Me: Yeah, I mean, I know who he is and who she is, but I think...
Landlord: Yup.  That's her.  She's quite pretty.
Me: But I think her name is actually....
Landlord: That's not Demi Moore!!!!  Silly.  Sometimes it's hard to tell white people apart, you know.

This one just made me laugh, because I know that it's harder for me to tell Asians apart than it is for me to tell Caucasians apart.  It was good to know that it's a two-way street.

This last one didn't include any misunderstanding, but it was hilarious nonetheless.  I was riding the elevator in our HDB building one day, and when the doors opened on the first floor, I was greeted with a long line of about 20 preschool-age Singaporean kids.  Upon seeing me, the one closest to the door shouted "ANG MOH!" and then ALL the kids turned around, started clapping, jumping up and down, and joining in the chorus of "ANG MOH! ANG MOH!!"  I waved like a celebrity and continued on my way.  It made my day.

National Art Gallery Launch

Two of Singapore's most historic buildings, City Hall and the former Supreme Court Building, are slated to be transformed into the exciting new National Art Gallery.  This ambitious project is expected to be completed by 2013, and the launch of the project's open house took place this Friday, October 8th.  As part of a blogging club, I was invited to go to the launch, take photos, and attend a guided tour of the former Supreme Court Building before it's forever changed by this new restructuring.  I've never attended anything like this, but I readily agreed- I've long admired the big, majestic building, but have never been inside.

City Hall in the foreground & the dome of the former Supreme Court on a rainy day

The launch was quite an affair.  Singaporean artists, bloggers, the media, and officials from the government and the art gallery all attended.  The CEO of the gallery, Michael Koh, made some remarks and then introduced guest of honor Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communication, and the Arts.  Mr. Lui handed out prizes for a photo competition that had been held in anticipation of the launch of the gallery- photographers were previously allowed access to the two buildings to take photos, with some stunning results.  After the conferring of the prizes, Lui joined together with Koh and several other key figures for the official launch of the gallery open house- and confetti exploded everywhere!  It was an exciting moment. 

Mr. Lui awards Yap Kim Hock with the Grand Prize in the Open Category of the photo contest.

Ong Yi Chao, Grand Prize winner of the Youth Category

Official launch of the National Art Gallery Open House!

Neat shadow

 I was enjoying my time poking around the main hall of the Supreme Court building, but I quickly noticed that I looked a bit out of place.  There were only a few other Caucasian faces in the crowd and they seemed well-connected, chatting with their colleagues.  I was a bit adrift, not knowing anyone, and I felt eyes on me a few times, perhaps wondering if I was a wayward tourist that had wandered in off the street.  Or maybe they were staring because I'd unknowingly commandeered the VIP table for my own use.  It's hard to say.

After the official launch, a gaggle of Singaporean artists tromped out to the City Hall steps, where a smart red carpet had been laid out, for a photo op with Mr. Lui.  Lots of arranging and rearranging later, the shot was achieved (you can see the more high-quality Straits Times photo here, along with the accompanying news story), and everyone filed back inside for tea.  A small part of City Hall has already been turned into finished gallery space, with all of the winning photos from the photo competition on display, in addition to some historical information about the buildings, and a nifty, high-tech animation of what the buildings will look like once the project has been completed.

Singaporean artists outside City Hall

 After some delicious, vegetarian-friendly snacks, I began looking around for my group.  I was supposed to complete my tour with a group of bloggers, who were all wearing green stickers, but suddenly my green sticker seemed very lonely.  I couldn't find anyone who matched me.  I approached one of the organizers who told me to try to join up with the next English-speaking group.  A little awkward confusion later, I was off with a group of older Singaporean artists, who were very friendly and seemed delighted to have me along.

Yummy veggie snacks, catered by Rasel

The tour was spectacular.  Our guide was knowledgeable and genuinely excited to show us all around.  She told us that her grandfather had worked in the court building as a younger man, and she felt personally connected to this bit of Singaporean history.  Our tour began in the main hall of the Supreme Court Building, where the launch had been held.  The guide pointed out a large floor tile that I'd noticed earlier, and explained that there's a time capsule buried under the tile, and the capsule includes copies of the Straits Times and old coins, among other things, from when the tile was placed back in 1937.  It's not supposed to be unearthed until the year 3000!  So if you're reading this 990 years from now, grab some tools and a couple of buddies and head on over to the Supreme Court building- those coins are bound to be worth something by now!

Stairs leading out of the main hall

Our guide shared lots of interesting information with us, but what I found most fascinating was how the building was built economically.  When the Supreme Court Building was originally constructed in the late 1930's, Singapore wasn't the prosperous place that it is today, but officials still wanted a respectable building.  They accomplished the grandeur of the building by creatively cutting corners.  For instance, large columns outside the building appear to be made from granite, but are actually made of a cheaper gypsum composite.  Many of the floors inside also have the appearance of marble, but are actually made of rubber!  Once the guide told us, I could see that she was right, but I never would have guessed it otherwise.  She said this was a big moneysaver, and it also served a soundproofing function- if you've ever been in a big marble hallway with a bunch of other people, you know how sound can carry down those things.  Not so with a rubber one!  Maybe this is what we should do with all of our old tires!

Rubber floor

 We stopped in a couple of regal, intimidating courtrooms.  I was impressed by how well-preserved they were.  My absolute favorite part was heavy door in the floor, which opened onto a flight of stairs coming out of an area of holding cells down below.  Prisoners would be escorted up out of the floor and into a special holding area for their trial.  The dirty stairs and the dim lighting were in such strange contrast to the beautiful, polished courtroom.  As Bryan later pointed out, it must be pretty hard to look innocent when appearing out of the floor, as though rising out of hell itself!

Intimidating lock on the door in the floor.  I also dig the dusty bootprints.

 The chief justice had some pretty impressive chambers, but I was too busy ogling his bookshelves to notice much else.  I loved the old shields on the glass doors.

Pretty, huh?

The most unique room we saw was definitely the rotunda library.  When the National Art Gallery is completed, this space will be conserved and used as an area where visitors can learn more about the exhibitions and artwork housed in the gallery.  For now, it's pretty empty, but manages to maintain its grandeur.  Apparently the place served as a police post for some time, so there's still some old surveillance equipment lying around., and we all know how much I love old, abandoned stuff, so it provided me with some entertainment.

Super retro surveillance equipment

After the tour, I checked out the gallery in a little more depth before leaving.  I loved this tiny model of the two buildings.  I think there's something about women that makes us love miniature things.

If you're interested in seeing these two buildings or the photos on exhibit in the gallery, the Open House will be running for the next two weekends.  There will be loads of activities, including a light show in the evenings, a portrait artist, guided tours, a flea market, and goodie bags.  You can get more information here.  It will certainly be interesting to see how this space evolves over the next few years!