Open House at Istana

The Istana (Malay for "palace") is the official residence of the President of Singapore.  Last weekend, they organised an open house in celebration of the Singapore National Day and Hari Raya Aidilfitri.  In search of food (open houses in Malaysia always ply visitors with mounds of food, isn't it??), I was disappointed to only find several tents set up by the local museums to showcase their missions.  Food before culture, people!  Pfffhh....

Apparently, the locals knew there was no food to be had, and brought their own picnic.  Pppffhhh....

The park surrounding the Istana occupies 100 acres in prime land surrounded by the Central Business District and the main shopping belt of Orchard Road.  Open spaces of this size (and non cash-generating) in prime land is luxurious beyond words in Singapore.  The compound is quite sparsely populated from what we can see, very simply dotted with a few colonial-era buildings.

This is the main building where official meetings with heads of states are held.  Built in 1869, it was opened just in time for the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh - second son of Queen Victoria.  We paid S$1 each to go inside to have a cursory browse.  It is not the Vatican, but it is regal in its own right.  

Several social and community groups performed cultural songs and dances at the event.  

A drawing competition was also held on its premises, and several groups of school children were huddled together surrounded by paints and colours working on their masterpieces 

There were lots of crafts and little games to keep the young occupied.  Here the kids picked up some paper hats given out by the Asian Civilisation Museum.