Located in a quiet and peaceful place near Changi Village, Changi Chapel and Museum is an ideal place for anyone interested in exploring wartime in Singapore, as well as who encounter difficulty in life and want to find some resilience.
The newly revamped Changi Chapel and Museum as we have seen today has been renovated from Changi prison during Japanese occupation in Singapore. Therefore, it tells an intimate and engaging story about Prisoners of War (POW) during World War II. The stories and objects used as part of the museum today were collected or given as a gift from survived POW or their families during the museum's renovation.
When paying a visit to the museum, I suggest that you should join a guided tour, either by a museum's tour guide or a robot, so that you have more chance to hear former POW's stories, their life as a prisoner at Changi, as well as their hope and resilience about the bright future. The tour might take about 45 minutes, as to my surprise, the museum is not as big as I imagine.
When hearing about prisoners' life during the war, I was so surprised about human's will, bravery and strength in the most difficult time. Even though they were jailed behind the dark bars, leaving behind their families, love and future, they never lost their hope about the victory. Behind the cells, despite coping with starvation, torture, and diseases, many activities were still launched, such as drawing, crafting, and learning a new language. You can see their strong will and hope expressed through their diaries and letters sending to their beloved one, and none of them seemed to really mention about war or negative things. I could not restrain tears dropping from my eyes, as the visit to the museum gives me so much strength and hope to follow my dream, as well as coping with difficult situation in my life.
Additional information about Changi Chapel and Museum:
Opening hours: 9.30am to 5.30pm (Tuesday to Sunday, closed every Monday except Public Holidays)
Ticket fees:
Adults: $8
Singapore Citizens & Permanent Residents & Children below 6 years old: Free
Senior (60 years old and above), students, special access: $5
Family package (For a family of 5 with maximum of 3 adults): $24
For more information, please visit the museum's main website: https://www.nhb.gov.sg/changichapelmuseum
I hope you will enjoy your visit to Changi Chapel & Museum!
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