An Obscure Fishing Village

Miller

From what I had heard about Singapore I was expecting multiculturalism to be a prominent theme in the small city-state.  However, what I actually experienced was quite the contrary; unlike New Zealand, I only noticed one, extraordinarily unique culture.  Describing this culture is no easy task, as there is very little to compare it to, however one analogy that comes to mind is that of a Venn diagram.  Imagine each of the circles grouping aspects of different cultures, one Chinese, one Malay, one European, and one American, in the very centre you have the culture of Singapore.  As I said before, the cultures which influence that of Singapore are not segregated, but blurred together into something new entirely.  An example of this is a Presbyterian church in the city, on the front wall were words written in both English and Chinese characters.  Based purely off my description you would assume it would simply be a translation, like an instructional sign in an airport, but this is not an instructional sign, nor is it an airport - the different languages were instead united as one and used interchangeably, something I have never had the privilege to see.  I have fallen in love with this culture and would be sad to have left it if I wasn't on a plane to India, nonetheless one day I will make sure that I return, to again experience Singapore in all its greatness.

For such a small country, Singapore is very rich in fascinating and inspirational history.  From all the places named after him and statues erected, it is clear that the Singaporean people have great admiration for their former leader Sir Stamford Raffles, "who landed here on 28th January 1819 and transformed an obscure fishing settlement into a prosperous metropolis." - Sir Stamford Raffles landing site memorial.  Another, more darker, side of Singaporean history is its involvement in the Second World War.  During the war, Singapore was occupied by Japanese forces, something that Singapore remembers through a very tall and beautiful memorial sculpture captioned "In memory of the civilian victims of the Japanese occupation."  Tours of the bunker system used in the war and talks about the strategies and surrender of Singapore were also available to attend, something I hope to experience if I return.

Before leaving Aotearoa, I felt very stressed and nervous about leaving my family for 30 days to be touring a vastly different country to my home, where I would be constantly having to be conscious and cautious of my health.  Spending a day in Singapore was the perfect treatment to this, as it felt like any other relaxing holiday, so much so that when I woke up in a hotel room, similar to those I have in many different countries, I had to take a few minutes to realise where on Earth I was.  Now I feel much more mellowed, and am in a better mental state to attack India with all I've got, and make the most of this incredible experience.

I am missing my home and family, but for now I feel as though I have a new home and a new family for this action packed 30 days and cannot wait for this plane to land and to walk out into the great city of Kolkata.