City Sites and Some Guy Named Raffles – Singapore Day Two
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008. We left the hotel this morning excited to engage in a little old-fashioned tourism. After a brief tour of Singapore last night, we were looking forward to being in a “Western” type city. Not to say that Western is better than Eastern of course, it’s just that Singapore felt very familiar and “easy” to a couple of travelers that have been on the road in Asia for 6 weeks…anyways.
First up, we visited Raffles Square. Stamford Raffles, famous for founding modern-day Singapore in 1819, established quite a presence in this city. Raffles Square is the home to the country’s financial center and a host of impressive skyscrapers. Oddly enough, it was also the scene of an international rowing (or is it skulling) race (video to follow…hopefully).
This is quite an impressive statue, but you can’t really tell from the photo. Imagine a big spiral of bronze with an island at the base, depicting the various stages of development of Singapore.
Next, we walked out to the famous “Merlion” fountain.
Finally, we wandered around the historic area of Singapore, took photos of some impressive monuments, and visited the Raffles Hotel.
First, a quick note about Singapore and the Japanese occupation in WWII. Upon capturing Singapore in 1942, the Japanese were quick to reverse the fortunes of many in the local population. The Allies in Singapore, and anyone who was sympathetic to their cause, were imprisoned or killed. Many Chinese, or anyone who was sympathetic to the Chinese cause (China had been fighting with Japan for years by this time), were killed (25 – 50k by some estimates). There are a few memorials dedicated to these war crimes.
On a more odd note, here’s a little story. The Japanese, intent upon establishing a permanent presence in Singapore, decided to construct a memorial to the Indian National Army shortly before the end of the war. The idea was to polarize the Indian residents of Singapore and incite a revolt when the British tried to take back control. India, as you may recall, was a British possession at the time, and many Indians wished for independence from British rule. When the British took back Singapore in 1945, they immediately destroyed the Indian National Army monument that the Japanese had built to quell any thoughts of resistance in India. 50 years later, a monument to the destroyed monument was constructed. Irony.
Our last stop, the Raffles Hotel, was interesting. We enjoyed a couple of famous “Singapore Slings” (mine was non-alcoholic) and soaked in the ambiance of the Raffles. Never in my life have I been to a bar that charged $20 for a mixed drink, that was decorated as well as a famous colonial mansion, and that let patrons throw peanut shells on the floor. Pigeons were free to fly in and out and pick at the shells on the ground to boot – where else but Singapore?
Jason enjoying an alcohol free Singapore Sling among the antique decorations, pigeons, and peanut shells.
