singadventure

the army actually organized an excursion today entitled the 'Lion's Trail'. i was already in hibernation mode until we met our guide, this 30+ year old lady that really, in her own words, 'brought history to life'.

i dare say i've never learnt so much from an excursion before and for this i've got to credit her. unlike other guides, our guide today really knew more than Sir Stamford Raffles and Singapore River. her stories and nuggets of information really caused me to once again rediscover the lustre of the heritage of Singapore. speaking of which, i really admire those who enjoy their job and work with a passion. my guide is one such person as she really went the extra mile to let us into secrets that were not within the excursion package and best of all, she managed to capture the attention of a platoon of uninterested soldiers.

1st up, we visited the Changi Museum. actually this is my 2nd time in 6 months visiting the museum. however, i was far from feeling bored. through artifacts of WWII, stories of POWs, the painful and agonizing sentiments of war could be strongly felt. murals, secret transistor radio the size of matchstick box, a simple chapel, a crucifix made of bomb shells all sufficiently exuded the struggle for survivor. of course, our guide's relentless commentary did justice to the objects sitting in the museum.

along the way, we passed by Changi Prison, this 'famous' place so frequently talked about yet so often left to my imagination. finally, i got to see how it really looks like. The famous old Changi Prison wall, the story behind it, the inmates. saw them all.

next up, we visited the Supreme Court. we briefly walked past the old Supreme Court, then proceeded on to the new. both of distinctly different architecture, yet with the same degree of grandeur. the guide explained that lady justice was crafted to be blind as it symbolises equality in the eyes of law. she sees no colour, status, religion. the scale being the epitome of fairness and the sword in her hand being due judgment exercised to those that deserve it.

when i entered the new Supreme Court, i was taken aback by the attitude of the design of the building. state of art, grand, awesome, yet as solemn and just as ever. the court rooms were also all computerised, none of which resembled my typical image of a court room captured from channel 8. our guide also explained to us that the extensive use of glass in the Supreme Court is to depict the transparency and the reliability of the Singapore Judiciary system. we also learnt about the standing Chief Justice, our law system in Singapore. we were also brought to the top of the building where in this futuristic flying- saucer structure, we had a breath-taking bird's eye view of Boat Quay/Raffles Place.

then, we took a walk alongside Singapore River. introduced to interesting places like 'the art house'. learnt that white Mr Raffles statue at Singapore River is made of broken marble, a replica of the original black one at Victoria Concert Hall. learnt about the various sculptures and the stories behind them. interesting ones include the cats by the river and the famous big bronze bird in the M1 advert. (remember the one where everyone laid eggs on the ground for some mysterious reason.) also, interesting tales of fengshui and prices of shophouses.

our guide also led us to discover the mosque at Raffles Place area. the one near MacDonalds yet often gone unnoticed. the interesting story behind it and why it sits underground, literally. it is probably one of the only 'underground' mosques in the region.




i just need to revisit these places again.
next time armed with my camera and
a like-minded adventure mate.



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what an adventure!