Anita Murray Showed Us a Different Singapore, 4 - 5 April 2007
Robert Tyabji, Singapore, April 2007
Hootoksi and I spent two nights on trains to and from Singapore, along with our friend Anita Murray who used to be a tour guide and guide trainer there. Benefiting from her intimate knowledge and experience of the city's history and culture, we were privileged to experience Singapore from a uniquely different perspective.
If the popular notion of Singapore as a modern, progressive if sometimes staid watering hole and shopping destination is correct, it is so because its long history is masked behind a glitzy, glamorous in-your-face squeaky-clean persona. Under that patina, like old wood beneath a layer of shiny polish, lies the multi-faceted story of Chinese, Indian, Arab, Malay, Portuguese, Japanese and English intrigue, influence and dominance dating back to the 3rd century and culminating in its emergence as a manufacturing and trading economy of global scale.
Taking the night sleeper train both ways was a clever economic tactic on Hootoksi’s part, for it allowed us two full days in Singapore at the cost of just one hotel night, not to be scoffed at given the cost of Singapore’s hotels. The train, second class, was quiet, comfortable and restful both ways. Even with two huge breakfasts, great lunches, pub drinks in the evening, a movie and traveling around the city in taxis, the three-night, two-day experience was a bargain, costing us a total of under US$ 150.00 each.
Under Anita’s tutelage we began with a call on a shelter for abandoned and destitute women. The “shelter” is actually a great mansion that was bequeathed by a towkay (very wealthy person). We looked at two Hindu temples, one of them right in the heart of Chinatown, and the imposing Sultan Mosque. Then we visited the grand Phor Kark See Monastery, the largest Mahayana temple in the country, where we saw elaborate preparations being made for the upcoming Qing Ming rites. For the Chinese, it is a day to remember and honor one's ancestors. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, and paper accessories to the ancestors. We also visited the monastery’s crematorium, which is usually very busy, but we just missed the last cremation of the day.
Wandering around the Arab, Indian, Malay and Chinese quarters with their colorful markets, shops and eateries, is a great learning experience. I might have bought an aphrodesiacal deer’s penis, a Chinese zither, a Kashmiri carpet, a sparkling Lamborghini or anything in between! But the most revealing picture of Singapore’s ethnicity and evolution is encoded in the architecture. It’s very easy to miss the wonderful old townhouses and terraces with their stylistic artifacts and elaborate adornments. Each feature is a statement with its own particular significance. For example, the butterfly motif between the windows means that the building once housed ladies of the night, “butterflies”, and the porthole-like windows above the doors of the warehouses along the river were used by lookouts to survey the area for brigands prior to opening the gates. Was Singapore once blue? Scrape away at the layers of paint on the walls of old buildings and underneath will commonly be found a base coat of deep blue.
This was not our first trip to Singapore and it certainly won’t be the last. Living in Malaysia with all the modcons we could ever wish for, and immersed as we are in the exotic potpurrie of cultures, religions, languages, food and architecture that is the essence of Malaysia- truly-Asia, does not make Singapore less attractive for us. Yes, Singapore may be classier, cleaner, more cosmopolitan, and yes, these are pull factors; but I now know that it’s much more than skin deep. We have Anita to thank for that.
If you’ve read any of the above, you should now browse through the collection of photos I’ve put together. Click here to see them on Flickr...