Reflections

LI JIANMIN (JORYNN)

Prior to this, the Singapore River was just a place my friends and I sat by to have our conversations after we visited a nearby cafe nearby. Apart from it being a serene place to be at, I was never concerned about the historical background of that place. Hence, when we chose to do the Singapore River Heritage Trail, I made it a point to learn the history of this place. This was done through the reading of the various information boards along our trail and by imagining the life of the people living in early Singapore.

The reading of information boards proved to be direct. We located the different boards and read up on the origins and developments of the landmarks. Most of these entailed the reason why the particular place was given its name, when it was established, and what were the significant events (e.g. trades, colonial meetings) happening at that particular place. At the end of the trail, I realize that the reason I could not see the significance of the Singapore River and its surrounding prior to this was attributed to how I viewed the various landmarks in isolation - the Singapore River was viewed as a mere river where trade occurred while the fullerton hotel is just a building where people gathered. As such, the significance of these landmarks in the history of Singapore was diluted. However, with the heritage trail, I managed to see how the various places are linked and how the entire area around the Singapore River was interdependent in contributing to the economic success of early Singapore. This enhanced me cognitively.

On the other hand, I tried to link the information that we were taking in to my own experiences. It was not too long ago that I visited the WaterBoat House for one of my friend's birthday. Hence, when we reached that particular landmark, I told my group that the WaterBoat House becomes crowded and gets filled with Caucasians coming for fine-dining at night. This was in contrast to the managerial, office-liked, concept that the WaterBoat House was initially set up for. As we visited the WaterBoat house in the day, business has yet to commence. Hence, I was able to take the time to imagine how the office of the British would be like as I experienced a paradigm shift in my perspective of the WaterBoat House. Instead of being just a place of entertainment, it was actually an instrumental place for the British to handle the admin matters in relation to trade. Similarly, instead of seeing the color of the Asian Civilization Museum as a matter of being artistically appealing, I now learn the significance of the choice of colors for the exterior of that building.

In Singapore, we often hear people complaining about how the Government is not preserving our cultural heritage. I would often be bought into such arguments whenever there is a renovation or reconstruction of a particular site. However, after the trail, I realize that albeit refurbishing is a necessitated given the danger that an old structure left unmaintained may pose, Singapore has been putting in efforts at retaining as much of its significant historical landmarks as possible. The reason why we are not able to identify the cultural significance of these heritage trail can be largely explained by our inability to, first and foremost, identify the historical landmarks. Instead of limiting my knowledge of Singapore's history being contained with Little India, Chinatown, and Kampong Glam where the essence of Singapore's culture are encapsulated, this heritage trail allowed me to learn more about the colonial masters' involvement in Singapore's history.

This trail was indeed an eye-opening experience for me and I really enjoyed the time spent with my group on it!

NICHOLAS GOH

The Singapore River Heritage Trail has been a very enjoyable experience for me. As a history major student, I try to experience the different heritage sites unlike the typical tourist. Going to the different sites, I try to feel how it was like in the past when our ancestors were around the sites. Which is why it is crucial for me to know the back-story of the different sites. This way, I would be able to know what the sites are used for, how they are built, and most importantly, how the daily life of the people back then revolved around these sites.

I must note that looking at the current sites is very different from the images that we see of the past. However, the preservation of the sites is done to ensure that most parts of the sites are left unchanged.

 Elgin Bridge Then

http://then-now.net/elginbridge.html

Elgin Bridge Now

http://www.streetdirectory.com/stock_images/travel/simg_show/11938491730398/1/elgin_bridge/

Standing and looking around the different sites, one thing struck me the most. Which is that people, regardless whether they are tourist or locals, they do not seem to be aware of the significance of these places. They would simply pass through the area like it was a normal street or a simple picture or two would suffice. People do not seem to give these sites the respect and attention that they deserve. If this were the Paris Eiffel tower or the China Forbidden City, people would be in awe. So why then is the Singapore heritage sites not given the same treatment by the people?

I personally used to not give these sites the attention they deserve as well, as I used to think that Singapore's history are not as detailed and long dated like China. But after going through these sites, I have to say that my opinions changed, Singapore indeed has a very interesting history. The sites in the Singapore River Heritage Trail is part of this history that all began when Sir Stamford Raffles stepped foot in Singapore.

Though there were activities happening in Singapore before Sir Stamford Raffles came, but the booming economy and history of Singapore truly came to life after he came. And Singapore has not stopped since then. Everyday and second, Singapore is slowly writing their own history. And I believe that we, as the locals living in Singapore, should stop and see when we are at the heritage sites. For the sites is where our ancestors used to revolve their life about.

WENDY HU

As young adults, we have all been to the Singapore River with our friends or family to just soak in the night life and enjoy the al fresco dining experience. We knew that the Singapore River was a historical location, but that's about all to our knowledge. After the heritage trail, I learnt much more about the history of the Singapore River and it was interesting to know that so much have happened on the land I now stand on. As I stood at the River admiring the clear waters and how attractive it is now, I tried to imagine what life had been for the people in the past. People who were standing at the River then probably did not live as comfortably as us now, and they were here to trade and make a living, not enjoy. Life then was hard for the people. 

http://www.inn.com.sg/what-to-see-in-singapore/cn_images/singapore-boutique-hotels-singaporeriver1.jpg

In secondary school, I remember my history teacher showing us pictures of the Singapore River in the past, and this was one of the pictures that really impressed me. Something about the busyness of the quay, the shophouses that compacted the riverside, the boats that congregated and congested the river made me want to be at that place at that point of time to just observe and take it all in. If there was a Starbucks at Singapore River then, it would have been a great place to just relax and people-watch! 

In secondary school, I have conducted and attended heritage trails and I've always liked heritage trails. They show a different side of Singapore that I never knew, even though I was born and raised here. The trails I was exposed to in secondary school were focused more on monuments and their history, such as the Thian Hock Keng Temple, Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church and Nargore Dargah Shrine. In those trails, heritage is enclosed in the monument and is specific to a particular community. The Singapore River trail, on the other hand, showed us the history of Singapore and that it is all around us even though we may not be aware of it. It made me appreciate the history that we learn in classrooms more, and left me intrigued and wanting to relate history to the present. When we go to these historical landmarks with our friends and families in future, we can impress them with our knowledge and spread the love of history to them! 

This heritage trail has been a really good experience and I really enjoyed it. I've always liked heritage trails and I learn more vis-a-vis classroom lessons as I feel that when we are tasked to explore on our own, it sparks our curiosity and we choose to learn rather than be spoon-fed. We ask our own questions, and we find our own answers, and this is really how learning should be and how I'd like to teach in future. 

We would love to attend such heritage trails in future to allow us to broaden our horizons and exposure such that we can be better educators in future. I would definitely bring my students on heritage trails as it would definitely benefit them in their learning. 

RICKY RUEBAN

First and foremost, prior to this assignment, I never knew that heritage trails even existed in Singapore. When I heard Dr Lim talk about the routes, I assumed that we had to plan our own routes, and explain why we selected specific landmarks as part of the trail, It was to mu absolute surprise that the National Heritage Board (NHB) has demarcated landmarks and created routes under the umbrella of heritage trails.

To me, the experience as a whole, made me feel like a foreigner in my own country. I mean, we were born in this country, been living here for circa 20 years, and yet there are so much, just so much that we do not really know about our nation's past. We were taught Singapore history in schools, by the people around us as we listen to their stories, but nothing could defeat how much I learnt from walking down this Singapore River trail. The extent of being foreign was large such that we ended up following tour groups due to our desperate need to find certain landmarks that we just could not locate. For instance, the Fullerton Water Boat House. We never knew this building existed at one isolated corner, and to think that this is a also a landmark with historical value was amazing. People aren't wrong to state that we learn something new everyday!

As highlighted in the conclusion, the greatest takeaway from the trail was really the question of history and heritage. I kept my mind open whilst walking through the landmarks, asking myself why certain buildings were built at such specific locations and trying to imagine what life would have been like back then in colonial Singapore, However, this was not an easy task because the heritage trail just threw information at me, which didn't value add to me apart from increasing my pool of factual information acquired.

Thus, I began questioning why the places were selected as landmarks, and what heritage would possibly be embedded in them that the NHB wants the Singaporeans and tourists to understand? I eventually reached the conclusion that whatever is deemed to be heritage and history is determined by the NHB and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), targeting at developing national consciousness and identity in the former, and gain the economic benefit from the latter (aka 'tourist dollars'). This is rather sad because whilst the heritage trail is not totally useless when it is engineered to fit the scripts that are presented in a political rendition, one will never truly understand our nations's past and heritage should he not be discerning as he walks down the memory lanes of the trail.