It was a cold, rainy morning and all of us were excited to get going on our first proper tour of the island nation. As the bus arrived (unfortunately late), we were welcomed by a friendly tour guide who addressed himself by his English name Rayney. Fortunately, the rain stopped after a while and before we knew it, we were on our way to the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall -- the first stop for the day. Rayney talked about Singapore’s demographics, history, and culture, and also introduced us to places that we passed by along the way. He had a great sense of humour and was extremely passionate about his job as a tour guide.
As soon as we reached the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, we took a group photo in front of the statue of Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore. We were told that the statue was initially located at the Padang, but due to various reasons, it was moved to where it is today. It is believed that the statue is facing the area that Raffles had landed when he first arrived at the mouth of the Singapore River.
We then walked all the way to Merlion Park, the most renowned tourist attraction in Singapore. Merlion is the official mascot of Singapore, and with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, it symbolises the early days of Singapore. Singapore was once a fishing village as depicted by the fish body, whereas the lion head stands for the name of the country, meaning Lion City (Singa Pura) in Malay.
We then visited the Malay Heritage Centre, which houses the Istana Kampong Glam, the late Sultan Hussein Shah’s palace. Rayney briefed us about the history of the Sultan and his palace. We also witnessed the Masjid Sultan, a beautiful mosque opposite the palace. We then went past Haji Lane which had beautiful wall murals, cafes, and clothing stores. Both Kampong Glam and Haji Lane are perfect for those who like to take “Instagram-worthy” photos!
Last in our itinerary was Chinatown, where we went to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. According to the Buddhist legend, the name of the temple originates from the tooth relic of Buddha being stored inside the temple in a giant stupa weighing a whopping 3,500 kilograms, made from 320 kilograms of gold. However, we could only see it from the public viewing area as only the monks have access into the tooth relic chamber.
After touring Chinatown, Rayney bid us farewell and we headed back to our campus. It was indeed a memorable day as we were introduced to the culture and history of Singapore. It was also a day well-spent with the scholars as we got to know more about each other's heritage through the tour. Cheers to our borderless friendship!!!