I have to confess, I had no idea where Balestier was even before I began on this trip. I think I didn’t even know a Balestier existed in Singapore, and that’s how bad I am in geography. But when I stepped into Balestier, I discovered that not knowing where it was previously was actually a loss for me. There are so many places of interest to visit, and this includes novena church, Sun Yet Sun Memorial Hall, the former Shaw’s Malay Film Studies (which was mentioned in AAH 101 last semester), the Bakery which toast SO MANY loaves of bread daily, and many more. Balestier was really a place of hidden treasures. And if I never did embark on this trip, I never would have knew about all these culturally rich sites.
After going through the expenditure, I think that the preservation of most of the culturally rich sites (as mentioned above) provided me with a good insight into Singapore’s past. By Singapore’s past, I don’t mean how Singapore achieved its independence, how PAP emerged as the victors among the other political parties, etc. I actually mean the local Singapore history, which is made up by the small little corners on this little red dot and great traditional food. These small little corners are neighbourhoods such as Balestier, queenstown, etc. And I feel that every little neighbourhood has its story and one should discover and listen to this story. To me, all these little stories form a distinct local Singapore history.
Nowadays, the younger generations (including myself) are caught up in the frenzy of urbanization and globalization. One notices only the modern Singapore and one knows how to participate and share the glory of Singapore when certain landmarks are completed; the IR resort, the F1 racetrack. However, Singapore is not just about these landmarks. Let us not forget that Chinatown, Balestier, Jurong, etc are the geographical factors that made up Singapore in the first place. And in these are places does Singapore’s local history exist. I think this heritage tour can act as a wake-up call to the younger generations, reminding them that there is more than the superficial tour of going to Sentosa or any other tourist sites (which purportedly shows you Singapore’s history, culture and tradition). Instead, one should embark on this meaningful and enriching culturally rich heritage trip. And one would, as I did, learn a lot and expose myself to different areas, different experiences and different perspectives.
However, one complaint I have about the whole trail is that the landmark only provides a brief summary about the site. I feel that this brief summary does not go in depth, and those visiting the site would not know much about the site, i.e. for the Sim Kwong Ho shophouse, the landmark provides information mostly on the design of the shophouse, but it fails to tell me more about the female developer. Thus, it would be good if the National Heritage Board could add more information to the landmark, making it more detailed.
Btw, one advise to anyone who tries to embark on the trip: drink LOTS of liquid the day before and the day you start your expenditure. I personally drank 2 cans of 100 plus, one cup of bubble tea and a bottle of water on that day but I still got dehydrated!! Spending 5 hours under the sun is NO joke, and at the end of the day you get super exhausted but it will be a very memorable and enriching trip. (:
