lion_city_news - Profile (original) (raw)

on 20 March 2004 (#2573683)

So you've wandered off the equator and found your finger convering a tiny dot. And what, pray tell, is that insignificant looking speck of dust on your map? You're about to try swiping it off when you realise, ahh... it is Singapore, the self-contained island which many assume to be part of the Federation of Malaysia. Tut, tut. Time to discover more of what your geography lessons failed to open up to you.

Can you spot it?

I'm sure not how many of you are acquainted with this city island (which is sinking an inch a year apparently), and for those who are, you probably think there's not much about Singapore to know except for its fame as a Garden City, a Clean and Green City, and of course a Fine City. And yes, I might agree with you that since Singapore is considered one of the safest cities in the world, and also one of the wealthiest, what drama could possibly occur without war and strife? *ahem* It is precisely because of that that trivialities are made hilarious. Imagine three incompetent Malaysian robbers escaping via a sampan (malay for typical fishing boat) towards an island, only to realise it's the island where Singapore sends their troops for military training. The details are make you wonder at people's stupidity. I am not a patriotic middle-class citizen wanting to promote my country to foreign talent (with some background knowledge you'll get the offensive innuendo here), even I tire of the insipid life here and would gladly trade my "world-recognised" passport for a dual France-UK citizenship any time. But as Singapore is a cosmopolitan country, it really is the ideal place to start learning about the Asian culture, since it provides the cultural melting pot of the 4 races while providing a comfortable safety net of a developed country. I'll be posting tidbbits of interests of just about everything and anything Singaporean. Food, news, politics, entertainment, culture, beliefs, religion and even Ghost stories (perhaps ESPECIALLY ghosts stories). Perhaps you'll manage to draw a parallel between one culture and your own, or perhaps you'll find a certain gold nugget just right to add to your Asian Cultures project. Take a look and you might be pleasantly surprised.

asia, clean and green, fine city, garden city, island, lion city, majulah singapura, republic of singapore, safe city, singapore, singapura, southeast asia, temasek