In a recent “unplanned with no expectations, but to chill trip” to Singapore, I was delighted to have surprise highlights of the spree – 2 museum visits and an experience of the Singapore River Cruise.
From a very shallow intention of just to “kill time” until the National Museum opens, we were brought to a cruise of discoveries that is reminiscent of the past and a glimpse to a vision of a future. Among the sweet finds while on the cruise are the Asians Civilization Museum for which was only a walk away from our port of embarkation and debarkation, and a short history lesson of Singapore through the educational video on board. My friend (who is also an epistemophile) and I were like kids in awe of the knowledge barrage for which was music to our soul.
The visit to the National Museum made us appreciate the river more as it brought us to its once cataclysmic past. The United Nations once described the Singapore River as an “irreversible environmental disaster”. Today, it freshly flows with pride of ditching its devastating past. In the beginning, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s call to clean up the river fell on deaf ears, but with his boldness and pursuit for greater things, and the participation of local heroes, he led the irreversible disaster to endless possibilities.
As I ponder on Singapore River’s inspiring transformation, I can only hope for our very own Pasig River. It is with sadness as I think of it. For now, I can only continue with my small acts of mindful consumption, disposal, and re-use.
_
© rooks 2019
cruisingcherokee 