SG Issues: Another island and an old theme park

Our parents may have dated here before.
If not this would have been part of their LJs when they were students.
I used be terrified of various sights there.
Some conservative religious groups still shun these sights today.



More importantly, exposure to higher education (anthropology?) enables us to see deeper layers and meanings beyond the sculptures that withstood the test of time. The past is not a forgotten country.

Why the renewed interest in a decrepit place in an age where modern theme parks and other sights lure the senses in more dynamic ways?


http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/why-it-is-urgent-to-protect-haw-par-villa










Across Punggol, a once abandoned island has been restored to its full unkempt glory.



NParks has done a great job here. Strangely, such initiatives were not common in the 90s.
This project challenges the myth that all we have are just urban jungles in various parts of the island.


It has always been my dream that ecology and heritage be part of NE for future generations of students. Places give a country its soul and character and these intangible traits cannot be found in anthems, creed and parades alone. How can we defend a land that has lost sight of its own ecology and  landmarks? The tangible aspects of life give us the emotional roots to better claim and call our country, home.


Can we ever put a price tag on heritage and history?





It should come to no surprise that in the modern world, the quest for belonging and identity has grown to haunt nation-states as well. Some even change the names or spelling of their capital cities (think Madras- Chennai, Bombay-Mumbai and Rangoon -Yangon) to emphasize its importance.


Just as we depend on our names as an essential indicator or sense of who we are, abstract entities like nation-states turn to their own resources to do the same.


May these thoughts lead you to see something more than just peeling gaudy statues or birds and  lallang shrubs on your next or first visit to these places.




http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/home-design/6-things-to-check-out-at-coney-island-park