British colonial garden - Singapore Botanic Gardens 1483; Hawker culture in Singapore, community dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban context 01568
What and Why
The Singapore Botanic Gardens (Malay: Kebun Bunga Singapura) was founded at its present site in 1859 CE by an agri-horticultural society when the then city Singapore (Singapura) was still a British colony. The society played a pivotal role in the region's rubber trade boom in the early 20th century CE, when it conducted research into rubber cultivation. By perfecting the technique of rubber extraction and promoting its economic value to planters in the region, rubber output increased rapidly. At its height in the 1920s CE, the Malay peninsula (Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) cornered half of the global latex production. Even until now, perhaps not Singapore, the Malay peninsula, together with Indonesia still produces the lion share of the world's rubber, and hence condoms.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens demonstrates the evolution of a British tropical colonial botanic garden from a typical English colonial landscape garden, to a modern and world-class botanic garden, scientific institution and place of conservation, recreation and education.
Toponymy
Singapore is an anglicisation of its Malay name for the country, Singapura, meaning lion city. Unknown to most people, according to the Singaporean National Constitution, the official national language of Singapore is Malay.
See
National Orchid Garden (Taman Orkid Negara)
The National Orchid Garden (Taman Orkid Negara) is the main attraction within the Botanic Gardens. Located on the mid-western side of the Garden, the hilly site has a collection of more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids of orchids.
In 1981 CE, the hybrid climbing orchid, Vanda Miss Joaquim, was chosen as the nation's national flower in the garden. Since then Singapore's 'orchid diplomacy' honours visiting head of states, dignitaries and celebrities, by naming its finest hybrids after them; these are displayed at its popular VIP Orchid Gardens, including notably Dendrobium Memoria Princess Diana (née Diana Spencer), Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher.
Palm Valley (Lembah Palm)
The main picture above is a popular spot for picnic and the site also features occasional outdoor concerts at the iconic fungus-looking pavilion. Another main landmark is the bandstand gazebo.
Rainforest (Hutan Hujan)
The garden includes part of a natural rainforest within its park precinct.
With all due respect, I have visited a number of great gardens like Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London and Butchart Gardens in Victoria. The 50-hectare Singapore Botanic Gardens, while nice and pleasant, is not yet comparable to these mentioned, both historically, scientifically and aesthetically.
Singapore (Singapura)
Tourism is a major contributor to the Singaporean economy, attracting more than three times Singapore's total population of 6 million people, and has always been a major tourist hub in the region. But just like many urban tourist sites, many of the tourist spots can be a bit boringly artificial and commercial.
Eat and Drink
Hawker food (Makanan penjaja)
Singaporean cuisine (Masakan Singapura) is a mishmash of Chinese, Malay and Indian cuisine and Singaporeans are particularly proud of its fusion cuisine, although I really cannot find any major difference between this and Malaysian cuisine (masakan Malaysia). The cuisine is developed through centuries of political, economic, and social integration around the region.
Of the many varieties of Singaporean food, one must head to their hawkers' centres (pusat makanan) to experience the real Singaporean life. Nowadays hawkers' centres are no longer frequented only by the less affluent, but rather it becomes emblematic of Singapore lifestyle. Some of the hawkers' centre are so well decorated and designed that they are almost icons by itself. One such examples is the iconic Lau Pa Sat Centre (Pasar Telok Ayer). The name itself shows how eclectic the Singaporean language can be: Lau Pa Sat comes from its colloquial Chinese term 老巴刹 (laobasa), literally meaning 'old market'. Lau (Hokkien: 老) means old, pronounced in Hokkien; pa sat is the Hokkien pronunciation of the Malay word pasar, meaning bazaar or market. The Malay name Pasar Telok Ayer, simply denotes its location in the district Telok Ayer, meaning bay of water.
The most famous Singaporean dish to savour in the hawkers' centre is probably the Hainanese chicken rice, which is furiously fought between Singaporean, Malaysian and Chinese for its ownership. It is hyperboled in CNN's as world's 50 best foods. Singaporean hawkers food (makanan penjaja) is so ingrained into Singaporean's culture that it is now listed as a UNESCO ICH.
Stay
Singapore is one of those cities that I try to avoid because of its excessively expensive hotels. A very basic hotel (or even a capsule) will easily cost SGD $150. Most of the time I just stayed in some boutique hotel, which were old converted townhouses. One of my usual spots is the Santa Grand Hotel.
During one of my earlier shoestring visits, I checked in one of the budget hotels in a district Geylang, without researching on its neighbourhood. Turns out the hotels are only used for short-term dodgy activities in the red-light district!
Getting There and Around
Singapore is a very connected city, with easily a metro station almost everywhere. There is a metro station called Botanic Gardens right at one of the entrances. The park can be a good afternoon stroll, while one can spend a few days in Singapore.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Situated at the heart of the city of Singapore, the site demonstrates the evolution of a British tropical colonial botanic garden that has become a modern world-class scientific institution used for both conservation and education. The cultural landscape includes a rich variety of historic features, plantings and buildings that demonstrate the development of the garden since its creation in 1859. It has been an important centre for science, research and plant conservation, notably in connection with the cultivation of rubber plantations, in Southeast Asia since 1875.
Hawker culture in Singapore: community dining and culinary practices in a multicultural urban context is present throughout Singapore. Hawkers prepare a variety of food (‘hawker food’) for people who dine and mingle at hawker centres. These centres serve as ‘community dining rooms’ where people from diverse backgrounds gather and share the experience of dining over breakfast, lunch and dinner. Activities such as chess-playing, busking and art-jamming also take place. Evolved from street food culture, hawker centres have become markers of Singapore as a multicultural city-state, comprising Chinese, Malay, Indian and other cultures. Hawkers take inspiration from the confluence of these cultures, adapting dishes to local tastes and contexts. Today, hawker centres across Singapore continue serving the needs of diverse communities in residential, recreational and work districts. Some of the oldest hawkers started their practice in the 1960s. Many specialize in a particular dish, refined over many years, and transmit their recipes, knowledge and skills to younger family members or apprentices. Community organizations, non-governmental organizations and educational institutions play a significant role in promoting and sustaining hawker culture through training programmes, events and documentation projects. As a social space that embraces people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, hawker centres play a crucial role in enhancing community interactions and strengthening the social fabric.
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