The First Day- A Bus Tour of Singapore

At 1:00 pm, when 11 teenagers left our hotel we were greeted by a blast of sweltering, humid air. Luckily we quickly boarded on a tour bus, a bus that was fully equipped with wonderful, wonderful air-conditioning.

As we drove through the bustling streets of Singapore, our tour guide pointed out some of the more notable pieces of architecture spotted around the city. The Marina Bay Sands building towered over us, and the historical Raffles Hotel provided a backdrop for the lesson on Singaporean history we were to experience. As we approached the Changi Memorial, the tour guide spoke to us with conviction and with emotion about the occupation of Singapore by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War- a subject none of us knew anything substantial about.

When the Japanese invasion of Singapore took place in 1942 and British forces officially surrendered their control of the territory, Japanese soldiers were given ten days of freedom as a reward with no repercussions or regulations. What ensued was ten days of mass pillaging, rape and murder. However, even after this period the people of Singapore were oppressed for three years by the Japanese.

In this time, there was a serious shortage of food, with many surviving on tapioca and little else nutritious, leading to widespread instances of beri beri. The use of radios and cameras was prohibited by the Japanese army, and ignoring this came with the penalty of death. At least 200,000 young girls and women were kidnapped to be 'convict women' for the army: sex slaves who were raped by approximately 100 men a day and so were often exposed to venereal and sexually transmitted diseases, whilst many others committed suicide. Over 30,000 Singaporeans were killed.

The Changi Memorial Museum outlined these issues, and was aided the use of contraband photographs and eye witness accounts of the events. The adjoining chapel consisted of an alter, pews, and an emotional pin-board of messages from visitors to the museum. There was complete silence.

After leaving Changi, we travelled by bus to Japantown were we wandered around a series of shops and were able to observe daily life in Singapore. The highlight was definitely a bakery selling 5 doughnuts for 80c! Finally, we were taken to Jin Sultan. This area is a dominant Muslim quarter within Singapore, and it houses the enormous, stunning Sultan's Palace. In the beautiful clear blue sky, the golden-topped palace glowed.