by | § ¶ | trackbackA Walk Through History
1299-1347
First ruler of pre-modern Singapore: Sri Tri Buana, also known as Sang nila Utama. He renamed Temasek to Singapura.
1348-1362
Second ruler: Paduka Sri Pikrama Wira.
1363-1374
Third ruler: Sri Rana Wikerma.
1375-1386
Fourth ruler: Paduka Sri Maharaja.
1387-1397
Fifth ruler: Sri Sultan Iskandar Syah, who founded Melaka.
1819 Jan
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles arrives in Singapore searching for a suitable harbour for English East India Company ships sailing to China. He meets Temenggong Abdul Rahman who confirms that the legitimate heir to the throne was bypassed seven years ago and that he is prepared to be recognised as Sultan by the British in return for which he will grant the British permission to settle in Singapore.
1819 Feb 6
Tengku Hussain arrives from Riau and is recognised Sultan of Johor by Stamford Raffles. They sign a treaty allowing the British to establish a settlement on Singapore.
1824 Aug 2
Sultan Hussain and the Temenggong are persuaded by Dr John Crawford, the second Resident of Singapore, to sign a Treaty ceding Singapore to the British in return for increased payments to them. Singapore becomes a British colony.
Queenstown is one of the early housing estates in Singapore, and was a test bed for much of Singapore's public housing. It was named after Queen Elizabeth to mark her coronation in 1953.
Toa Payoh is a Chinese reference to "big swamp" (toa is "big" and payoh means "swamp"). The Malay word for swamp is paya. The large swampy area was an extensive and notorious squatter district. Most squatters were engaged in farming and rearing pigs. The others were hawkers, factory workers, mechanics or domestic helpers.
Ang Mo Kio is not named after the bridges at the seventh milestone of Thomson Road (found at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Thomson Road). The actual source of the name comes from the old survey maps which label the land as "Mukim of Ang Mo Kio" (Mukim meaning "area" or "district" in Malay). The word "Ang Mo" 红毛 may in fact not refer to Westerners. Rather, it is derived from two separate combined phrases in Hokkien. Ang Mo Dan means "rambutan" 红毛丹, a local fruit, red and covered in hair, found plentifully around the areas of old kampongs. Likely the second suffix "kio" 桥 ("bridge" or "bridges" in Hokkien) was added to the prefix "Ang Mo" 红毛 as an additional description to indicate a more precise location that residents would recognize i.e.红毛桥. There were many concrete bridges built by the old kampong dwellers. It first appears on the early maps drawn by surveyors who took those two phrases and combined them to form "Mukim of Ang Mo Kio" ("District of Ang Mo Kio"). The actual location of Ang Mo Kio New Town has been also known by the former name Kou-teu kio, Hokkien for "Ninth Bridge".
Yishun (Nee Soon) is named after the pineapple king and rubber magnate, Lim Nee Soon. He was also one of the founders of Chinese High School.
Read about your kampong here.
by | § ¶ | trackbackBicycle Haikus
We've just started Write-Out #2 on TGP. It's a silly little haiku riff about all things cycling and bikes and riders. The number of entries coming in for the first day looks promising but purists might scoff at the amatuerish attempts submitted. I'm hoping to see more abstract entries though, the majority (including mine!) were about the speeding buzz of riding a bike.So if you want a shot at winning a bicycling related book, sign up for an account on Togoparts (if you don't already have one) and enter your haiku in the entry page here.
Keywords: togoparts,haiku,competition
by | § ¶ | trackbackFrom IT expert to struggling medical student
This lady embarked on a life-changing career to help other people and "is fine giving up the chance to start a family". Well that is her personal choice but I can almost see the gahmen banning mid-career switch soon.
The brief mention of her school is also pretty glaring and makes me wonder why the papers did not elaborate on whether she can eventually practise medicine in Singapore.
Read article here.
(more)by | § ¶ | trackbackI Am Fat
And so ends a week long near non-stop feasting which began on Friday.Friday
RELC International Hotel Tea Session and three monstrous Yu Sheng platters. Ended the night at Loof once more. More great conversations were had but the scallops were kinda rubbery. Found out that it was a great place to catch some River Hongbao fireworks too.
Saturday
Reunion Dinner, Dragon Gate Restaurant, 9 courses in 90 minutes. Dear Patrons, we need to wash them big plates and prepare for the second sitting later tonight. So we'd really appreciate it if you would please not waste time chewing your food? Move Move Move!
Sunday
Pigout lunch of pizza, fried tang hoon and kong bak followed by an extended family steamboat buffet reunion dinner at the M Hotel. Great prawns, binged on beef shabu shabu.
Monday
Home cooked goodness of sri lankan crabs, gigantic prawn fritters, pigs stomach soup, chicken curry and ngoh hiang. The meal took numerous aunties and one intrepid brother over six hours to prepare. But we wolfed it all down in just one hour. (more)
by | § ¶ | trackbackA Year Older, A Year Wiser And A Stone Heavier!
Happy Birthday Ling!
