Singapore

Hello my friends! After I explored the Philippines, I'm heading over to a small country with a massive influence, Singapore! While I'm visiting this wonderful land, I'll be learning about some of the origin story of the country, learning about the famed Merlion statue, and speaking about the wonderful melting pot of culture that is Singapore. So, on our last stop in Asia, I'm looking at a tiny country, but will it leave a big impact on you? Let's find out in, Singapore.

 

Singapore is a Southeast Asian city-state found at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula. Home to 5.8 million people, the country is made up of one main island and 60 other smaller islands. It's Singapore Dollar is only 1.3x the US Dollar. The capital of the country is, of course, Singapore, since it is a city. Now that we have that stuff out of the way, I ask you to join me in learning about, Singapore.

While in Singapore, I knew I had to investigate and learn about what is virtually the symbol of Singapore, The Merlion. This creature and statue as seen here is practically synonymous with the country. This has two parts as to why. The first is the origin of the city, which I will get into in a moment. The second is to a connection with the name of the city. The fish like body represents how the city started as a fishing village, while the lion head represents the original name of the city, Singapura (Lion City in Sanskrit.)

The story of the founding of Singapore begins with the prince of the Srivijaya empire all the way back in the 13th century. This prince, known as Sang Nila Utama, he noticed an island across the sea as he hunted. He asked the chief what it was, and he was told it was Temasek, a fishing village. He hurried to get onto a ship and headed over to the village. During their trip across the ocean, a massive storm broke out. In order to keep the ship floating, the prince and his crew threw over everything. In a sacrifice to the gods, to ask for the storm to end, the prince threw his crown into the ocean. The storm would clear after this, allowing the crew to go ashore. Here, the prince saw a lion, known as Singha (Lion in Sanskrit), he named the city Singapura, seeing the lion as a symbol of good luck.

This shows us just how the city became synonymous with lions. It gives us an idea of how something as simple as seeing an animal can lead to it becoming a part of the identity of the city. It is truly incredible how it shows us the way symbolism forms and how they can project the feelings of a city.

For my last stop in Singapore, I went to one of its many islands known as Kusu Island. Kusu Island, translating to Turtle Island, is a traditional spot of sailors to go and pay their respects due to the folklore story behind it. They say that one day while a Chinese and Malay soldier were at sea, they became shipwrecked. They were saved when a giant turtle who was nearby became an island to give them shelter so they would not drown. They built shrines there for the turtle. This has now become a sacred site, with many traveling to pray at the shrines here to give thanks to the turtle for creating the island, and a tourist site, with many activities such as snorkeling and beaches!

It helps give insights into the beliefs of such a country. I think it is vital to the country to understand these beliefs. Since it is a country made up entirely of Islands, it makes sense that their folklore for the creation of them would be different, akin to how New Zealand was. I think it is interesting how these can still have an impact on today, where this has become a major sacred spot for this reason.

Thank you for joining me in this short journey through Singapore! I hope you enjoyed, and I will see you as I explore both Europe, and the Middle East! Goodbye!

Philippines

Good day my friends! After a magical time in the country of Japan, I'm heading a bit further south to a country many may know, the Philippines! While I'm here, I'll be visiting some wonderful rice terraces, speaking of a creature known as the Manananggal, and talking about. . . christmas? That's right, sit back and enjoy the wonders of, the Philippines.

A Southeastern Asia country consisting of over 7,000 islands, the Philippines is home to 114 million people. This archipelago used to be a colony of Spain whom it received it's name after (after King Philip II). The capital of the islands is Manila and its currency is the Philippine Peso. Now that all that is out of the way, I welcome you to the wonder of the Philippines.

For my first stop inside the Philippines, I went to a restaurant popular in Manila known as The Aristocrat. This is a traditional Filipino restaurant which has some phenomenal food. On top of this, it has fantastic customer service, and is welcome to all as it is completely vegetarian friendly. I tried a Filipino dish, shown above, known as Kare Kare. This is a stew made from simmered oxtail, vegetables and a thick peanut sauce. It was a wonderful delicacy and one I would absolutely get again.

I came here to speak to an expert I know on the folklore of the Philippines. I came to speak with him about an interesting creature of the night known as the Manananggal. I'll let the expert take away the story on this frightening creature. 

"The Manananggal is a truly interesting creature. I learned about it from my grandmother while growing up here. The Manananggal is a type of aswang, a general term for a type of shapeshifting, vampiric blood sucking creatures. There's many kinds, but today I want to speak on the Manananggal. It is a creature known for taking on the form of a very attractive woman in the day. At night, however, it is said it grows large bat-like wings and segments itself from its lower half, leaving it behind as it flies away.

The Manananggal is also known as a viscera sucker. This is because it feeds on the insides of people, but it especially loves the fetuses growing inside of pregnant women. They're known to live in jungles but often infiltrate human society through marriage. It feeds via it's long, proboscis like tongue by stabbing it into victims and sucking out the blood, organs or the hearts of fetuses.

This terrifying creature can be stopped however. It leaves its lower half but will have to return to it before sunrise before it dies. If you can do preventative measures against this lower half, such as sprinkling salt, garlic or ash on it, it will be unable to return and will die."

This genuinely terrifying creature is incredible to learn about. It feels like it most likely came about to maybe stop husbands from leaving their pregnant wives alone, however it is not truly known how this came about since the Filipino people mostly relied on oral storytelling, so it wasn't documented until the Spanish came in during the 16th century. It is something truly scary though, and I feel like it reflects upon the same sort of warning, preventative storytelling that was seen in the Americas. Mothers teaching their children lessons by telling them stories.

After speaking about the Manananggal, I went on my way to the next place on my list. A UNESCO world heritage site found here in the Philippines known as the "Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras". Dating as far back as over two thousand years ago, far far before the colonization of the islands. Found in the mountainous region of the northern island of Luzon, these rice terraces show just how special and beautiful a landscape can become when utilized by a culture. A prime example of cultural interacting with natural, these areas have been molded into an agricultural wonder that mixes man-made, natural and cultural aspects of the country. The view of these are simply breathtaking.

The five main clusters of these terraces have all been created, used and maintained by the Ifugao ethnic group. They are a minority that has inhabited these mountains for millenia. 

These are absolutely fantastic and an important site because of what they show, and what they represent.

For this last part of the trip, I had to wait some time. Mainly, I had to wait till September. This was because I needed Christmas to come around. No, I didn't misspeak. Christmas in September. 

You see, the Philippines is home to the world's longest Christmas celebration. They start off in September, and it lasts through January. The merry season here lasts for 5 entire months. With so much festival and preparation, this leads up to the 16th through the 24th of December, which is known as Simbang Gabi, which is known as midnight mass. This is when people aim to go to midnight mass all 9 days (don't worry though, it's okay if you are unable to). This comes from the Philippines being a majorly Catholic country, however the exact origins of these long, long celebrations is unknown. Although it may feel odd from a Western point of view, this event is seen as important in the eyes of the Philippines.

Well Friends, that is it for the Philippines! I hope you enjoyed the wonderful land here, and I will see you as I explore Singapore! Have fun!