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| Port of Call - Singapore |
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| Teachers GETting ready for the Singaporean challenge
tour |
Before breakfast the towers of Singapore's business
district came into view, calling passengers onto the decks to watch
the tugboats guide us through the teeming harbour. Once the boat was
safely moored and passengers had disembarked into the World Trade
Centre a short Peace Ceremony was held, featuring an introduction
by P-Mac of their campaign against land-mines and dances by SPACE
(the onboard dance group whose name stands for Share, Peace, Art,
Create, Energy). Moving to rhythms sounded out on Wadaiko (a large
Japanese drum), Space performed a piece called Kodo meaning Beat of
your Heart・ Some members had only become involved in dance since boarding
the boat and all had been seen practising in various corners of the
boat over the last week! After requesting the audience to contribute
messages of peace to an on-going art project, Space performed Hana
a piece combining dance and sign language before drawing the ceremony
to close. |
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| Raffles Hotel, a taste of colonial architecture |
Peace Boat tours went to various places of interest
and touched on many aspects of Singapore's history, from the country's
national symbol, the Merlion, to Raffles Hotel, where participants
sipped tea (or Singapore slings!) in the shade of the colonial architecture.
One tour visited sites connected to the Japanese occupation of Singapore
during the Second World War such as the Japanese Surrender Chamber・at
the Singapore Historical Folk Museum and the memorial for victims
of the Japanese massacre. Another group was invited into the homes
of Chinese and Muslim city-dwellers living in High Density Buildings
to see how people of different ethnicity live side-by-side. Eighty
percent of Singaporeans inhabit this type of apartments and the ethnic
split in each building reflects the cultural diversity of the population
as a whole, creating a truly international atmosphere. |
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| Tempting cakes from Arab Street |
Participants in the GET programme met students from
local universities who became their guides, giving them inside information
on the best places to shop, visit and hang out, in English of course!
Most of the students were Chinese or Malay Singaporeans, though some
came from other Asian countries, and GET members thoroughly enjoyed
the chance to interact and make friends with inhabitants of this cosmopolitan
city. Other passengers chose to wander round such areas as Arab Street,
Little India and Chinatown, taking in the tastes, smells, sights and
sounds that create the different atmosphere of each quarter. From
shopping for handcrafted goods to sampling Asian cuisine, everyone's
experience was enriched by the variety of cultural influences that
combine to create the Garden City. |
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| Peace Boat's
39th Voyage index |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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