Having to embark on a heritage trail for this module came as a surprise for me and having picked ‘fort canning ancient history’ as our trail did not excite me much. My first thoughts were that ‘Fort canning? Didn’t everyone visit Fort Canning in Secondary school?’ Ironically, after I looked at the map provided, I realized that I actually did not know much about Fort Canning at all. All I remembered was of the battle box where Lieutenant General Percival and the allied forces surrendered to the invading Japanese troops during World War II. Not forgetting the cannons and several photographs snapped around it during the excursions that I have been on in the past.
A closer look at the map brought my attention to several interesting stations, in particular, the archaeological dig and exhibition area as well as the forbidden spring. I was curious to see the artefacts that were uncovered and of course have a look at the place where the wife and consorts of the king supposedly took their baths! After doing some preliminary research and planning, we finally set aside a day to go on the trail.
In order to avoid the sun, we decided to go on our trail in the morning. Armed with my sun block, snacks (meant for our picnic during the trail) and props to be used for our photographs, I thought I was all ready to start the trail! My group members and I were very excited, especially after thinking of ways to snap the different photographs. Shortly after we started on our trail, I realized what I was missing- Insect repellent! The mosquitoes at fort canning were definitely having a good breakfast that day!
Despite the mosquitoes, everyone was in high spirits and definitely very creative in posing for photographs at the various stations. When we reached the site of the archaeological dig, I was quite surprised as I did not imagine it to look like that. We spent quite some time reading the information boards and looking at the artefacts as well as peering into the site. While the artefacts reflected some history about how life was in the 14th century and what kind of activities the people were possibly engaged in, it would definitely provide a new perspective of Singapore’s colonial history if more work is done to uncover new artefacts. Thereafter, we carried on with our trail and as we explored more stations, I was constantly trying to fit the pieces together to make out a rough sketch of how the area was in the 14th century.
While the entire trail took shorter than expected, I definitely gained a better idea of how life in the 14th century as well as the kind of activities the people were involved in back then. On the whole, I enjoyed the trail very much and I not only learnt about ancient Singapore, but also had a fun morning with my friends. The presence of the various heritage trails by the National Parks such as the one we embarked on is indeed useful in educating the public about Singapore’s history and heritage. However, for this case, much of what was here in the 14th century has either been blown up or demolished due to the war. In addition, some of the information presented was based on myths and legends told. As such, a question that left me thinking after the trail was, ‘how accurately has ancient fort canning been portrayed?’
- Shannon
A closer look at the map brought my attention to several interesting stations, in particular, the archaeological dig and exhibition area as well as the forbidden spring. I was curious to see the artefacts that were uncovered and of course have a look at the place where the wife and consorts of the king supposedly took their baths! After doing some preliminary research and planning, we finally set aside a day to go on the trail.
In order to avoid the sun, we decided to go on our trail in the morning. Armed with my sun block, snacks (meant for our picnic during the trail) and props to be used for our photographs, I thought I was all ready to start the trail! My group members and I were very excited, especially after thinking of ways to snap the different photographs. Shortly after we started on our trail, I realized what I was missing- Insect repellent! The mosquitoes at fort canning were definitely having a good breakfast that day!
Despite the mosquitoes, everyone was in high spirits and definitely very creative in posing for photographs at the various stations. When we reached the site of the archaeological dig, I was quite surprised as I did not imagine it to look like that. We spent quite some time reading the information boards and looking at the artefacts as well as peering into the site. While the artefacts reflected some history about how life was in the 14th century and what kind of activities the people were possibly engaged in, it would definitely provide a new perspective of Singapore’s colonial history if more work is done to uncover new artefacts. Thereafter, we carried on with our trail and as we explored more stations, I was constantly trying to fit the pieces together to make out a rough sketch of how the area was in the 14th century.
While the entire trail took shorter than expected, I definitely gained a better idea of how life in the 14th century as well as the kind of activities the people were involved in back then. On the whole, I enjoyed the trail very much and I not only learnt about ancient Singapore, but also had a fun morning with my friends. The presence of the various heritage trails by the National Parks such as the one we embarked on is indeed useful in educating the public about Singapore’s history and heritage. However, for this case, much of what was here in the 14th century has either been blown up or demolished due to the war. In addition, some of the information presented was based on myths and legends told. As such, a question that left me thinking after the trail was, ‘how accurately has ancient fort canning been portrayed?’
- Shannon
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