Our Reflections

Before starting on the trail, what I knew about “ancient Singapore” was only that there was a prince called Sang Nila Utama, who saw a lion on the small island and thus named the island Singapura. I knew neither about the 5 Kings, nor the history behind Fort Canning. When our group received the topic on the ancient Fort Canning trail, I was wondering to myself, what would be so historic about Fort Canning? My narrow view of ancient Singapore remained unchanged for many years, until I started on this Heritage Trail activity. Only after doing my research and walking along the trail at Fort Canning did I realize that Singapore’s history is not as simple as I thought. For example, I’ve learnt that Singapore has been quite a big trading port even in the 14^th century, long before the arrival of Raffles! Knowing this information made me realize that Singapore has not changed much in terms of what drives her economy, although her current physical landscape is much different from what it was then. There were also other interesting information I gathered about the culture and Malay Kings who were present in the early days of Singapore. Although not all the information I have learnt were from the signboards on the trail, I still feel that the National Parks Board has done a good job presenting Singapore history in the ancient Fort Canning trail.

-Serena