Singapore

On our recent visit to Singapore, I had many realizations. Before going thru the aspects I wish to write about, let me pinch in a little bit of the fascinating history of the island.

The name of the country, for instance, was originated due to an initial mistake. Singapura derives from the Sanskrit and means "Lion City".  Legend has it that the name was given by the Sumatran prince Sang Nila Utama when he visited the island in 1299 and saw an unknown creature, which he mistook as a lion. Therefore, since that time the Merlion, a creature half lion and half fish, is the symbol of the country.

Before this Sumatran prince came to Singapore, the place was known as Temasek, which means "Sea Town" in old Javanese language. Written references by travelers mention this sea town as early as the 2nd Century. Archaeological discoveries confirm the reputation of Temasek and later Singapura as an important trading point for many centuries, only reconfirmed today as one of the busiest seaports in the world.

The first and immediate fact that stands out for a visitor from another Asian country (and that includes the Middle East) is that it's one of, if not the cleanest country in the whole Asian Continent. Maybe comparable to Japan, but I have not been to Japan yet, so I can't really compare.

Singapore has very strict rules and regulations to keep its citizens and visitors on track. The government takes so much care about the cleanness of the environment that the locals even make jokes about it. They say Singapore is a "fine city" (and you can even buy post cards, fridge magnets and other souvenirs about it).

Here is a list of fines everyone should watch out for:
- Chewing gum: $ 1000
- Spitting: $ 1000 (that's actually the one I liked the most)
- Smoking in public: $ 1000
- Monkey feeding: $ 250
- Fishing: $ 250
- Urinating in public places: $ 500
- Bird catching: $ 500
- Eating durians: $ 500 (this one I couldn't really believe, but if you know this fruit, also known as jack fruit, you may say the Singaporeans have got a point).

The result of such zeal is that it's a real joy to walk in their streets. People go about their daily lives with respect to each other, to the environment and to the institutions.

But how did they get to this point? We all must agree that's odd that this country is located in Asia, where anywhere else people throw everything out regardless of what it is and where they are, people spit in the streets and walkways, people smoke like's doomsday, and so many other reprehensible behaviors.

There could be many reasons, but I would like to make my point here, what I think may be some of the main reasons.

Religion:
Singapore is made up of several religious groups, which is advantage number one. Buddhists are majority with 42%, Christians (all different groups) second with 16% and Muslims third with 15%. There is no hugely dominant group. Such diversity is always good, because it allows people to be totally free, and only when you are free you can be 100% productive for your country or your society. If only one group dominates and dictates the rules, everyone follows by obligation. And followers are like a flock of sheep: they go wherever the shepherd leads them. They are not the owners of their own destiny, they don't innovate, they don't pursue challenges, they find no need for thinking. They become mentally lazy, they just repeat, repeat...

Education:
Here I don't mean that they have good schools. They surely have them, but every country has got at least a few good schools. What I mean to say is that the attitude is different. Culturally different. They really seem to take learning seriously, they take laws seriously, they respect the environment.

Young Singaporeans work. They work at shops, stores, restaurants, receptions, security... they work on any kind of job. They don't think the world is there to serve them. They have aspirations in life, and since their lives are not taken for granted, they work hard to fulfill their dreams, whatever they might be.

Take as a comparison the Middle east, for example. What do young Arabs do? Do they work? Do they look for a job? How do they generally behave in school? The answers to these questions almost everyone know, not from being told, but from seeing it. Most young Arabs take their life for granted, especially in the richer countries. They get school paid by the government. They get a house when they marry. They get medicals for free. And when they leave school, no matter what they have achieved there, they get a job in the government sector. They surely have some responsibilities and of course there are exceptions, but we ought to focus on the majority. If a person, at early stages in life, is not challenged to achieve things and goals and gets whatever he or she asks for, what motivation to self-develop such youths would have? That results in huge impacts in a society. 

Hence the prospect of a great future is brighter for Singapore. Other Asian nations have a long way to go. Some nations, I might add, will hardly ever reach as far.


But the fact I loved the most is that it seems to be a place blessed by God. It rains almost every day; the climate is tropical and enjoyable the full year-round. In such a favorable climate Mother Nature gives out its best. All kinds of birds and flowers producing a Myriad of colors and sounds, which pleases the eyes and soothes the ears wherever one may wander.

They have parks for everything: Birds Park (Jurong), Orchid Park (amazing), Butterflies Park... they even have an unbelievable Sky Park!!! At Marina Bay, as part of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Casino & Commercial Center complex, they built what can be considered in modern days an authentic resemblance of the mythical Hanging Gardens of Babylon!

The Raven - Edgar A. Poem

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'



Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
`Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Lenore!'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
`Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
`Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, `art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as `Nevermore.'

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
`Doubtless,' said I, `what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of "Never-nevermore."'

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking `Nevermore.'

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
`Wretch,' I cried, `thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Prophet!' said I, `thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

`Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -
`Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!


Edgar Allan Poe - first published in 1845.

The Firefly's Paradise

The small village of Kuala Selangor, in Malaysia, is touristically famous for its unique attraction: Fireflies! 

Yes, there is a natural reserve there, or a protected place if you like, where people can go and pay to watch the spectacle of lights provided by these blessed creatures. Some people, like us, even travel distances to see this event.

The visit to this place messed with my memories as it took me back to my childhood and some inevitable recollections came to my mind, like when during Christmas time we used to run after these misterious flying little things which we considered magical, because they blinked so beautifully. As a matter of fact, the childhood world is much more pure, full of enchantments, of magic which we lose little by little while we grow up and the cruel school of life takes away most of our fantasies and beliefs.

As little kids we used to associate Christmas to the starting of the fireflies season, as if those little blinking lights were the annunciation that the time of joy, cheerfulness, distribution of gifts, visiting of cousins and dear friends was closing in. In our innocent happiness, we ran through dusty streets and into the bushes in pursue of the blinking creatures. Some of us who were more mischievous used to capture one or two of the fireflies and proudly bring them back in a glass bottle for everyone to see in awe, like a trophy. Then our ever watchful parents used to warn us not to harm the poor little insect because it was a scout sent earlier by baby Jesus to check upon us and determine who had behaved enough to be worthy of gifts and who was not. That was enough for the little frightened animal to immediately regain its freedom and we all were happy to see them restarting their erratic flight and joining the others, blinking on and on...

Nowadays there are little reminiscences from this magical world, or from this magical time that we had the opportunity to live in. And I would go as far as saying that's our own fault. Ever busier parents as we are, we abdicated from our children in our quest for the construction of materialism, of an empty wealth. We sometimes justify ourselves saying that we are sacrificing as much so our children will have a better future, when in reality all we get is robotic kids, mechanical and soulless human beings, who did not learn love.

Self-centered as we are we exchange the love we should give by ever more expensive and sophisticated gifts, maybe out of the guilt we feel for having hijacked the Nature from our kids. Nowadays all we have left are natural reservations and parks where we keep imprisoned and where we pay to see what has survived from the beautiful work of Nature, which we have so unbalanced out of our selfishness.

Sitting on the wooden bench of that small rowing boat slowly cruising  along the banks of the little river in Kuala Selangor, from time to time reaching the branches of the bushes teeming with fireflies, at the same time that our eyes were filling with tears of enchantment, a deep sorrow was also taking shape in our hearts. The sorrow to know that, due to our fault and neglect maybe the lives our children would be more disrupted if,  instead of natural miracles like the fireflies, were the video games going to be extinct.

 Note:

The village of Kuala Selangor is at a 1,5 hour drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and the road is sidelined by beautiful and lush landscaping, especially the endless plantations of palm trees responsible for one of Malasia's main export commodities, the palm oil.

O paraíso dos vagalumes

Existe na Malásia, em Kuala Selangor, um lugar turisticamente famoso por ser um santuário de vagalumes. Isso mesmo, as pessoas hoje em dia pagam e viajam grandes distancias para ver vagalumes!

Lembro cada vez com mais saudades de algumas coisas da infancia e a visita a esta reserva me transportou de volta ao tempo em que, à época do Natal, corríamos atrás daquele misterioso insetinho que considerávamos mágico porque piscava. Aliás, o mundo infantil é mais puro, cheio de encantos, de magias que depois com o tempo vamos perdendo, quando crescemos e a cruel escola da vida acaba com a maioria das nossas fantasias e crendices.

Costumávamos associar o Natal a época em que surgiam os vagalumes, aquelas luzinhas piscantes pareciam anunciar que uma época de alegrias, de presentes, de rever parentes e amigos queridos estava se aproximando. Corríamos pelas estradas empoeiradas até altas horas da noite, atrás dos "pisca-piscas". Alguns mais arteiros conseguiam capturar algum vagalume prendendo-o em garrafas de vidro e orgulhosamente exibiam o troféu aos demais, que olhavam abismados aquele miraculoso inseto capaz de produzir luz. Nossos sempre atentos pais nos advertiam que nao maltratássemos aquele bichinho, pois ele era um enviado do Menino Jesus, que vinha mais cedo para investigar quem merecia presente na festa do Natal que se aproximava. Quase que imediatamente o assustado bichinho era novamente solto e todos exultávamos de alegria quando ele, ileso, reiniciava seu errático voo e se juntava aos demais, a piscar sem cessar.

Esse mundo mágico, ou pelo menos essa época mágica que nós tivemos a felicidade de viver tem poucos traços remanescentes hoje em dia. E a culpa é unicamente nossa. Pais cada vez mais ocupados que somos, abdicamos dos nossos filhos em prol da construçao de materialismos, do acúmulo de riquezas vazias. As vezes conseguimos nos justificar de que tudo fazemos pelos nossos filhos, para que eles tenham um futuro mais fácil, quando na realidade tudo o que conseguimos é criar filhos robóticos, mecanicos, sem alma e sem amor. Egocentricos que somos, susbtituimos esse amor por presentes cada vez mais sofisticados, talvez pelo sentimento de culpa por termos sequestrado a Natureza deles. Hoje tudo o que nos resta sao reservas, aonde sao mantidos encarcerados e aonde há que se pagar para ver o que resta da bela e perfeita obra da Natureza, que o egoismo do ser humano desequilibrou completamente.

Sentados no pequeno barco a remo que nos levava próximos as margens daquele pequeno rio em Kuala Selangor, que vez por outra nos aproximava dos arbustos cintilantes de vagalumes, ao mesmo tempo em que nossos olhos se enchiam de lágrimas de encantamento, uma tristeza profunda brotava em nossos coraçoes. A tristeza de saber que, por nossa culpa e por nosso abandono, talvez a vida dos nossos filhos ficasse mais desestruturada se, ao invés dos vagalumes, fossem os videogames exterminados.

 Nota:

A localidade rural de Kuala Selangor fica a uma distancia de 1,5 horas de carro da capital Kuala Lumpur e a viagem até lá corta fantásticas paisagens e infinitas plantaçoes de palmeiras, uma vez que a Malásia é um dos maiores exportadores mundiais de azeite de dendê.