Truly Asia!

My German class is a blissful place where we discuss a plethora of topics, with an ultimate objective to improve our language. In this process, our thoughts are channelized into thinking deeply about a particular theme, so that we express our ideas better in German. Since globalization is a pervasive phenomenon which affects every walk of our lives, we discussed one very important component of it: Tourism. We discussed as to how tours to foreign nations help us understand people and cultures; whether tours to foreign nations are preferable at very young age or at a stage where one can sense the difference between one’s nation and a foreign country. Some of my classmates suggested that trips to foreign nations help us in comparing two nations. Yes, this surely is one of the factors one realizes when one goes overseas. However, more than comparison I would view visit to foreign countries as an opportunity to appreciate their uniqueness. Quite coincidentally this topic was being discussed in our class before my very first overseas trip to two beautiful countries- Singapore and Malaysia.  A visit to both these countries left me in complete awe for them.

At the onset of my exciting journey, I could not help but notice the amazing wonder of Mumbai- T2 Airport or Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The structure illuminates with our tricolour flag hoisted proudly in front of it. Inside this impressive structure, my eyes were fixated upon the rich cultural heritage of India which the airport beautifully depicted. The multifarious brands around again taught me the reach of globalization and the improved purchasing power of Indians.  I was convinced that this Indian airport was at par with other renowned airports of the world. Thus, I boarded my flight with excitement, lots of expectations and anticipation. In my 5-hour flight, I painted pictures in my mind as to in what way the countries could be unique than mine.

Our first destination was Malaysia. We headed towards our first stop: Putrajaya Cruise. Putrajaya is the administrative city of Malaysia. Putrajaya cruise is on man-made Putrajaya lake where we enjoyed magnificent view of Prime Minister’s office, Putra Mosque, important administrative buildings and bridges whose construction was inspired from other famous bridges of the world. One of the structures was inspired from our very own wonder, Taj Mahal. From Putrajaya, we could see its neighbouring city Cyberjaya or the IT City of Malaysia.   After visiting this awe-inspiring city, we headed towards Genting Highlands- a high altitude hill resort.

To reach Genting Highlands, we went by one of the fastest cable cars of the world. It was a marvelous experience, as we literally travelled through the clouds to reach there. Genting Highlands had Las-Vegas style casino. However, having no experience of casinos at all, we chose to simply enjoy its grandeur, by being mere onlookers. We saw huge hordes of people approaching the casino when we decided to call it a night. For those thousands of people, night life had just begun to try their luck and win some lucre. We had our dinner at a multi-cuisine restaurant, where one could taste all flavours of Asia and Europe. The weather was cold and pleasant as one would expect on a hill station. Feeling rejuvenated at Genting Highlands, we drove to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. We visited Batu Caves where Karthik Swamy’s temple is nestled. The temple is in a limestone hill. To reach the temple atop, one has to climb 272 steps. However, the adrenaline rush to see what lay at the top, we climbed the steps within 10 minutes, taking frequent breaks, acting like typical sedentary Mumbaikars. Near the steps we saw the 42 metres statue of Lord Murugan or Karthik, the tallest in the world. While climbing the steps we had to be wary of the notorious macaques around, as they are known to snatch things from your hands. During my climb, I was reminded of Marleshwar Temple in Ratnagiri, where Lord Shiva’s temple is high in the mountains, located in a cave. It seemed as though Karthik too had followed his father’s footsteps by posing a challenge to his devotees to seek his blessings. The temples at the top looked like typical South Indian temples. For a moment, I thought I was in India. When I got down from the temple and was enjoying refreshingly cold coconut water, I looked at the mountains where this temple lay. On one side it had vegetation, while on the other side I saw the denuded state of it. Man’s interference with Nature seemed omnipresent as the mountains looked barren because of excessive limestone extraction by the British when they ruled Malaysia. Hoping that the invincible Murugan standing outside would protect his creations, we left for our next destination.

Inspired by the Marine Corps War Memorial in the United States, the National Monument in Kuala Lumpur is a sculpture that commemorates those who died in Malaysia’s freedom struggle. Near the monument, is a memorial that has names of the brave fighters engraved on it, which is quite similar to our India Gate in New Delhi. Every country has a solemn way to pay homage to its brave countrymen. Later, we visited the King’s palace which was a regal structure with a shining yellow dome, depicting the royal colour of the Malayan rulers. The palace has 13 flags of 13 states of Malaysia hoisted around it. The surrounding gardens and the huge expanse of land as though brought enough serenity. After getting a glimpse of Malaysia’s history and cultural heritage, we were about to see next its architectural wonder: Kuala Lumpur Tower. It is the seventh largest tower in the world and the highest viewpoint in Kuala Lumpur. This tower reminded me of Fernsehturm in Berlin, the tallest structure in Germany. Since it was evening by the time we reached up KL Tower, we could get a splendid view of the illuminating Kuala Lumpur City. It looked as though the entire city were preparing to celebrate a festival.

The next day we visited Petronas Twin Towers, the landmark of Kuala Lumpur. This 88-storey steel and glass structure is tall beyond the reach of our eyes. Petronas stands for the oil and gas company of Malaysia which has its offices and subsidiaries in one tower and the second one houses offices of other renowned companies. I realized widely that good infrastructure is one of the significant competing factors which defines the development and strength of a nation. After getting a whiff of Malaysian commerce, we visited Sunway lagoon which was a recreation park where one could get drenched in water park or enjoy watching white tigers, white lions, birds, reptiles and panthers or simply enjoy the rides. Thus, our 3-day sojourn in Malaysia ended, where I could see a potpourri of natural, cultural, historical and architectural wonders.

Next morning, we headed to reach the country of the rich: Singapore. We travelled by bus from Malaysia to Singapore. It was a unique experience for me as I had always known travelling from one country to another by air. It was indeed a great experience to know how boundaries of one country ended at one place and began for another. Singapore was a part of Malaysia until 1965 when it was carved out as a separate nation. However, Malay language of Malaysia is one of the official languages of Singapore, the other ones being English, Mandarin and Tamil. It was quite surprising to know that among the top 20 richest persons of Singapore, two were Indians. I wondered how Indians can wander to any part of the globe to make a better living, when we were told that many Indians, especially South Indians had settled in Singapore. We were soon to explore what Singapore had to offer that made it so conducive for everyone.  That night, we went on a Night Safari where we saw wild animals from different parts of the world wandering or eating in the areas that were allotted to them. Thankfully they were not imprisoned in cages. The tram ride had recorded narrations which described each of these animals. It also mentioned which all were endangered and what can one do to prevent extinction of these exotic creatures. I was particularly glad to see my favourite animals, tiger and lion. We bade good night to the animals looking curiously at us, or so we thought. Maybe the animals had grown to be indifferent of human presence, who knows!

Next day was an exciting one as we set out to explore the heart of happening Singapore. We sailed on a river cruise which described the history of Singapore and the structures around. If one tries to get a 360-degree view around, one can see the boastful tall buildings of banks and companies, which symbolize the wealth and prosperity of Singapore. We got down the cruise to face the famous sculpture which defines Singapore: The Merlion. This half lion- half fish structure signifies the fishing village that Singapore was, once upon a time. Lion lies in the name of the country, ‘Singa’ meaning lion and ‘Pura’ meaning city in Sanskrit. It is believed that when a Sumatran prince first landed on Singapore, he saw a lion and hence decided to name the city so. However, it is also said that the prince must have seen a tiger who is a native of Asia than lion, who is a prime inhabitant in Africa. Being a lover of etymology, languages, history and wildlife, this interesting story added to my knowledge and curiosity about the world. We rode on Singapore Flyer i.e. a Ferris wheel from where we got a view of entire Singapore in a 30-minute rotation. The view was breath-taking as one can see few islands of Indonesia as well. Later we visited the Flower Dome of Gardens by the Bay where we could see a palette of resplendent flowers. Think of any colour and you could see flowers in various shades of that colour. There were trees and flowers from all over the world. A saunter in the park seemed like a therapy which had the power to make me forget all worries and tensions. Such is the healing power of nature’s beauty, I thought.

After lunch, we drove to Sentosa Island. Sentosa Island was a place of fun where we went Go-carting and relived childhood days. We also sat in a cable car where enjoyed the view of dense forests and beaches which lay below. What amazed me was that Singapore not only boasted of well-built infrastructure but also preserved nature by planting good number of trees. That is what I call, striking a balance. Sentosa Island also has Madame Tussauds Wax Statue Museum where we posed with life-like statues of famous personalities of the world. As we were soon reaching dusk, a beautiful light and show awaited us which was pure treat for the eyes. The show ‘Wings of Time’ was an exhilarating experience as we witnessed the wonders light and water could do, while narrating a story. I could not take eyes off in the entire 20-minute show. It was truly captivating to experience diverse shades of light, sound and technology when darkness was around.

Next day was the one I looked forward to the most. We visited Universal Studios, a heaven of man’s limitless imagination, creativity and technological innovation. It also has an aquarium in its periphery where we saw fish of diverse shapes, sizes and colours from different parts of the world. We had entered a blue world where we saw all fish swimming placidly having nothing to worry or fear about. The aquarium had soothing music playing which encouraged us to feel relaxed and at peace, just like the fish. After experiencing tranquility at the aquarium, we geared ourselves up for some adventurous rides in Universal Studios. In all the rides that we sat, we experienced the thrill that we cannot in our daily lives. Stunt show, 4D show and a special effects show that we saw made us realize how some movies promise jaw-dropping entertainment with lasting effect. The amount of technological vision is immense. Thus another day in our exciting tour ended with limitless fun.

Singapore gives glimpses of both natural and man-made worlds for the tourists. Our last stop of the tour was Jurong Bird Park where we saw beautiful birds clad in fresh colours. This was yet another place where we could find peace in nature’s arms. The soulful voice of birds had a healing effect on mind. We saw a bird show of these exotic creatures which left us agape. The birds were trained ones and the instructor of the show told us how one needs to have patience in order to teach them. They showed us their amazing flight skills. Although all birds were majestic, one bird in particular caught my attention. It was a South American parrot who was trained to speak like humans. It wished all of us a ‘Hello’ and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for those who celebrated their birthday that day. The parrot seemed like an innocent, obedient child who did as it was told. Later we visited some owls kept in a dark area. As we silently passed through different types of owls, we saw some of them sleeping, while others stared suspiciously at us.

As we bade goodbye to this little world of birds, it was also time to end our pleasant stay in Singapore. I marveled at how Singapore had transformed itself from a fishing village to a modern state where there is a perfect balance of nature and infrastructure. It looks like wise investment of money to bring in more money through tourism and fast developing economy. This progress has been done in 52 years since its formation. Discipline, punctuality and effective use of natural and human resources are principal forces why this summit of development can be reached. No wonder Singapore is called a ‘fine city’ with pun intended.

As I boarded my flight back to Mumbai to go back to the daily routine, I carried innumerable memories and learnings which would help me in some or the other to face challenges in life; be it lessons learnt from nature, history, culture or people of those nations. These two truly Asian countries introduced me to some of the peculiar facets of Asia, the largest continent on earth.