mapping singapore

I generally like maps (except mind maps), so I went to the National Library Building for the exhibition Vignettes in Time: Singapore Maps and History through the Centuries.

At first I was a little confused, cos the first map that greeted me was a recent map of Singapore by the Singapore Armed Forces Mapping Unit. Then as I walked along the exhibition I realized the exhibits were going backwards in time, until I reached Zheng He's map I thought, gosh, I have entered from the exit and ended at the start of the exhibition! When I looked at the brochure, then I realized they purposely arranged the exhibitions in such a manner. Not a bad idea though.

As I walked along the exhibition, it kind of reminded me of a remote sensing project I did last year, which was quite related to old maps of Singapore. With my finger tracing on almost every map, I think the cleaner will be cursing when cleaning away my fingerprints on the glass.

I was looking at a map when suddenly another visitor (either tourist or expat) came to me and asked to borrow me for a few seconds. He led me to a 19th Century Singapore map and told me he could locate Bugis Village but couldn't locate Kampong Glam. Ah, he was near, but the "Bugis Village" on the map is like where Lavender is in present day. So I traced along the coastline and there I found the words Kampong Glam. Tour-guiding on a map huh?

Looking at old maps and appreciating how the nation has progressed, isn't a bad way to celebrate National Day.