Buddhas, Battles and Birds

Easily the biggest surprise of my trip is the revelation of how beautiful is Hong Kong. I am not referring to the dazzling illumination of the skyscrapers on either side of the harbour, or the stunning modern architecture. A few miles from the airport a bus carries up into the hills en route to a Buddhist shrine with an enormous seated Buddha statue over 100 feet tall. The scenery on the way rivals anything you see in the Pyrenees or the Alps, albeit on a smaller scale and much more verdant with subtropical vegetation. The road is even scarier than alpine hairpin benders, though the drivers are very cautious and considerate to other road users - you never feel in any danger.

The shrine itself reminds you how early Catholic missionaries thought that Buddhism was a corrupt form of Catholicism left over from earlier, forgotten missionary efforts. The burning of incense sticks in large pots looked eerily similar to the burning of candles at Lourdes and similar shrines. The explanatory text at the shrine described the importance of such statues as a visible witness to the Buddhist message - Buddhism is a religion of "image", which stirs memories of Protestant accusations of "idolatory" levelled at Catholics, and the Orthodox emphasis on icons and the need to keep the depictions of Christ, Mary and the saints unchanged down the centuries. At the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, a shrine to the Merciful Mother (surrounded by numerous supplicants) again aroused memories of the cult of Mary.

Now that I'm in Singapore you would think this highly populated little island had no space for wildlife or the plants that support all life on earth. But natural beauty is all around here. Even in the crowded Little India district, I was delighted to see a totally unfamiliar bird on top of a shopfront. In Fort Canning Park, a short walk from the mega-malls of Orchard Road where I am typing this email, you are surrounded by beautiful, unfamiliar trees, birds, birdsong, butterflies.... I probably won't have time to see the thousands of birds at Jurong Bird Park, the 250 acre Zoological gardens, the Botanical Gardens, the Orchid farm, the wetlands sanctuary.....

I have been round the Singapore Historical Museum on the north-east side of Fort Canning Park. The Museum is a wonderful example of redesigning and reinterpreting a traditional mueum's functions in telling past stories. Elaborate audio-visual displays and an excellent audio guide make for a fascinating visit. Fort Canning's very name reminds you of its recent military history. I have wanted to visit Singapore for over 35 years, since I read "The Battle for Singapore", which described Britain's "worst ever military defeat" in 1942. At least that's how it has been described countless times, though you could make the case that some WW1 battles or earlier strategic reverses, such as losing all British possessions in France, were even more catastrophic. Still, February 15th, 1942 was plenty bad enough and the "Battle Box" exhibition in Fort Canning Park describes that day in blow-by-blow detail. The "Battle Box" is the underground bunker where British generals directed the losing battles for Malaya and Singapore. It has been expertly restored with WW2 equipment, furnishings, sound effects and Tussaud-quality effigies of General Percival, General Bennett and several other key players in the debacle.

The weather is tropical, as you might expect, though the evening breezes make it pleasant and the early morning weather is walkable. But come midday to 2pm and you are reminded of Noel Coward's song:

"In the mangrove swamps
Where the python romps
There's peace from twelve to two.
Even Cariboos
Lie around and snooze.
For there's nothing else to do.
In Bengal
To move at all
Is seldom, if ever, done,
But mad dogs and Englishmen
Go out in the midday sun"