national day

every time i speed past sheares bridge and glimpse the city skyline in all its glory i feel truly proud to be singaporean. london might be the grand old dame of all cities, with its squat victorian facades and georgian squares; paris may have its mid-19th century boulevards and baroque palaces, with narrow streets whispering revolutionary barricades; shanghai, the bund with its eclectic architectural mix reflecting a complex history of neo-colonialism and nationalism; hongkong, its cluttered cityscape filled with sharp-edged skyscrapers and harbour, the portal to china; but none quite matches singapore's orderly and yet slightly asymmetrical business district, blazing under a tropical sky and palm trees, with just that hint of proud old british imperial splendour in the old supreme court, city hall, and victoria theatre.

(by the way, i think berlin's horridly ugly.)

but i know i'm truly singaporean when i stop feeling proud the moment the new supreme court flashes past. because it truly is a blight on the landscape. what kind of message was the architect trying to send out?!?! that aliens had landed in the heart of our historic district?!

stately victorian dome and spaceship doth not a good view make.