Another late sleep in as we continue to adjust to a twelve hour time difference. We manage to head out around 11 a.m. for the Battle Box, the underground army headquarters for the British command in Malay in WWII. It was here that the British made the decision to surrender to the Japanese and from here they began their death march to the bridge over the River Kwai.
Inside the Battle Box, our Sing guide told us the story of the difficult decision by the British command to surrender as we walked through the underground bunker. The bunker is staged with lifelike wax images of the British commanders. With water, food, and military supplies dried up and heavy Japanese bombing hitting Singapore, the decision was made. The Japanese would accept no less than unconditional surrender. According to our guide, Winston Churchill was very unhappy with the decision but the civilians of Singapore and Malay were extremely grateful as heavy civilian casualties were occurring due to the Japanese bombing and the concentration of Allied resources in Europe. Our Sing guide was seven at the time the Japanese attacked. He remembers hiding under the stairs and eating nothing but sweet potatoes for two years.
After the Battle Box, the boys came back to the Kays and rode scooters and played games outside. I went shopping on Orchard Road with Hilly while Abby finalized plans for our trip to Beijing and Bangkok. Orchard Road is a famous shopping district with a broad boulevard lined with tall trees, large malls and department stores. We were told that the Sings love to shop and eat and there are certainly enough malls and restaurants to prove it.
After shopping, we headed to Raffles for the famous Singapore Sling, raw peanuts throw on floor and met a friend of the Kays who is a dentist in Singapore. Very nice evening and Jay met us after flying in from Tokyo where he has been working for three days.
Inside the Battle Box, our Sing guide told us the story of the difficult decision by the British command to surrender as we walked through the underground bunker. The bunker is staged with lifelike wax images of the British commanders. With water, food, and military supplies dried up and heavy Japanese bombing hitting Singapore, the decision was made. The Japanese would accept no less than unconditional surrender. According to our guide, Winston Churchill was very unhappy with the decision but the civilians of Singapore and Malay were extremely grateful as heavy civilian casualties were occurring due to the Japanese bombing and the concentration of Allied resources in Europe. Our Sing guide was seven at the time the Japanese attacked. He remembers hiding under the stairs and eating nothing but sweet potatoes for two years.
After the Battle Box, the boys came back to the Kays and rode scooters and played games outside. I went shopping on Orchard Road with Hilly while Abby finalized plans for our trip to Beijing and Bangkok. Orchard Road is a famous shopping district with a broad boulevard lined with tall trees, large malls and department stores. We were told that the Sings love to shop and eat and there are certainly enough malls and restaurants to prove it.
After shopping, we headed to Raffles for the famous Singapore Sling, raw peanuts throw on floor and met a friend of the Kays who is a dentist in Singapore. Very nice evening and Jay met us after flying in from Tokyo where he has been working for three days.
No comments:
Post a Comment