Today, we visited the Changi museum. It was beaurifully whitewashed and
there was hardly a dirty spot to be seen. Wow! I did not even knew that
there was such a place. First of all, we went to the symbolic replica of a
chapel in an open space.What actually caught my attention was an outstanding
golden cross. During the World War 2, Harold took a bulllet shell he found
while cleaning up the streets of Singapore and made a religious cross out of
it. The handcraft was totally magnificent and brilliant that I could not
look at it only for a few seconds. It was so distinct. Its colour.... Its
significance.... I could hardly believe the tourguide that Harold only used
improper tools to carve out such a perfect item.
    The tourguide brought us around the museum which was air-conditioned. He
discussed with us the fall of SouthEast-Asia to the Japanese. Siam
(Thailand) had signed a friendly treaty with Japan as they always remained
neutral. With that advantage, the Japenese had the opportunity to invade
down to Malaya then Singapore. The main reason for Japan's invasion was to
gain more land and power for raw materials as they believed that they could
be as strong as any other European countries. The "Tiger of Malaya",
Yamashita, was a very smart and intelligent leader who dared to take risks
and was very commited to his Emperor and his country. In terms of
intelligence, I strongly believe that Percival could not be compared with
Yamashita. The tourguide then told us how the POWs fought for Singaporeand
how they were brutally tortured by the cold-blooded Japanese soldiers. They
were usually killed out of no reason. My heart suddenly sank when I saw the
predicament those POWs were in. They were given so little food that they
were reduced to skin and bones mainly due to malnutrition. They resorted
gaining nutrition from cow's grass. Not only were they suffering from
hunger, about five to six POWs were 'squeezed' into a tiny prison cell which
was actually only meant for a single person. To add oil to fire, they had to
toil their lives at the risks of their lives.
    Next, we visited the "Changi Chapel" with murals being painted all over
the walls. There were only 4¼ murals because ¾ of a mural was destroyed by
the Japanese. When I looked at these murals, I could feel a sense of
serenity and peace in my heart. My heart softened a little when I looked at
Jesus with his eyes closed. He brought faith and determination to the POWs.
I admired Stanley Warren who painted this wonderful murals who helped the
POWs to believe in themselves and forgive others. I awed in amazement when I
saw the works of artist of the experiences POWs suffered.
    This trip was indeed an enriching learning experience. Most
information was not found in the textbook and I feel that this trip was a
total success. Every cent of it was worth while.