[August 9^th] is [Singapore]'s national day , and this year marks the 60^th anniversary of the country's indenpendence .

i visited this city‐state , for the first time , in days around [2025-08-09] , as the whole city was filled with a festive atmosphere .

arrival

speaking of [Singapore Changi Airport] , its indoor rainforest & waterfall are often a topic for visitors . but i saw something more amazing than those artificial attractions .

how confident they were to invite passengers to rate a public restroom in a highly‐trafficked area ! .

but after i used it , i felt that they indeed deserved such confidence . although not all restrooms in [Singapore] were as clean as this one , the well‐maintained facilities in [Changi Airport] did leave me a quite good first impression .

another interesting phenomenon i observed was that the prices of food services in that airport were not significantly higher than those outside . this is not common among airports around the world .

airports , with vast lands and huge buildings , should be able to accommodate as many merchants as they want , to create fully competitive markets ,, but most airports only allow a few selected businesses to enter , and these suppliers can therefore monopolize , exploiting the passengers . in contrast , [Changi Airport] has a large number of business , offering a variety of foods and services . the lower prices here may be a result of more intensive market competition , and there may also be intervention from the authority to deliberately keep the prices fair .

there has always been debates in economics about whether the government should intervene in the economy . in my opinion : unfair pricing creates negative externality , damaging the reputation of the market itself ,, so the intervention aiming to make market pricing fair is necessary ; similarly , dirty restrooms in an international airport would damage a country's image ( a negative externality beyond the airport and the passengers ) , so it should be legitimate for the government to intervene to demand the restrooms in an international airport be kept super‐clean all the time .

i believe nobody would be happy if get charged higher‐than‐reasonable prices for goods & services , regardless of zir financial situation . [Changi Airport]'s efforts make visitors feel respected and welcomed in this country .

explore in the city

unlike many tourists , i did not first visit those recommended tourist attractions , but instead explored in the city to observe the daily lives of common people .

in [Singapore] , only a small percentage of super‐rich people own land and single‐family detached houses ,,, while most people live in public houses , known as “ HDB flats ” ( “ HDB ” means [Housing & Development Board] , a government agency . ) ,, and such flats usually appear in clusters , forming large residential communities .

HDB flats across the country were constructed in different decades , varying in age ,, but even those built decades ago are still well maintained and appear clean & tidy .

residential communities usually have commercial establishments nearby to provide daily goods & services to the residents surrounding . glamorous shopping malls often open near high‐end residential areas , whereas traditional hawker markets provide affordable goods & services to residents of older communities .

[National Day Parade] main venue
24 hours before the ceremoney

the main venue of [National Day Parade] located in the core area of the city .

i visited the venue in the evening of [August 8^th] , approximately 24 hours before the ceremony . it was generally empty with only a small number of staff testing the equipments . the venue included a public road , which was still open to the public at the time i arrived . some passersby were also attracted by the scene and stopped to take photos .

the large classic building behind the rostrum was [National Gallery Singapore] ; it was deeply involved in the ceremony , so it did not open to the public in most days around the national day . i was to visit it on a later day .

please pay attention to the classic building with a large dome . it is the old building of [Supreme Court] , now a part of [National Gallery Singapore] . you will see it multiple times later .

the night before the national day

[National Museum of Singapore]

on the morning of national day , i visited [National Museum of Singapore] . many locals made the same arrangement because the mesuem was free on that day , which made the museum over‐crowded . 😅

a special exhibition about [Singapore]'s 60 years was being held , in which some interactive devices invited visitors to express their opinions about the country .

here are some interesting survey questions , and my answers are indicated .

many questions asked for people's opinions , but this question , in my view , has only one correct answer . i noticed that many other visitors also got it right . ( if you do not understand why [Singapore] is so unique geographically , and geopolitically , i highly recommend you learn more on this topic . )

some questions asked about immigration and national identity . i observed that visitors expressed very different opinions on these questions .

questions as such are currently being debated worldwide , and i also have much to say . some readers may disagree with the answers i chose . maybe , i will address these questions in writings in the future — a travelogue is not a good place to discuss such serious issues .

it is a good idea to incorporate some Singlish words into the English lexicon , but i need to mention that i had difficulty in adapting to the accent of Singlish . English is not my first language , so , compared with native English speakers , i find it more challenging to follow non‐standard accents .

the population of [Singapore] mainly consists of three ethnic groups : Chinese , Malays , and Indians . based on my own experience , each ethnic group's English accent has its own characteristics . among them , Indian English accent was most challenging to me — i often had to ask the speakers to repeat multiple times before i could understand them . Chinese English accent was acceptable , but sometimes they spoke so fast that i had to ask them to repeat once . Malaysian English accent sounded best to me among the three .

I am fond of Manglish . Chinglish sounds plastic . Inglish feels ponderous . Manglish sooths me a lot .

― Viston Joxy 🤠✌️

[National Day Parade]

the admission tickets of [National Day Parade] were only distributed to [Singapore] nationals and permernant residents . i am not . so i could not enter the main venue during the ceremoney . neither could most Singaporeans , since there were only limited seats .

in the evening when the ceremony was being held , people gathered in the streets around the venue . i was among them .

of course , no matter where you were , inside or outside , no one could get a better view than the cameras of the media that was broadcasting the show . the video record of the show is now publicly accessible ( just search for keywords like “ singapore national day parade 2025 ” or “ sg60 ” ) .

here are some images recorded from my perspective .

as the show approaching the end , national anthem was sung .

[Singapore Botanic Garden]

the land of [Singapore] was rainforest . then , human came and settled . trees fell , and buildings rose . but over centuries , a few trees have been too big to fall , too lofty to be despised , too holy to be defiled ; they are now preserved , and the land around are designated by [UNESCO] as “ World Heritage ” .

this seems like a metaphor about human society . in a particular field , most people's work will soon be forgotten ; it is the contributions of a few outstanding individuals that drive significant progress in a field , allowing them to be remembered by future generations .

[National Gallery Singapore]

i visited [National Gallery Singapore] on [August 11^th] , the first day it reopened after being closed for [National Day Parade] .

this museum is transformed from two old buildings : one with a dome ( see the dome again ! ) ( it actually has two domes , but the other is now hidden inside . ) is the old building of [Supreme Court] ,, and the other , long and flat , is the old building of [City Hall] . between the two buildings , there is a newly built roof , turning the original outdoor space into indoor space ,, and on higher floors , there are two bridges linking the two buildings .

the gate

the rostrum of [National Day Parade] was built against the front of the old [City Hall] building . during the ceremony , senior officials and other very important guests who were to attend the ceremoney stayed in the building first , then proceeded into the venue through a gate closely connected with the rostrum . there are three gates on this facade , but only the middle one was used during the ceremony .

as a part of [National Gallery Singapore] , by the time i visited , the lobby inside the three gates had reopened to the public .

and this , is the gate in the middle .
⇊⇊⇊

today , if you are a leader of a cause supported by thousands or even millions , what will you say to your fellow followers , in this changing world ? .

the fireworks were shining , but extinguished in seconds ; the celebration was warm , but faded in days .

causes —,, that once motivated a person , that once brought a group together , that once united a people ,,— may not last forever .

the world is changing rapidly . a people may find themselves lost in the course of history as the cause that bound their forefathers together decades or centuries ago may no longer be able to unite them today . and when that happens , a more civilized society wastes their energy in constantly swinging between extreme left and extreme right where there are always half of the people dissatisfied ,, whereas a less civilized country may have to undergo coups , long‐term military or police control , or armed conflicts between political factions .

[Singapore] is slightly cleverer : their national anthem does not mention struggles in the past or enemies they hated ,, but only expresses a wonderful aspiration , with a beautiful melody .

the more a nation focuses on the future , the less they are hindered by the past .

may their cause last longer .