On Thursday we both went out geocaching in the Serangoon Gardens direction. I can always be tempted in a walk out that way as the hawker food there is top notch and Eric only had to mention 'breakfast along the way' to get me out of bed. To our pleasant surprise the cache was hidden in a serene Japanese Cemetery which we had been unaware existed. It is the largest Japanese cemetery in South East Asia with tombstones that mark the remains of members of the Japanese community in Singapore. Today, the Japanese Association of Singapore maintains the cemetery which became a memorial park in 1987. It has an interesting history; the land was first donated for the purpose of burying destitute Japanese prostitutes by a wealthy Japanese brothel owner. During WWII it was used to bury Japanese civilians and soldiers including convicted war criminals executed at Changi Prison. After the peace treaty was signed in '51 the Japanese Govt intended to repatriate the remains of their fallen back home, but then they discovered how much effort the Japanese surrendered personnel had put into erecting a memorial in the cemetery for their fallen comrades and so they decided to leave them rest in peace.
An interesting story we had earlier read about, that links to this landmark, is that of Yamamoto Otokichi, also known as John Matthew Ottoson, who was born in Japan in 1818. As a 14 yr old, he was a sailor on board the Hojun-maru which was shipwrecked in a storm. Otokichi managed to survive and was washed ashore at Cape Alava on the West Coast of America. He eventually travelled around the world but the isolation policy of Japan at that time denied his return to his home country. He later became a successful trader. In 1862, Otokichi moved from Shanghai and stayed in Singapore with his Malay wife to become the first Japanese resident here. He died at the age of 49 in 1867.
In 2004, facts confirming Otokichi's remains at the Choa Chu Kang Government Cemetery were uncovered and his remains were exhumed. They were cremated and some ashes were returned to Japan after 173 years, while the rest are stored here at the Japanese Cemetery.
Another working week done and dusted, there were no real surprises about positions for next year as most people seemed to already know before the official announcements. 6 weeks to go, which means only 6 weeks left to climb steps in preparation for Nepal. Thank you to everyone who has donated toward the building project at the Gudel School. That is one load I won't mind carrying.
On Monday we walked all over Bukit Timah for 3 hours. I know it is difficult to read but trust me when I tell you we walked at least some of all these coloured trails.
I pulled up a bit sore the next day but managed to make my early morning appointment at the National Dental Clinic where I was pleasantly surprised to be told I do not need root canal work but to start using Sensodyne (or similar) toothpaste. A much cheaper and pleasant procedure. I guess I will also get used to chewing on my right jaw which has proved effective in the interim. I followed that session up by meeting Eric at Tan Tock Seng Hospital where they have a Travellers Inoculation Clinic. I understood we were going there to have a simple tetanus booster but came away feeling quite punctured having been injected for typhoid, Hep A and Influenza as well.
To round off the weekend we met up with Jim (Two Stroke) and Julie Stokes, some friends Eric met through Top End Hash in the Botanic Gardens and had a pleasant walk around there and lunch. Saw the resident Grey Headed Fish Eagle.
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In the afternoon Eric escorted them around some city sites while I came home to work on another sewing project.
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