Done by:

This blog is done by: Serene Fong, Matthew Wong and Zhang Yifan of S2-04

The Scaled Map

The shape course of Singapore River

The currents in the water may change the shape at a very slow pace, which may only be seen after a prolonged period of time. There is also much litter in the Singapore River. This may clog up the plumbing system of the River. Thus, altering the shape of the River.

Activities along Singapore River

During the early days, the Singapore River was a place where traders would come to trade their goods, it was a business area. In the modern day, the Singapore River is a tourist attraction. There are many boats passing through at different intervals of the day. Along the river, there are many food stalls that sell local food, this is to allow tourists to have a taste of what we eat here in Singapore. Nowadays, the Singapore River is not only visited by tourists, it is also visited by schools. We saw a school there crowding around the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles. Their teaching was teaching them and explaining to them about the history of Singapore River.

Social, Cultural and Technological Changes (ACM)

Social Changes: Rice growing area developed into more sophisticated kingdo

ms and civilizations. The role of rice as the underpinning of social structures in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia is acknowledged by many ways by the people who live there. The ancient buildings of Cambodia document rice production in their reliefs.

Cultural Changes: The domestication of water buffalo and the development of irrigation systems. Farmers were allowed to extend the area of land they could cultivate and the time during the year that they could grow crops.

Technological Changes: Almost 80% of agricultural land of Laos is taken up with intensive rice cultivation, making it the centre of life for most of the population. In Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, there is a rain-fed technique where areas of forests in uplands are cleared and farmed for several years before the farmers shift to a new location. Fertile volcanic soils and the "green revolution" of high yielding varieties, chemical fertilizers and pesticides and irrigation have led to becoming a major rice growing area.

ATTENTION! To all Elgins, here is your bridge!

Yes, to all Elgins, here is your bridge, white, curved and just plain tourist attractive. And guess what? It was the first bridge to link the Chinese to the Indians and it was before 1819, where Raffles set-foot on our tiny island called singapura. That posh guy couldn't pronounce that malay name, called it tosh and changed it into singapore, much to the Malays dismay(just kidding). Okay, lets get serious, the Elgin bridge was built and rebuilt three times! And the person it was named after was James Bruce! You cant find a single Elgin in that particular name, so it was plain weird. Well, I've got to go, until next time! :)

Its all about Marina bay sands(brief description only)

We set foot on Boat Quay, and in the distance was a giant structure resembling a ship, and hoisted by 3 building, one which is blocked by the trees. Its a building which most of the natives are chattering about, because it was one of the two casinos permitted by the singapore government and its called the Marina Bay Sands. What used to be a illegal thing now became legal, with people losing more than ten-thousands in there, singapore should expect a economical surge... But it is not just a casino, it is a package that comes with a hotel, restaurants, a mall and all that a foreign gambler could dream of. So...What are we waiting for? Get ready your money and lets...Oh wait, before we leave, I have to remind all Singaporeans including Permanent Residents are supposed to bring an extra S$100 with you cos they charge entrance fees(actually, its more of a entry levy). Foreigners, bring your passport along and lets gamble to your hearts content(careful of addiction though)!

South East Asia - Vietnamese Woodblock Printing (ACM)

Functions:

1. To depict images of life of peasants, new year festivities, folk deities, legendary heroes and contemporary matter related to war years and government propaganda that represent good luck.

2. Used as display, gifts and products. Villagers grew, engraved on wood and painted pictures on paper.

3. Used by fortune tellers to identify ailments; Chinese characters fill the outline of a human figure.

Modern Day:

In the modern day, we now use canvases to paint on and depict scenes. The advantages of using canvases instead of woodblock is that:

• Using canvases minimise the waste of resources. In woodblock painting, we make use of wood and paper, where as in a canvas just a single piece of cloth.
• Paper tears easily and becomes yellowed after a period of time whereas canvases do not tear easily and is hardy.
• Wooden Blocks are not waterproof while canvases are. Thus, the paint on canvas will dry faster.

South East Asia - Wooden Shield (ACM)

Functions:

1. Believed to ward off evil spirits

- Each image on the shield was created by two-coiled, mirror-image figures that have been aligned back-to-back to create a lengthened face with bulging eyes at the centre of the shield.

2. Used by male warriors as ceremonial dance accessories

- These shields were accessories carried by male warriors when performing a ceremonial dance. Probably to show a scene where they are fighting and how they use the shield to protect themselves.

3. Show off their prowess as headhunters

- Dayak warriors attached tufts of human hair to the shield to indicate that they are a proven headhunter

Modern Day:

In the modern day, we now use showcases and display casings instead of shields to display our achievements. The advantages of showcases and display casings instead of shields is that:

• shields are bulky and not easy to manage. Whereas display casings and showcases are built in and thus not bulky. People now can take out their achievements when they want.
• there is a limited amount of space that you can place items on a shield. Whereas if you use showcases, you can rearrange and reorganise your achievements so that there will be more space available.
• shields have to be carried around thus must remain as portable as possible. This also includes the factor of weight. Thus Dayak warriors were not able to place bulky items onto the shield. Whereas, when using a showcase now, you are able to.

South East Asia - Pottery (ACM)

Functions:

1. Contain food when cooking

- The material it is made of makes a clay pot suitable for cooking as it can withstand high temperatures.

2. Store items which were to be transported from one place to another

- At that time, pottery was one of the main objects that were hard and could be moulded into a container to store objects.

3. Storage of wet and dry goods

- Pottery does not allow water to seep through it. Thus good to contain wet items so that they will not make the area wet and at the same time prevent dry goods from getting wet especially in the rain.

Modern Day:

In the Modern Day, we now use plastic, cardboard, styrofoam or bubble wrap instead of pottery. The advantages that these modern day materials have over pottery is that:

• those materials do not break easily. Although pottery is hard, it can break easily upon a certain impact.
• those materials can be used to hold a large number of items or large items as large as a 3-seater sofa. Pottery can never be made that big to store such a large item.
• those materials are more flexible. Pottery is not flexible and cannot be used to store another bigger item when needed. Instead, the potter will have to make a new pot. When we have those materials, plastic can be recycled, styrofoam can be easily manipulated, cardboard boxes already come in many different sizes and bubble wrap is flexible hence can wrap a large item.