Does tourism add value or de-value a heritage spot or icon?

In my opinion, I feel that tourism adds value to the heritage spot.

The restaurants bring in the convenience to the tourist if they are planning to have a meal there. However, since tourist would most likely eat the local food, I would have preferred if the restaurants were managed and cooked by the nearby locals and not the fast-food restaurant that is available everywhere. The locals can not only appreciate the design of the architectural, they can also link the design to the type of food the locals eat, increasing the value to the heritage spot. 

However, some fast-food restaurants around the world provide a different kind of food such as McNoodles in Austria, Bubblegum squash McFlurry in Australia; New Zealand to fit the taste of the locals. Hence, it is hard to say whether a certain type of fast food restaurant is not suitable to be in heritage spots. 

However, I understand that some must think that having restaurants in heritage spots or opening it to the public is de-valuing it because the tourist may leave marks or litter in it and it might be unsightly. The locals might feel disturbed for having their only sense of identity being opened up to strangers and damaged. 

However, the locals should also consider this point the fact that by letting foreign companies take over the heritage spots, the land value will increase, opening more opportunities for other companies to invest in these heritage spots, eventually boosting the economy of the country. Furthermore, these heritage spots will need to have regular maintenance to stabilise the structure and life-long of it, and funding will be needed. 

Hence, tourism helps in increasing funding, concluding that tourism adds value to a heritage spot or icon.

Example of different types of food found all around the world

-Bubblegum squash McFlurry in Australia; New Zealand














- Sausage and Egg Twisty Pasta Breakfast in China



Reference:
http://firstwefeast.com/eat/craziest-international-mcdonalds-menu-items/chicha-purple-temptation

Heritage Part 1: Preservation and Modernisation

I think that LKY's house should be demolished. His wishes concerning the Oxley Roadhouse should be respected, despite public calls for it to be preserved. The best way to honour someone’s memory is to respect his own wishes on how he wants to be remembered. Mr.Lee said “I’ve told the Cabinet, when I’m dead, demolish it. Demolish my house and change the planning rules …the land value will go up. I don’t think my daughter or my wife or me, who lived in it, or my sons who grew up in it, will bemoan its loss. They have old photos to remind them of the past.” Furthermore, even when buildings are still standing, many bear little resemblance to their past. There are many ways of remembering someone such as photos like what Mr.lee had listed. Mr.Lee has given his life in service to the people of Singapore and I feel this simple wish can be granted for him. Mr.Lee had always put Singapore's interest first, and the fact that the land value would go up when his house is demolished shows that Mr.Lee could contribute another thing to Singapore and that this wish should be granted. Mr.Lee and his wife had also repeatedly requested his son and daughter to ensure that his wish would come true, showing that Mr.Lee had considered the advantages of keeping the house, but had still eventually come to a conclusion that this house must be demolished.

Factory to the world (Economy part 5)

By making things and selling them to foreigners, China has transformed itself—and the world economy with it. In 1990 it produced less than 3% of global manufacturing output by value; its share now is nearly a quarter. China produces about 80% of the world’s air-conditioners, 70% of its mobile phones and 60% of its shoes.China has forged supply chains that reach deep into South-East Asia. This “Factory Asia” now makes almost half the world’s goods. However, China's fast-growing economy has always had its downside. For example, the air pollution in Beijing so impenetrable the U.S. Embassy's air quality measuring station can only call it "beyond index." Industrial towns where rates of cancer are so high they're known as "cancer villages."

Now, let's look at the dilemma between the blind pursuit of higher economic growth and protecting the environment.

Advantages of higher economic growth

1. More value addition in the economy results in a rise in the standard of living of the citizens and due to rise in income, there will be a higher spending on various goods and services like healthcare, education, etc.

2. An increase in the lifestyle of the citizens and there are more individuals going to college.

3. Business is booming, production of commodities is becoming easier and people have plenty of work opportunities which pay enough for them to prosper.

Disadvantages of higher economic growth

1.Can be influenced by policies to manage aggregate demand.

2. Market prices are fairly straightforward to put a value on output.

GDP Includes:

1. Farmers producing & selling crops (even if the crops later rot or spoil–so long as they are sold)

2. Buying a meal at a restaurant (regardless of whether or not you eat it)(excluding ingredient cost)

3. Hiring a babysitter or paying a daycare centre for child care

4. Hiring a contractor or skilled tradesperson to do repairs or improvements on your home(excluding supplies)

5. Buying a new suit (regardless of whether or not you ever wear it)

GDP Does Not Include:

1. People growing food in their own garden, for their own consumption, gifts, or donation to charity

2. Preparing a similar meal at home

3. Caring for your own children or those of a friend or relative free of charge

4. Working on your house yourself, or doing similar work for a friend as a favour

5. Giving a used suit to a friend, or donating it to charity, instead of throwing it out

Advantages of protecting our environment

1. A clean environment is essential for healthy living

- the government need not spend money on poverty people for medical expenses and people who are well generally doing better during work

2. Biodiversity is important.

-many of the basic necessities that we need to survive because of biodiversity. We need food that various species provide to eat, water to drink, air to breathe, and materials to provide shelter and other necessities.

3. Earth is our home.

- our actions cannot be irreversible. For example, the high temperature from global warming we are facing can no longer decrease, but can only be prevented from a further increase in temperature.

Disadvantages of protecting our environment

1. Waste of money for treatment

- polluted with contaminants and toxins that have a harmful impact on our health. Air pollution can cause respiratory diseases and cancer, among other problems and diseases. Water pollution can lead to typhoid, diarrheal diseases, and other waterborne/water-related diseases.

2. More natural disaster leads to chances of damaging of facilities

- small changes in the average temperature can lead to frequent occurrences of dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms

Economics Part 3: Standard of living

The cost of living is a worry for many.

For all households, the main items responsible for the higher cost of living were food, school and tuition fees, and medical treatment fees, SingStat said. This meant that the consequences of a high cost of living in Singapore are poverty which mainly affected the low-income group. However, some of the middle-income group also do feel the pinch because they’re not entitled to the benefits and yet they feel the full blow of increases in the cost of living. Becuase of the high school fees In Singapore, non-Singaporean will also suffer from studying in Singapore because they are not subsidised further by Singapore government such as the Edusave Account, Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS) Elderly who suffer from illnesses may be unable to afford the medical fees due to the high cost of living. Fortunately, schemes such as the Medisave scheme, Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) will help the elderly to have affordable medical cost.

The "C" Word: E and C week

On Term 1 Week 10, I went to 3 different places- Masjid Sultan & Madrasah Aljunied, Little India and Kampong Glam. This journey had deepened my knowledge with other religion culture and had cleared some doubts I had experienced before this EnC week.

“Experiencing another’s culture may open doors that were previously closed...but the choice to walk through those doors is entirely up to you”

The most impactful lesson

The most impactful lesson was probably the first time I walked into the Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah. I still remembered that there were many boys wearing their uniform, standing and singing a Malay song. Initially, I thought that there would only be 1 song, but I was wrong. The boys consecutively sang for 3 or 4 songs which lasted for a good 3 to 4 minutes per song. After walking around the boys, I realised there were also girls at the back of the boys singing together with the boys. The girls were also wearing the classic attire with the hijab on their head. The songs they sang were definitely loud to be heard. I initially thought of these songs as their school songs as they were standing in front of the principal and most were standing straightly singing the song in pride in the morning. I had many questions such as wondering what songs were they singing, why were they singing the songs and do they not feel tired standing for so long. To get my doubts answered, I asked one of the teachers there and they said that the songs were part of their prayers and that they had to sing the songs daily without fail in front of the principal. This made me realise they were very respectful of their own religion as they followed their daily procedure without fail although standing up for a long period of time will be very tiring with an addition to their head to toe uniform to add on and this made me very respectful of them. Compared to me, I frequently complain about the hot weather Singapore has to offer and my uniform but I am still not wearing the full-body attire the girls have to wear to school and standing so long. This makes me very ashamed of myself for grudging about everything when someone out there was experiencing tougher conditions than me.

Main objective

•    To expose and learn about the different cultures and practises of other races.

During my learning journey, I learnt about the Malay and Indians are common in the generous use of spices such as Garlic, Coconut, Cinnamon Dried Chili to flavour their food. The Malay cuisines are also influenced by other cultures such as the use of soy sauce in the Malay dish, Daging Masak Kicap (Soy Sauce Beef).

Dried Chili

My visit to the Masjid Sultan had also deepened my knowledge about the customs and beliefs of the Muslims. By visiting the Masjid Sultan Mosque, I learnt that the Muslims believed in everyone having a chance of contributing to the society -the rich contribute gold for the two gold painted domes while the poor contribute glass bottles for the black ring at the base of the dome. Women were also treated equally such as in a mental relationship, women have the rights to retain her last name and any money that she earns belong to her alone.

I feel very guilty because I initially had thought that the minority races are very inclusive. However, they were actually the opposite by the shows of different religions were accepting to each other such as the usage of soy sauce in a Malay dish. They also try to make people feel included by not leaving the poor out and letting everyone have a chance in contributing.

Improvement for the programme

I felt that the trip to Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple could be improved. On that day, we had to walk about 15 minutes there in the blazing hot sun with only occasional stops and some stops were not even in the shade. I had to walk quickly and it was almost impossible to take photos. On arrival, vague instructions were given and around one-third of the class did not enter due to religious restrictions. We were only given around 6  minutes to explore the temple when the visiting hour ended. The whole procedure was very frustrating because of the limited time, long tedious journey and I were sweating profusely. I feel that there could be better time management or if the journey is really impossible to complete, I suggest that the trip to Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple could be cancelled and other nearer sites could be chosen to replace it.

Conclusion

As a student in River Valley High School, the chances of interacting with other races students are extremely low, resulting in our weak knowledge of other races culture and misunderstanding can occur very frequently. Fortunately, with this learning journey trip, I get to be exposed to their culture and differences and managed to clear my doubts. Although I was very reluctant to go on this learning journey, I kept an open mind so that I could learn something instead of wasting my time there.

Economy (Part 2)

What are the lessons the Suzhou Industrial Park has to offer?

1. We must be cautious of who we make friends with and investments. For example, the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park went into debt when China had suddenly built a competitive new park-the Suzhou New District Industrial Park and ended up losing an average of $23.5 million a year.
2.As long as it is a win-win situation, it does not hurt to share ideas with other countries and grow with them. E.g.New York, London and Paris are not threats to Singapore but mutually complementary parts of a globalised world.

As a small country,should Singapore continue to share her development experiences with other countries?

Yes, Singapore should continue. Singapore have developing experiences, other countries have resources to help us. Exchange, is it not a win-win situation? Countries can prosper together. One for all, all for one. Since Singapore has very little land area as well, we can collaborate with other nations to provide us with the land and in return tell them some developing tips. Singapore can never survive alone and need strong relationships with other countries. 

Economy(Part 1)

Why do you think it is important that Singaporeans are not complacent and why the relationship with China is important?

As Singaporean is a small little red dot, we cannot be complacent and must strive for excellence because such a small country can be abandoned and left out by major countries such as the United States of America. We will have to remain competitive and develop faster than any nation so that we can survive in this competitive world and not cease to exist. Furthermore, there are many issues that can only be addressed with the cooperation of other countries to solve the issue. One such issue is terrorism. As the threat terrorism is close to home but the country who is developing the terror is further away from home, and Singapore have limited resources to fight against terrorist, we are dependent on more developed countries to help us. Hence, Singapore must remain humble and build strong relationships with other countries so that Singapore can remain in a safe position for peace and harmony and we can tackle issues with other countries, increasing support for Singapore and at the same time decreasing the burden of Singapore to tackle issues. Many Singapore criminals have been successfully captured in other countries due to the strong inter-relationship with neighbouring countries such as the famous capture of Mas Selamat Kastari in Sudaki, Malaysia.

Why is the relationship with China important?

Adapted from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-04/who-is-most-dependent-on-china

As you can see from the graph, Singapore economy is largely dependent on China on GDP. With us knowing that China is one of our largest influence on Singapore's economy, we must ensure we maintain the strong relationship with one of our largest trading partners. If China dies, Singapore dies. Hence, the relationship with China is important as we rely a lot on China.