Free entry. Bring your own nose
As Singapore National Day is upon us once again, I think about all the reasons why I call this city state home.
Besides for all the obvious tangible benefits of a safe place to bring up children, the summery climate and the lack of any real traffic on the roads, I like to scratch & sniff a bit deeper.
They say home is where the heart is, and clearly beyond physical or tangible benefits, to consider a place as home is to internalise it on a much deeper level.
I love how green Singapore is, sitting somewhere between a garden and a jungle, simultaneously both wild and manicured, it never ceases to amaze me.
Living in a modern city, there is that human drive to quantify that which is visible. And there are so many visual masterpieces, man-made structures that dot the architectural landscape.
Thus I want to dedicate this article to the non-tangible landscape, our olfactory environment or 'smellscape'.
My morning bike ride through Dempsey Hill fills my nostrils with fresh frangipani blooms, bursting out in bright clusters of yellow, red and pink petals; the created headspace an olfactory masterclass of citrus, fruity and rosaceous delight.
The mysterious Cannon Ball tree with its large twisting blooms that emit an over ripened and unapologetic call to be admired.
And to my evenings sultry delight, when the queen of the night, lady Ms Jasmine fills the air with her unforgettable white cape.
And there is so much more, from the creamy cinnamic bloom of the passion flower, the white flowers of the Tembusu tree and of course Pandan leaf, the 'Vanilla of the East'!
Put your phone down and immerse yourself in this wild and free olfactory world.
Yes its free entry for all those who bring their nose. So get out there this National Day, and in between all the revelry, take yourself aside for a quiet moment and just breathe it all in!
Creative Technologist & Design Thinking Specialist
3yAnd what's your conclusion ? :-)