Rizal in Singapore

On May 9, 1882, Rizal had his first glimpse of Singapura, known as Singapore today. On his first day, he
was amazed how pretty the city was. He saw that the streets were well built, plants on the sides, and
the houses had a Chinese aesthetic. The city was also filled with shops having their advertisements
written in English and Chinese. Rizal stayed in Hotel de la Paz during his stay in Singapore. When he
arrived at the hotel, he was accompanied by a Chinese man who, in his words, is charming and has an
honest-looking countenance which is uncommon among the Chinese people he had met in the
Philippines. While he saw a lot of English and Chinese men, they were few women on the streets of the
city and most of them were Chinese women with small feet. He did not see any Malayan or Indian
women. He was told that they only stayed at home.

During his second day in Singapore, he had a dream that his brother died and had to leave and go back
to the Philippines. He was so frightened about this dream because he once had dream that came true.
This was before his medical examinations during his first year that he dreamt about the questions that
will be asked. After taking a bath and having a luncheon, he toured around the city and he was
fascinated by the beautiful houses, streets, and trees in the city. Being a young botanist, he was curious
about the different types of plants that can be seen in Singapore. He visited botanical gardens and parks
that whole day. Rizal was filled with admiration when he saw that everything was clean and orderly;
numerous plants even had labels on it.

After his two-day stay in Singapore, he left the country to go to Europe. However, Rizal had the chance
to visit the country four times before his execution in the Philippines. He said in his diary in 1892 entry
that “Singapore has change much since I saw it for the first time in 1882.” He was able to see the rapid
growth of the county in ten years’ time.

Bibliography
Rizal, J. (2011). Jose Rizal Reminiscences & Travels. Manila: National Historical Commission of the
Philippines.

References
Jose Rizal Reminiscences & Travels. (2011). Manila: National Historical Commission of the Philippines.