Hi Crysania. Welcome to CS!
1. Took a basic photography course at the substation. Courses are also offered at Photographic Society of Singapore and Safra. Such courses can only introduce you to the basics of photography, you'll still need to have a good eye (that can be trained), a passion for what you do, as well as huge amounts of perserverance in order to improve on your craft. Take lots of pictures. Make that tons. Initially, most of your photos will be crap.
Examine all of them, and try to figure out what worked and what did not. Like the rest, I'll recommend that you read a lot of books and magazines on photography. I think learning from others cannot be over-emphasised. The internet is also a great source of information for all levels of photographers, so read the old threads, post your questions if you can't find the answers here, and post your photos for critiques too.
2. Consider getting a digital camera with manual controls, ie. aperture priority, shutter speed priority, manual mode, manual white balance. And given the type of photography you do, you'll need one that has macro mode. When you're doing macro/close-up photography, the shutter speed can be rather long, so I'll suggest getting a good tripod (the Slik 330DX is stable yet reasonably light-weight. Price is about $130 with pan-tilt head).
As to which exact model of digital camera to get, I'll recommend that you try out some models in the shops first. Handle them, take sample shots, make sure you like the size and weight of the camera and the position of the controls. Some cameras have controls that are well laid out, while others require you to access the menu for the slightest changes in settings. There's nothing worse than getting a camera which everyone says is fantastic, and then finding out that you don't like using it. It's happened to me before.
Also keep in mind your budget, and don't forget to factor in the price of accessories like memory cards, external flash (that will probably come later), batteries and filters.