Walking down memory lane... visiting Blk 10 @ NTU

CJ has been staying in Residential Hall in NTU for the past 1 year. I have driven him to and fro NTU and our house for countless time.

I stayed in Block 10 of old Nanyang University 40 years ago, in my JC 1 (Junior College Year One). I shared the room with fellow Chung Ling classmate, Say Yeong. We shared a common toilet/bathroom with another two fellow Chung Ling classmates in adjacent room. 

Many new buildings and residential halls have been built, and the roads and landscapes have been changed drastically over the past 40 years. I have been trying to locate Block 10 residential hall for many times, but without any success.

This morning, after sending CJ back to his room, my wife and I went exploring NTU again. Finally, we managed to locate the elusive Block 10.

Block 10 Residential Unit

The tennis court where we sang National Anthem during National Day

Corridor leading to my room, 3rd from the end of the corridor

The external facade of the building and colours of the paint remain the same as before, but the floor tiles and internal decor of the room have changed somewhat. The room now comes with build in study table /book shelf. The building still looks very sturdy!

Just imagine, it was four decades ago when I first ventured into Singapore, and this was my very first place of residence, my "home"!

Me, standing in front of my old room

武林山庄 Martial Arts Villa

Came across a boutique Chinese restaurant while exploring the alleys and light decors of Chinatown last night.

The restaurant even carries with it Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber 倚天剑，屠龙刀！

My wife and I ordered 小笼包 and 销魂饭 for supper. Not too bad, and the portion was quite large as well. It came with free flow of Chinese tea. The entire meal cost us $14. Quite economical.

Will visit again in the future !

Lights up @ Chinatown 牛车水灯饰

The light decors during various Chinese festivals (eg MidAutum Festival, Chinese New Year) have been plagued by complaints for the past few years. The moon fairy statue was to "manly", the lanterns resemble that of decors put up during funeral... etc, etc.

The light decors for Lunar New Year this year have also being critisized as being too abstract and cartoon like.

Look at the lantern decor above... what Zodiac animals are they? ... Rabbit on the left, but what about the yellow creature on the right?....... the answer is "SNAKE".

The 12 Zodiac animals dotting the skyline

Can you confidently name all the Zodiac animals?
Rooster, Goat, Pig, Mouse, Ox (top panel)
Dragon, Snake, Pig, Rabbit (lower panel)

Which Zodiac animal is the one below?

Stretch your imagination, let your childhood imagination run wild.... it is the "TIGER"!

At one glance, it is indeed quite difficult to tell which Zodiac animals the various lanterns represent. But once you appreciate the difficulty of depicting the various animals within the confine of oval-shaped lanterns, you start to empathize with the artists predicament.

I must admit they kind of look cute, and will definitely attract the attention of young children. For once, I thought they were creatures from Pokemon!

The light decors along the New Bridge Rd @ Chinatown are more conventional and tradition. They are quite impressive as well.

Ushering in the year of the OX!

The year of RAT has been quite a disaster for many people, because of COVID pandemic.

Hopefully, the year of OX will usher in good health and prosperity for all!

Light to Night Festival 2021

Went for the Light to Night Festival at Civic District last night. 

Left home at 7.45pm, and drove to the carpark next to the Parliament House. But alas, the car park was closed for some unknown reason. Wanted to park in the alleys along Singapore River. But the places were rather crowded with people enjoying drinks/food at the various bars / boutique restaurants lining up both sides of the alleys. Eventually, I had to park at the basement carpark of Adelphi shopping complex. Fortunately, the parking wasn't too expensive - costs~ $3 per entry (after 5pm).

The colourful display of lights at the National Gallery was grand, but haphazard - the colour display occurred randomly,  without any specific theme. Somehow, it lacks the OOMH factor. Fortunately, the display appeared rather impressive on photos!

The skyline of Marine Bay Sands and buildings around Padang were more impressive.

The iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The light display at The Art House...

Finally, the last stop and probably the best light display - Victoria Theatre. There seemed to be some storyline - something about despair and help...

And the Fullerton Hotel nearby...

And the building along Singapore River...

My wife and I spent about 1.5 hour exploring the light show. Our next destination... Lights @ Chinatown 牛车水。

 

Old and New

Nowhere do you find old buidings being demolished, and being replaced by new ones within short period of time, except in Singapore.

Every 5-10 years, new buildings will sprout out suddenly. Old schools which have been left idle,  or sometimes used as holding schools, will be demolished and replaced by new schools. These old buildings are not that old, some not more than 20-30 years. 

Why such a haste to discard "old buildings"?

The historic brick public houses @ Dakota Crescent - one of the pioneer rented houses in Singapore history, have been ear-marked for re-development many years back. There were protests initially, lamenting our lost of heritage with the demolition of the old brick houses. The old tenants were relocated to other places many years ago, and the place was left dormant for a quite a few years. And finally, the demolition works started over the past one month. 

Up till now, it is still not clear what the authority intends to do with this vast piece of land after the demolition. 

A wet beginning for year 2021

It started pouring on the eve of 2021. With that, the water level of the several rivers gradually rose and flood alerts were raised. The rain kept going on and on, till the following night. The rain fall was higher than the monthly average of previous years. Inevitably, several low lying areas were flooded. And of course, the temperature started to dip as well .... down to 21'C in some places.

Rain

Rain

And Rain...

Hopefully, the rain will flush away all the back fortunes (COVID included) of year 2020, and usher in a new beginning for year 2021. Many people were hit hard financially last year. Hopefully, the arrival of "water" 水 ('money' in Cantonese dialect) brings along great fortune to all!

Happy New Year!