The Iconic blue signboard

The blue signboard had been operating for the last 54 years old provision shop situated at Block 12 Dakota Crescent this was an old school type of shop which your parents and grandparents used to patronize in the heydays together with mama shops found around the street corner on the five footway. When the old estate was embarked for redevelopment the owner decided to call it a day and soon the shop together with the name Tian Kee & Co was bought over and converted into a cafe and had been there for quite a while and finally, the dateline came and everybody had to leave and now waiting for the wrecking ball to come in.

The Istana

The Istana meaning "palace" in Malay and is the official residence and office of the President of the Republic of Singapore and also the place to receive and entertain state guests and also the working office of the Prime Minister. It was built during the colonial period between 1867 and 1869 and know as the Government House of Singapore official home of the British Governor and this continues until 1959 when Singapore attained self-government and was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara who was in turn replaced by the President. There are occasionally open to the public to visit on special occasions during Chinese Lunar New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Christmas and also the country National Day. 

Wisma Geylang Serai

Talking about Geylang Serai it is a Malay settlement back in pre-modern Singapore it was built on the former site of the Malay Village which was demolished to make way for the Wisma Geylang Serai which also the need to expand the Geylang Serai Community Centre just a stone throw at Haig Road which is under the care of former Member of Parliament Prof. Fatimah Lateff. The Wisma Geylang Serai was built to incorporates the architectural elements of the Malay Village influenced by the traditional Malay houses and complements the adjacent of the Geylang Serai Market and Hawker Centre.   

The Rail Mall and Singapore Quarry

Singapore Bukit Timah Hill is rich with granite and is home to a number of quarries such ar the Dairy Farm Quarry, Hindhede Quarry and Singapore Quarry. As far as more than twenty years ago I use to travel from my working office to Hillview Avenue Lam Soon Factory and Hume Industries,  at that time the place was the steel structure open warehouse of Hong Leong Company I have to pass by the Rail Mall along the way but now things had changed with a new flyover at the intersection of Hillview Avenue and Bukit Timah Road. Rail Mall got its name from the overland trains service form Penisular Malaya now Malaysia also a railway bridge was built across Bukit Timah Road and onward toward Tanjong Pagar Station. For those granite quarries ceased to be operational since 1970 and 1980 only the Dairy Farm Quarry are filled up and today is a popular spot for rock climbing.

Walk among the tombstones

After revisited Tanglin Halt I quickly pop over to Shuang Long San Wu Shu Ancestral Hall simply refer to the Shuang Long San Cemetery or Ying Fu Kuan Singapore last Hakka cemetery situated along Holland Close and its surrounding Public housing and Commonwealth Avenue West with the East-West MRT Line. The cemetery is well into the half of their 99 years lease and when the time comes this place will become a thing of the past.

Final look at Tanglin Halt

Going back to the early 70s when I was working with a freight forwarding company where we had a garage at Tanglin Halt Road just at the junction with Commonwealth Avenue West and behind a Shell petrol kiosk, it brings back a lot of memories where once the Malayan Railway KTM used to chugged along  Van Houten chocolate factory, Daiwa Industries and many more light industries can be found there Tanglin Halt Estate was one of the oldest which had undergone many changes over the years. It is the Selective En Bloc  Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) that put a nail that seals the fate of the estate. The famous Market and Hawker Centre, old school shops with a total of over 3500 units of flats had to make way so that is when I decided to revisited that place to document some of the buildings for memory sake.

Kim Keat Avenue Dinosaur Playground

This playground which was built-in 2000 using Dinosaur theme which is also the same contractor who designs the other one in Woodland. As  I walk toward the other block there was a Chinese temple known as Poh Chung Tian Chor Sian Tong according to record it was built-in 2005 and at the time of the visit the caretaker waved me away I think it is because of the pandemic.