Loooong boring post warning.
A piece by piece recall of what I did on Sunday 24th Aug 08 (For reminder purpose):
Intend to wake up early for photography-Overslept till 11am
Wolfed down my breakfast and planned my trips using a list of locations saved in my comp.
Rushed outta the house and noticed what a fine weather day for urban exploration and photography. Next time I shall not presume too much about the weather.
Went to Cable Road after being inspired by another Urban explorer/photographer's website. Seems like there is a couple of places there worth photo-archiving. They are those British colonial B&W buildings. Abandoned is what it seems on that site's photos. It'll be perfect if I can find them.
Found them I did without much effort. But both of them are under renovation. It seems I was too late yet again. Damn. These 2 places are actually quite aesthetically beautiful. Why can't I have gotten into this snapshot hobby like 5 or more years ago when most of the abandoned locations are still intact and relatively free from metal thieves, vandals and private developers?
Continued to ride around the neighborhood of Jervois, Nathan and Cable Road. Noticed that the land area and architecture of the area are not of ordinary salaried workers' means. Some of them even looked more complex(i.e expen$ive) than those of Nassim Road (minus Arwaa mansion of cos) or Queen Astrid Park. Probably one of the more impressive neighbourhoods in Singapore. And take it from me. I've been around much these few yrs. There are also some remnants of other old British style mansions.
Next, went for petrol. Been trying to test how far can my scooter go since thursday. Cost me $20.25, just about right for the minimum of $20 per redemption using the Shell Escape points.
Headed for Queensway library but detoured to Kay Siang to check out the estate there. Noticed the Queens' Driving Range is situated just right behind the Queenstown remand prison. Wonder if the inmates (esp a certain Mr Chee) past their time watching golf swings.
Queenstown Library. Have not been inside this library since I moved away from Commonwealth Crescent. The exterior of the library hides the new interior which is a far cry of the old one. Headed straight for the reference section where I need to find the book: The Art of Living in Singapore. Can't find it and instead picked up: Black and White: The Singapore House 1898-1941. Has the information that I needed from the other book and then some. Also picked up: Bukit Merah: From a Hilly Kampong to a Modern Town.
Spent the next few hours stuck inside the library cos of the rain but at least I have good reads.
The first book was because I wanted to know more about the B&W houses that I have been to, or in the case of the locations this morning at Cable Road, know more about the places I missed out. Learnt that I have been visiting or hunting a Mr Regent Alfred John Bidwell's works alot.
Also found that one of the location that I photo-archived have been there since 1898!!!
As for the second book, it looks like an interesting insight on the neighbourhood I moved to for the past couple of years. I already own: 10 Stories, Queenstown Through the Years, which documented my childhood neighbourhood and I really enjoyed that book. This Bukit Merah book should be a companion book that I can look forward to.
Not as enjoyable as the Queenstown one, but it does contain lotsa historical facts which I heard from my parents like the Poh Lay Long (Glass Factory) in the area. But my favourite part are the early 90s pictures of the central cos I used to frequent that part with my grandparent who stayed in the area when I was still in primary sch. The images of the emporium, A&W, and various stores are still fresh in my mind so I had no problem recognising the pics and visualising the location. Truly nostalgic.
But as detailed as the book was of the area, they never mentioned the removal of the Tang Suah Kiong San Soh Hoo Chu Temple. They mentioned the Rubber factory which was beside it but not the temple itself. Maybe to the govt, that is a past best forgotten. Gotta check out more when I get home.
Inspired by the B&W housing book, went to check out the the neighbourhood beside Hort Park as half the book featured the houses in this area. Was really enjoying myself in there even though it was drizzling slightly and my camera equipment was starting to weight me down. The houses was still kept in prime condition. The environment was very refreshing with large open fields and views. One of those areas you would not think was inside Singapore. Even saw a rare Porsche GT2 and a yellow Ducati 916/996 series. Finally found Eton hall. Jaw dropped. Had to be seen to be believed. That place was still occupied but I still rode in for a round of look see.
Later had to take shelter in Hort park cos it suddenly POURED without warning. Totally drenched but was more concerned about the camera equipment. As usual, there was only like 5-6 bike parking space and it's located furthest from the entrance. Has to run uphill for around 50 metres lugging my equipment in the thunderstorm after I parked my bike before reaching the sheltered front entrance of Hort Park.
After i dried myself, proceeded to take pictures. Thought this might be the perfect opportunity to take a different view of Hort park instead of all the bright and cheerful greenery pics that were displayed at the gallery. Conditions were horrible. The strong wind blew in the rain and both my SLRs had a shower. Couldn't dry the lens as I din have a dry bit of cloth with me. Even my clothes are unusable as there were drenched. Ended up wiping them with the interior of the camera bag which are the only thing still dry. At one point, the security tried to remove my helmet and camera bag which I left on the floor as I went around taking pics. Lucky I returned in time to stop them. hah..
Storm subsided, sky turned bright so quickly rushed home. Even in that 3 min ride, the storm got heavy again!! What kinda weather is this? Had to wipe my bike like 5 times today! And I just washed and waxed it yesterday! Kaoz!
Got home. Checked out online archives if there is any reports of the Tang Suah Kiong San Soh Hoo Chu Temple mentioned earlier. It was supposedly the 2nd oldest temple at that time. Surprisingly found a few info. Found 2 Ministry of Natl Development records dated back to 1978 that reports the details of how the temple time and again resisted moving. Makes for interesting read. But as expected, there is no records of how the temple was removed.
For those who didn't know about this small part of history, the govt wanted the land that the temple was sitting on to built the now defunct Bukit Merah Swimming Complex. For some reason, the trustees refused to move the temple after repeated attempts by the govt to relocate them. Finally the govt removed them by force on 5th Sept 78.
Here's what was told to me by my father who was one of the on-lookers on the scene of the forced removal that very day:
There were lots of 'Ang Cheah' (riot police vehicles) on the scene and policemen trying to keep control of the area. Perhaps they were expecting supporters from secret societies who may try to prevent the takeover. After all, it was still the 70s are they were still quite rampant and are known to worship Guan Gong (there is a carved stone statue of Guan Gong on a horse in the temple). But the event proceeded without any incident. Bulldozers simply pushed soil onto the temple (it was located at the bottom of a valley) burying it whole.
Seems like a fast and efficient way for the govt to end all future issues. By 'covering up'!
Actually come to think of it. If this anecdote was true to the dot, it's actually quite cool! Imagine that if someone was to dig up the Bukit Merah Swimming Complex, you can still find a whole complete temple housing a life-sized stone statue of Guan Gong on a horse among other things. History preserved under the soil!
Or you can also imagine further and link the closure of the Swimming Complex to this incident. But that will be thinking too much.
And I have posted too much in a single non-pictorial post. Time to sleep. Monday coming. Sianz.
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