Thong Chai – A 143 Years History For those who have watched U-Channel recently, you may have come across the below broadcast; Yes, it’s Thong Chai Medical Institution first Charity Show on TV. The words “Thong Chai” do ring a bell to many elderly people but how many of us really know the meaning of it and the history of Thong Chai Medical Institution? First let’s [...] Please Get Up After Your Fall This is not my normal post in my blog but a very motivational video that I think I should share with all of you whether you are an adult or student. It’s only 3 minutes of your time but it benefits you throughout your life! It beats all the motivational talks and seminars that I’ve attended [...] Reminiscing Those Chinese New Years How I reminised those good old Chinese New Years days when I was young. I wonder how many of us still remember? 1. Collection of Swill When I was staying with my godmother at Beatty Road in the 60s and 70s, I remember there was no rubbish chute in the house. So everyday, a man will come to [...] Big Pore and Small Pore of Singapore “Big Pore and Small Pore of Singapore”, don’t quite make sense but if I will to say it in Chinese “新加坡的大坡, 小坡” and “going down town” in Chinese or Cantonese “下坡 or 落坡” – it means a lot to the older generation. Maybe I should rephrase it as “Big Town and Small Town of Singapore”. I remember in [...] One Station Many Names This is the 2nd time in my life taking the train (not the MRT train) from Malaysia to Singapore. The first time was probably in the early 80s from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore with my friends. Don’t really recalled much with which friends and exactly when. But the train then was stuffy and was without aircon. I [...] Guess Where Quiz No.4? The above photo shows a wall sculpture. Guess where is this wall sculpture located and where is this place. Also what is the name of this place where the wall sculpture is located. Clue : Nothing to do with the movie Avatar! Happy New 2010 Year to all! May all your wishes come true in the [...] Guess What Quiz No.4 Guess what is this item? And what is it use for? Below show a rather close-up views of the item; Top View: Front View: Side View: Good Luck!   Answer: Yes, Danny got it RIGHT! It’s a Magnet. I used to play with it when I was in primary school. I remember I got about 5 to 6 pieces but now only left [...] From Railway Track To The Centrepoint (Part 2 of 2) …cont’d from Part 1 In part 1, I talked about the existence of railway track to the establishment of Cold Storage Depot in Orchard Road. Cold Storage acquired a few shops at the corner of Orchard Road and Cuppage Road, which is today’s The Centrepoint. Subsequently around 1919, their first retail outlet was opened. To the oldies like Philip, [...] From Railway Track To The Centrepoint (Part 1 of 2) I just got my key when they first opened in 1983. I mean my 21 years old ‘key’ when Centrepoint first opened in 1983 at Orchard Road. Many of us have witnessed the changes of the landscape occuppied by Centrepoint over the years. Even Centrepoint itself have undergone major ‘facelift’ throughout all these years. When I was [...] Old Advertisements – The Well Known Examination Drink You may be wondering why I didn’t post for quite sometime. It’s the examination period now (October and November) for primary or secondary school students. Though my eldest son (Sec.3) has just completed his examination last week, my daughter will have her 4 main subjects exam next week starting 2 Nov. She is in Primary 4 now, and her exam stretched [...] Guess What Quiz No.3 The picture shows part of something. Guess what is that ’something’? You have to tell me what is this ’something’ call and what is it use for? Answer; The correct answer is Tong Sheng 通勝, Chinese Almanac. I don’t know since when it was called Tong Sheng instead of Tong Shu. I remember it was known as [...] My Father’s Old House Near Nam Sang Hua Yuan Try telling the taxi driver “Nam Sang Hua Yuan”, I think many of them will stare at you and said “Er…..where?”. I’m not surprise that many younger generation may not know this place “Nam Sang Hua Yuan” in Singapore. What so big deal about this “Nam Sang Hua Yuan” or “Nam-Sang Hua Un” ? This is [...] Batman Mask Unveiled At S’pore Blog Awards 2009 (The Final Part Of Non-Nostalgia Article) Frankly until now I still couldn’t believe that I could win the award in the Best Individual Blog category. I’m expecting Beru Betto (the woman who blog about art and craft) to win as I enjoyed reading her blog too. So I’ve been thinking why the judges choose me since [...] Win Some Lose Some – Singapore Blog Awards It’s an exciting and unforgettable evening attending the Singapore Blog Awards 2009 with my wife Ms Lao Po at the Supper Club (in Odeon Tower). As the location was in the ERP zone ($1.50 gantry) and with limited parking lots, we reached there about 4.50pm and managed to get a lot in Odeon Tower itself. Lucky me, didn’t expect to carry back so many boxes of prizes… So why do I say “Win Some Lose Some” with so many prizes? I lose all my photos in my camera memory card! I don’t know what happen to it? When I tried to upload it to the pc, the pc couldn’t detect any photos or videos – there goes all the precious memories of the evening. Hope if anyone got photos of me getting my prize from the minister, can email to me. Thanks in advance. For those who have seen me, pls help to erase me from your memory so I don’t have to discard my batman mask. Thank you for all your support. Many more interesting articles to come and I’ll continue to blog. …now thinking how to eat so many many packets and bowls of KOKA instant noodles? My First Dictionary Half A Century Do you still keep your first dictionary? I still have mine! Let me show you a small part of my dictionary collection… My first dictionary was actually given to me by my godsister when I was in primary school, probably upper primary in the early 70s. So coincidentally, this dictionary is also called the My First Dictionary; You see the two stickers on the front cover, and that was what I did to it. I don’t really remember whether these were those type of ‘water tatoos’ stickers – you put them on a pail of water and then place the ‘tatoos’ on your arms or legs or any other surface to apply the stickers. Here you see another one on the page inside; So this First Dictionary was reprinted in Sep 1958, exactly 51 years ago – half a century! I like this dictionary because of the exercises and questions at the end of the dictionary; In the past most of us really ‘read’ and ’study’ the dictionary (use our dictionary throughoutly)  as you can see some of the words were underlined; Now  my children’s dictionaries are as clean as those in the book stores. I bought my first personal pocket dictionary when I was in Sec.4 in 1978. It was a Collins pocket dictionary and see – I’ve a Kentucky Fried Chicken sticker on the front cover. You don’t find this KFC sticky anymore now. This dictionary has been with me for almost 35 yeasrs and now my daughter (Pri.4) is using it; So between these 2 Oxford dictionaries, which do you think is ‘older’? Do you think you get the answers right? OK, the white jacket one was reprinted in 1952; While the dark blue cover one was reprinted in 1949 (60 years old); I got it wrong too and I thought the one with the white cover was older… These 2 were handed down to me by my father. He probably used these when he was working in his twenties. Come to think of it, I have more Oxfords at home! So do you still have your first dictionary with you? Guess What Quiz No.2 I’ve not seen this for a very long time. Though it is still available now, but it was commonly used in the 60s or maybe still in the 70s. Do you know what is this for? What’s inside? I think Peter, Philip or Chun See may know the answer. Answer; Yes, it’s a Shaving Kit. You can see the contents inside: Here is the Razor Blade; In fact such shaving kit is very good for travelling. It even has a small mirror inside. Like what the guys have said, the blade is really super sharp! Additional Photos; Photo 1:     Photo 2 : Photo 3 :   44th Years Of Independence Or 50 Years Of Nation Building? Happy 44th Birthday Singapore! Happy 50th Nation Building Singapore! Today is 9 Aug 2009, and is Singapore’s National Day. Well you may ask is there a difference between “Years of Independence”and “Years Of Nation Building”? Frankly initially I thought it’s the same, is there a difference? When approaching National Day, didn’t the media always use terms like xx Years of Independence, xx Years of Nation Building or xx National Days, etc…? Don’t they mean the same? OK, let me show you another of my mother’s treasured collection; Credit : Ministry Of Culture, The Straits Times The above was the “1st Year Of Independence” magazine published by the Ministry Of Culture and The Straits Times. Inside you may see a message by MM Lee, our Prime Minister then; Credit : Ministry Of Culture, The Straits Times The above magazine was to commemorate our 1st Year Of Independence from 9 August 1965. It was the year we gained independence from Malaysia, yes the year Singapore exit from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. You may read more about it in my earlier post title “My Fist National Day On 3rd June“. So I believed any reference to the year 1965 will be referred to as “xxth Years Of Independence” or “xxth National Day”. Now what about any reference from the year 1959, the year Singapore achieved full internal self-government (In 1957, Lim Yew Hock asked for control over Singapore’s internal affairs and the British government agreed to grant Singapore control over it’s internal affairs but not the external affairs like defence and relations with other countries. Following this, an election was held 3rd June 1959 to elect leaders to from the new government). I believed that any reference to the year 1959, will be referred to as “Nation Building”. We do celebrate Nation Building too! Remember the old TV Guide I posted not too long ago? In 1984, we celebrated 25 Years Of Nation Building “Reach Out Singapore”; Credits : Mediacorps The “Reach Out Singapore” was held on 2nd June 1984 at the Padang and was telecast live then to celebrate 25 Years Of Nation Building. So does that mean every year we have 2 dates to celebrate? Now take a look at this First Day Cover to commemorate 25 Years Of Independence; Credit : Singapore Telecom The above stamps were issued on 16 August 1990 to commemorate Singapore’s 25 Years of Independence. Also remember the slogan “One People, One Nation, One Singapore”? Ok now let’s take a look at another set of First Day Cover or Miniature Sheet issued on the 23 Nov 1984; Credit : Singapore Telecoms The above was issued to commemorate Singapore’s 25 Years of Nation Building (1959 – 1984). See the difference : One issued in 1990 while the other one in 1984! Recently I’ve seen on the papers the phrase “50 Years Of Self-Governance” instead of “50 Years Of Nation Building”. Well “Self-Governance” is more straight forward and easily understood.We know that it refers to the year 1959. Who knows in another 10 years (2019), we may celebrate 200th anniversary of Singapore’s founding by Stamford Raffles in 1819 on our 54th National Day. Is There A Sentosa Primary School? Credit : Singapore Science Centre Anyone recall whether there is a Sentosa Primary School? Or is there anyone here from that school before? I was surprised when I read about such a school in an old magazine. The above article on Singapore Maritime Museum in the Science Centre Bulletin (1976 issue) stated that there was a Sentosa Primary School in Sentosa itself. The Sentosa Primary School was temporary used to house the gallery for the Singapore Maritime Museum. Let me check my old street directory (1976 edition). Below showed that there was such a school called Sentosa Primary School; but the actual location of the school, I’m not too sure; Credit : Chief Surveyor, Survey Dept, Ministry of Law. Sad to say both the school and the Singapore Maritime Museum were no longer around. This Maritime Museum was set up by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA). The opening of the Maritime Museum by the PSA at Sentosa in 1975 gave visitors a glimpse of the port’s history. I’ve been to this Maritime Museum at Sentosa before but somehow the exhibits did not interest me at that time so I don’t think I’ve any photos taken except those found on the net; Maybe some will remember this iconic signal mast; Credit : TNP The signal mast was moved to Singapore Maritime Museum in Sentosa when the area around Albert Dock was developed into a container terminal in 1972. The mast stood there for 26 years until the Maritime Museum closed in 2001 due to poor attendance.  You may read more about the historic mast here. Let’s hope the new maritime museum at Resorts World will be a success. Below is the model of the new maritime museum; Guess Where Quiz No.3? Credit : Singapore Science Centre The photo above showed a model of a proposed place to be built on a 3.24 hectare area. The idea was first conceived in 1969. The place was opened in 1975. Most of us (probably my age or older or a bit younger) may have been to there before. Sad to say, it’s no longer around due to ‘poor attendance’. Guess where is this place and the name of this place? I will reveal the answer next week. Haha, this should be your weekend homework… My Old TV Guide Magazine Do you keep your old TV guide magazines? My mother kept hers, above (176)  is just one of the many and she still had the 1st copy. Funny thing is that I don’t remember her buying those TV guide magazines and she is also not keen in watching TV programmes… What so special about the above TV guide? Well that issue was published on 2 Jun 1984 and about 25 years ago. Coindentally, on the cover you can find the 25 years of Nation Building logo (1959 to 1984) and it was going to be National Day celebration in a month plus. I will talk about this Nation Buidling topic nearer to National Day. But now, what were popular then? OK, video tapes were probably still popular as can be seen on the back cover page advertisement by TDK; Now even you can hardly find a video cassette player on sale at Courts, Harvey or Best, etc. Of course, my used to be idol Maggie Teng was very popular then as can be seen on the cover page. Not forgetting her 2 sisters Judy and ….(forgotten oh). Let’s take a peek at the old TV programmes in the 80s; Channel 5 and 8; Even on Sunday, the Channel 5 started broadcasting at 8.30am and ended at 11.40pm, while Channel 8 from 2.30pm to 11.30pm. It was still SBC then and you can see at 8.30am, they are showng you the SBC Text (Teletext) on Channel 5, probably still new and promoting it then. Channel 8 programmes seem very boring also starting with sample pages of SBC Text. Lucky there was the afternoon Mandarin matinee at 3.25pm. Evening time was the Chinese variety show ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ at 8.30pm. Channel 8 ended early at 11.30pm. I wonder if they were trying to boost population then…else why the TV shows end so early before midnight? Back then, Channel 3 and 10 (Malaysia channels) were also included in our TV guide including newspaper; Oh before I forget, there was this ever changing channel – it was called Channel 12 at that time; Do you still remember what was that Channel 12 for? Browsing thru the guide, I saw this very popular car model back then; And I believed Chun See and his gang will know what car was that haha. Now there are so many types of TV guides from the various Channels. Example the iWeeklly from Channel 8; or U guide and the English TV guide, but most of us will discard them after a week… Before I end, the price of the 1984 176 issue TV guide was 50cents then, and 25 years later, the iWeekly price is $2 (though with 2 sets of magazines). Shops That Gone With The Wind One of my favourite past time is shopping…yeh not many men like doing that especially with their wives or families. Me too, I love shopping alone during the weekdays as it is less crowded. Sad to say that many of my favourite shopping hunts were gone with the wind – no longer around…here are just a handful of them. Oriental: They had many outlets like the current NTUC, and I love the one near to my house at Haig Road. I could just popped in anytime I like and strolled and browsed around. Really missed that shop. Safe Superstore; Most guys in the past who had been in the army will know of this SAFE Superstore as it’s a store for them. A lot of civil servant or army guys like to shop there as they could pay by instalment for large value items. I preferred going to the one at Sims Drive as it was bigger. BIG; I think this BIG store was a replacement of SAFE Superstore, correct me if I’m wrong. I had only been to the BIG store at the World Trade Centre (now call Harbour Front) a few times before it was gone. SOGO; I believed this was many people favourites especially the ladies. I remembered how grand it was when it was first launched in Singapore. In year 2000, the SOGO Japan faced financial crisis due to its property investment and Singapore SOGO was affected. The space once occuppied by SOGO at Raffles City now becomes Robinson. I wonder how many of you still have these old shops’ price tags or warranty cards? Sorry : Terribly sorry for MIA (missing in action) for almost a month I think…so what happen? Did some ‘minor’ renovation (I thought putting back a wall between 2 rooms was minor renovation) and didn’t expect that it took almost 2 weeks. After that took me another 1 week plus to unpack. As one of the rooms need to redo the flooring and put back the cement brick wall, we had to stay at Downtown East chalet for 3 days 2 nights followed by another 2 nights at another hotel. So the desktop computer had somehow missing among the many boxes and took my days to unpack…finally 95% of the things are settled now and I can start blogging. Also I would like to thank for all your support and my blog “Times Of My Life” is one of the finalists in Best Individual Blog 2009 – Singapore Blogs Award 2009. You may vote for my blog at here. Thank you. Our Botanic Garden – Why 150 Years And Not 187 Years? Recently there are many news articles about the Botanic Garden, like the one on Sunday Times. A man bought an old photo album in London and consists of a few very old photos of the Botanic Garden. He was even offered a 6 figures sum for the album and he refused to sell it! But when you mention Botanic Garden to me, I will immediately think of a few things related to it : ‘the hawker center and small carpark opposite the main entrance, the bandstand, the pond’. Of course there are many changes now like the hawker center and small carpark may not be there anymore, and many facelift inside. Whenever I read about the history of our Botanic Gardens, it was always mentioned that Sir Stamford Raffles established the first Botanic Gardens in Singapore in 1822 along the slopes of Fort Canning Hill. If this is the case, why are why celebrating 150 years now in 2009 and not 187 years? So let us go thru the years and see why; - 1819 : Since 1819, Raffles had been toying with the idea of establishing a botanic garden in Singapore. He used his time to persuade Wallich to write a glowing report aimed at persuading the Colonial government into starting a botanic and experimental garden. Indeed, in one letter to Raffles dated November 1822, Wallich had described Singapore as such, “It abounds in an endless variety of plants equally interesting to the botanist, the agriculturist and the gardener, with unrivalled facilities and opportunities of disseminating these treasures and exchanging them for others“. Three years before, the construction of Raffles bungalow on Government Hill (which is today Fort Canning Hill) had already seen an experimental garden being laid out in the vicinity, with some 125 nutmeg trees, 1,000 seeds of nutmeg, and 450 clove plants planted. - 1822 : But do we know exactly where is the old Botanic and Experimental Garden? Let us take a look at the below maps before we proceed on. Credit : Jackson Town Map, National Parks, Gardens of the Istana Below shows the current location of the old Botanic and Experimental Garden; 1. The canal is very obvious but the roads name may have changed: Credit : 1998 Singapore Street Directory, Ministry of Law Credit : Google Map Sir Stamford Raffles, a keen naturalist, built his own house on the Bukit Larangan, later known as Government Hill (now known as Fort Canning Hill). Raffles instructed Farquhar, the Resident, that a Botanic and Experimental Garden be set up on Government Hill; an area of 48 acres was allotted for this purpose. An 1819 Map showing the Govt Hill; Credit : Singapore University Press, The Singapore River He aimed to introduce cultivation of economic crops such as cocoa and nutmeg, including those yielding fruits, vegetables, spices and other raw materials. The Botanic and Experimental Garden was started on the north of the Hill and was extended to the North-East of the Hill and this covered the area now occupied by the Anglo-Chinese School, Coleman Street, the Armenian Church and the National Museum. The man Raffles appointed to supervise the Botanic and Experimental Garden was Dr Nathaniel Wallich, a Dane, born in Copenhagen. The mature spice garden was the site of Singapore’s first botanical gardens, established primarily by Sir Stamford Raffles for experimental purposes. See what the above said “To commemorate Singapore’s first botanical garden founded on Government Hill in 1822″. So why not 187 years from 1822 then? - 1829 : After 7 years, in 1829 the Botanic and Experimental Garden, was a failure. It was abandoned after Raffles death, due to lack of funds to maintain it. The main reason given was that it was not economical. It cost the settlement $60 per month (a large sum of money in early Singapore) to unkeep it. So why the Botanic Gardens does not date back to 1822 then? Personally I think it’s because the first Gardens was officially named as “Botanical and Experimental Garden” instead of Botanic Garden. Or is it because the location of the first garden and the current one is different? Frankly, I really don’t know the reason why, do you? - 1859 : 30 years later, the present Botanic Garden began when the Ari Horticultural Society was granted 32 hectares of land in Tanglin (Napier Road) by the colonial government. The land was obtained from merchant Hoo Ah Kay or Whampoa, in exchange for the land at Boat Quay. The Garden was only about 23 hectares in 1866 as shown in the following map; Credit : Straits Times, SPH The Garden was officially opened to the public in 1874 by the Governor Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Clarke who presented two horned rhinoceroses. Not many know that the garden also flourished as a zoo for 20 years when it was abandoned in 1905. Not many photos of the Botanic Gardens were found in the net during the 19th century; Credit : Gardens in the Istana, National Parks, GR Lambert & Co. The Botanic Garden was planned as a leisure garden and ornamental park. The Society organised flower shows and horticultural fetes. Laurence Niven was hired as superintendent and landscape designer to turn what were essentially overgrown plantations and a tangle of virgin rainforest into a public park. The layout of the Botanic Gardens as it is today is largely based on Niven’s design. The photo below shows some Javanese workers employed to maintain the garden in the 19th century; Credit : Gardens in the Instana, National Parks, GR Lambert & Co. - 1874 : In 1874, the Society ran out of funds, handed over management and maintenance of the gardens to the Colonial government. The scientific mission of the Gardens evolved when the colonial government assumed management and deployed Kew-trained botanists and horticulturists to administer the Gardens. - 1877 : The first rubber seedlings came to the gardens from Kew in 1877. Henry Nicholas Ridley, or Mad Ridley as he was known, became director of the gardens in 1878 and spearheaded rubber cultivation. The gardens in 1880; Credit : Vis Credit : Gardens in the Istana, National Parks. Below postcard shows the Botanic Garden Entrance in 1900 at the Singapore Philatelic Museum; Credit : Singapore Philatelic Museum Note the postage stamp on the postcard was probably from 1912 to 1923 Straits Settlement period though. Many photos or postcard like to show the entrance of Botanic Garden, and it’s interesting to see the changes over time. Another postcard showing the entrance to the Botanic Gardens in 1900; Credit : Nation Best Here is one postcard that I have 100 years ago in 1909; One more postcard from 1909; If you will to take note of all these postcards, the name of the garden was Singapore Botanical Garden instead of Singapore Botanic Garden. I remember this was the name I used to call in my younger days. - 1925 : Professor Eric Holttum, Director of the Gardens from 1925 -1949, set up laboratories and conducted the first experiments in orchid breeding and hybridisation. His techniques led to Singapore being one of the world’s top centres of commercial orchid growing. - 1942 to 1945 : During the Japanese Occupation, Hidezo Tanakadate, a professor of Geology from the Tohoku Imperial University took over control of the Singapore the Singapore Botanic Gardens. He ensured no looting occured during his tenure in the Gardens. The Gardens was also renamed as Shōnan Botanic Gardens (昭南植物園). Holttum and Edred John Henry Corner were interned in the Gardens and instructed to continue their horticultural work. Dr Kwan Koriba, a retired professor of botany from the Imperial University of Tokyo, arrived as Director of the Gardens, a post he held until the end of the war. After the war, the Gardens was handed back to the British. Eventually it played an important role during the “greening Singapore” campaign and Garden City campaign during the early independence years. - Mid 1960s : The Gradens was taking a leading role in the greening of Singapore. I had my first visit to the Botanic Gardens with my godsisters in 1968; - 1973 : In 1973, it merged with the Parks and Trees branch of the Public Works Department, which became the Parks and Recreation Department. - 1990 : In June 1990, the Singapore Botanic Garden came under the management of the newly formed National Parks Board. New attractions, such as the Ginger Garden, Evolution Garden, Coolhouse and the Children’s Garden are being added to keep the Gardens relevant as a key tourist destination. Stamps of the Singapore Botanic Gardens; 1978 : In my memory the first stamp of the Singapore Botanic Garden was issued in 1978; The above stamps did not really show the Botanic Garden well. It’s just some graphic representation of the garden. But at least the 75cents stamp showed part of the gardens’ Bandstand. 1979 : In 1979, a set of 3 stamps were issued to celebrate the 120 years of Singapore Botanic Garden; These are very nice set as the garden were properly shown on the stamps; 2003 : In 2003, again the Bandstand was featured in one of the set of 4 stamps ‘Garden City’ ; 2009 : For those that have missed the above stamps issues, never mind. In June 2009 there will be a set of 4 stamps commemorating the 150 years of Singapore Botanic Gardens; Entrance to the Gardens : The new look of the Entrance to the Gardens now; The above is the main entrance gate known as the Tanglin Gate of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Do you notice the changes compared to those old postcards? Do you think the 4 pillars are the same as the 4 pillars of the past entrance? The Bandstand : This is another main icon of the Singapore Botanic Gardens besides the Tanglin Gate; This octagonal shaped Bandstand was erected in 1930, almost 80 years old. The original bandstand was erected in the early 1860s as a focal point of the original landscape design of the Gardens. So far, most photos only showed the current Bandstand but not the original one. Wonder how the original one looks like? The Bandstand now no longer hosts any music performance, though it was used for military band performance in the past. That Tembusu Tree : Ok I’m not a botanist so even if I’m in front of this Tembusu Tree, I may not be able to identify it hehe. This Tembusu Tree got popular probably because it was featured in our $5 note. This tree was also featured in one of those TV8 Mediacorps Chinese dramas. And comparing it with our $5 note; This Tembusu Tree is now a heritage tree, meaning it cannot be ‘chop off’. Credit : Above 3 photos from Alice. The Old Taman Serasi Hawker Centre : Before I end the post, do you still remember My last visit with my family to the Botanical Garden or Botanic Gardens was a few years back but all my photos were wiped off from my harddisk corruption… Yes in my last visit, think we need to pay an entrance fee and no longer free like in the past. So when was your last visit to the Botanic Gardens? Qing Ming Is About Knowing Our Family Tree Before the Qing Ming festival ends, let me blog something about this one month festival. This Qing Ming festival or Tomb Sweeping festival is a time where we pay our respect to our elders or relatives who have left us. I remember when I was young during my primary school days, I love this Qing Ming festival as it was a time when I could get together with my cousins. Usually my Seventh Uncle’s family would chartered for a mini bus to pick up both families for this important day. Of course at that time, Qing Ming festival is really a Tomb Sweeping festival as our ancestors tombs were still at those graveyard at Peck San Theng. You may take a look at the old Peck San Theng here. We need to walk a distance to the tombs then, and those Indian grass cutters who can speak Cantonese much better than my kids, will lead the way. Needless to say, we had to pay them some money to clear those wild grasses at our ancestors’ tombs. After the relocation of tombs to temples and Government-Managed Columbaria, my Seventh Uncle’s family and ours did not go together anymore during this festival. But now only my wife and my kids will accompany me to pay our respect to our ancestors. My Paternal Grandmother tablet was located at the Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng, while my Paternal Grandfather and Great Grandmother are at the Mandai Columbarium. I prefer the Mandai Columbarium as it is much cleaner and tidy though the distance is much further from my house. Mandai Columbarium; But why I said Qing Ming festival is about knowing our Family Tree? Well how many of us especially the younger generation like my kids know the relationships of who we are paying respect to? How do our kids address them in our own dialects or in Mandarin? Of course in English is much easier but I’m talking about our Chinese Roots and our own Family Tree. How much we know about our Family Tree then? Do you keep a record of your Family Tree too? I’m glad that my father bothers to keep a record of our own Family Tree when he was much healtier; My father has 9 brothers/sisters and my father is the youngest (10th). So the one at Peck San Theng is my Paternal Grandmother or 祖母. I will address her as 奶奶. The other 2 at Mandai Columbarium are my Paternal Grandfather or 祖父 and Paternal Great Grandmother or 曾祖母. I will address my Grandfather as 爺爺 and my Paternal Great Grandmother as 老奶奶. Of course what my kids address them will be much more complex haha. Luckily my mother kept two copies of old newspaper cuttings regarding the Family Tree address or relationship. One is from The 1981 copy of The Straits Times; I don’t quite like this set as it’s not so detail; The other copy is the 1988 Straits Times; I like this copy very much as it’s not only colorful but detail and clear; Credit : Above 4, The Straits Times, SPH I’ve to admit that I’m no good at such Chinese addresses for our relatives and elders. My wife and I also have difficulties in teaching our kids to address our relatives in Mandarin when we visit them. One example is my wife’s elder sister and younger sister – how should my kids address them? All the while my wife asked our kids to address them (both elder and younger sister) as 姨姨. But I think there should be a difference and should it be my wife’s elder sister as 姨媽 and younger sister as 姨姨? Do you think so? You may check it out here too at this site; “maternal elder aunt mother’s elder sister 姨母  yi4 mou5 yi2 mu3 姨媽 yi4 ma1 yi2 ma1 maternal elder aunt’s husband mother’s elder sister’s husband; 姨夫 yi4 fu1 yi2 fu1 姨丈 yi4 jeung6 yi2 zhang4 maternal younger aunt mother’s younger sister 姨 yi4 yi2 same maternal younger aunt’s husband mother’s younger sister’s husband; 姨丈 yi4 jeung6 yi2 zhang4 same” On the lighter side, Mediacorp will be showing its new Chinese drama series “ 书包太重, My School Daze”. The first series on 29 Apr 2009 at 9pm Channel 8 will be interesting especially when a lady Chinese tutors teaching Mandarin to her students. Listen carefully to what the teacher said ‘Your Mother’s Elder and Younger Sisters called 阿姨’; Now the second part is really hilarious; Credit : Mediacorps. But why is it important to know the address and relationship for Qing Ming festival? Well at least when you burn the offerings to your ancestors, you can write down who you are offering to and their relationship to you. The Green Bag is for Female (红男绿女); The Red Bag is for Male; This is my Grandfather’s tablet; This is my Great Grandmother’s tablet; You may see that usually for female (my Great Grandmother) their names were omitted as they just take after their husband’s surname. Unfair for the fairer sex right? Also note how the years were written at that time – Min Guo 民囯. Min Guo 民囯” refers to Zhonghua Minguo 中華民囯 (Republic of China or ROC) established in 1911, but eventually had to relocate to Taiwan in 1949 after the Chinese nationalist (Kuomintang) lost the civil war to the Chinese communist. Therefore, the stated Min Guo year will be based on the years starting from 1911. So, for Min Guo 27th year, it’s 1938 (since 1911+27 years) For Min Guo 24th year, it’s 1935 (since 1911+24 years) Btw, I do not have any religion so I’m not so well verse with all these tradition but since I’m Chinese, I must still go along with our tradition, our roots, else next time my kids will not know what and how to do when my wife and I gone. Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:14:36 +0000 Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing Guess Where Quiz No.2? This is the second Guess Where Quiz in my blog. This time maybe not so easy as compared to the first. Any idea where is this place or location? You have to give me the name of this place. This photo was taken in 1968 together with my godsisters. I was only 6 years old then. Also take note of the fashion of the 60s. From Amusement Park To Cement Park Probably some youngster find the word “Gay World” amusing like someone posted in the STOMP site regarding the Gay World Hotel. I’m surprised that there are still people not aware of the Gay World existence in Singapore. Of course Gay World is short for Gay World Amusement Park, one of the 3 main Amusement Parks in Singapore. You have probably read about my post on New World Amusement Park. Gay World Amusement Park was originally known as Happy World Amusement Park in the 30s. Happy World was the last one to be built in 1936 after Great World (1932) and New World (1923). How Happy World looked like in the 50s; You can even see the British Flag then in the above photo. Let’s take a look at Happy World Amusement Park over the years; 1936: The Happy World Amusement Park, commonly known as 快乐世界 by the locals, was founded by George Lee Geok Eng (of George Lee Motors fame), brother of philanthropist Lee Kong Chian. He invested $350,000 to open this amusement park then in 1936. It was a form of nightlife entertainment where East meet West, located at the junction of Geylang and Mountbatten roads. You will normally find cabaret performances, ronggeng, movies, gaming and arcades, wayang and cultural shows and even trade shows in this amusement park. It was one of those must visit places for courting couples in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Like New World, those unforgettable places of visits include dance hall where one could have a dance with taxi girls for probably twenty cents, and the popular ghost train ride; Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS 1939: The Happy World Amusement Park was used for the Singapore’s first trade show – The Engineering and Trade Exhibition. 1941: A 1941 Japanese Map showing the Happy World location between Geylang Road and Grove Road (now known as Mountbatten Road); Credit : Lim Shao Bin 2004 Photos of Singapore The Straits Chinese China Relief Fund Committee of Singapore organised a modernised bangsawan (a traditional Malay opera)  for 3,000 babas and nyonya in Happy World, to raise funds for China war effort leading to WWII. 1942 to 1945: Even during the Japanese air-raids hit Singapore in January 1942, business at Happy World continued, and the cabaret had blackout dances (with no lights) to escape the Japanese bombings. Of course this has nothing to do with the recent Earth Hour haha! The Japanese also turned the Happy World into gambling den. As these dens were precluded from raids, the bright lights at the Happy World continued.   The Japanese were not allowed in the gambling dens but they could patronise the cabarets and nightclubs in the Happy World.  The gambling dens were closed after Japanese surrendered in 1945. The Happy World was also used as a military workshop during the Japanese Occupation. 1950s to 1960s: After the war, the amusement park continued to operate. But what I remember best about the Happy World was the frequent fire broke out in the park. In 1962, fire broke out twice in 2 months, destroying the theatre, part of the cabaret and 26 stalls. In fact, more blazes happened in 1972, 1976, 1977 and 1988. Stalls were burnt in 1958 at Happy World; Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS Mr.Sin Ma Chai, those elderly Cantonese will know who he is, performed at the Happy World in 1963; Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS 1966: The Gay World; The Happy World was renamed as Gay World Amusement Park (繁華世界) in 1966. The word “Gay” here means “joyful”, “carefree”, “bright and showy” and only until probably later, it means “homosexuality”. Some of the main tenants were Eng Wah Organisation, Datoh Rajah Theatre and Cabaret, Tai Thong Restaurant and New Happy Cinema. By the way, the park used to have 4 cinemas, including one open-air one – Happy Theatre, Silver City and the open-air Victory Theatre. Do you remember the other one? Sin Wah Emporium, later became part of Emporium Holdings, and Tai Thong Restaurant, were my only haunt there. I went to Tai Thong Restaurant for their mooncakes. The New Happy Theatre; The Gay World Amusement Park ticket; Credit : The Straits Times. Way before the National Indoor Stadium was built, the Gay World Stadium was once the greatest covered stadium in SEA. This octagonal shaped stadium built for boxing and other sports could seat 7,000. The Gay World Stadium was later renamed as Geylang Indoor Stadium. It was even the venue for Malaya’s first badminton Thomas Cup in 1952. The Gay World Stadium; In 1973, the Gay World Stadium was one of the venues for the SEAP games. Boxing and wrestling fights were the popular sports held there and most paid only20 cents to see wrestlers like Tiger Ahmad and King Kong in the ring. The Gay World Stadium also held circus shows occasionally. 1980s: Even with free admission to the park, it did not attract enough visitors. The park was badly maintained and rats were seen running about. Only 1 of the 4 cinemas remained and probably only screening Tamil shows. 2000s: By 2000, the Gay World was in an abandoned state. There was no power or water supplied, and only about 40 tenants carried on business using portable generators. The last days of Gay World; In 2001, the bulldozers came and the Gay World and the Geylang Indoor Stadium were demolished. The site was zoned for residential development,  however, this does not material even till now. In 2004, the Nicoll Highway collapse sent one of the 2 concrete making plants there working non-stop. Today, the two concrete-making plants and the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System site office are located there. I’ve always wondered with 3 amusement parks in the past, why can’t we accommodate the last amusement park at Geylang – The Gay World Amusement Park and the Gay World Stadium (or Geylang Indoor Stadium). Why must we keep demolishing all these nostalgia amusement park in Singapore just for residential and commercial development? A 1956 City Map showing the Happy World Park; Credit : Singapore Improvement Trust, Survey Department A 1976 Chinese Edition Street Directory showing the Gay World Park; A 1988 Edition Street Directory showing the Gay World Park and the Geylang Indoor Stadium; A 1998 Edition Street Directory showing the Gay World Park and Gay World Hotel: Credit : Chief Surveyor, Survey Department, Ministry of Law. The aerial view of the Happy World Park and the octagon shaped Stadium in the 50s; Credit : Editions Didier Millet, National Archives of Singapore Now the Geylang Indoor Stadium no longer exists though the name still remains at the Google Map; View Larger Map The bus stop now stands in front of the old Gay World entrance; The fence up area and those trees inside make the Gay World Park disappears from one memory. The Cement Plant in the old Gay World Park as seen from the Geylang Road; Another view of the Cement Plant as seen from Mountbatten Road; The Cement Trucks queuing up along the Geylang Drive; Credits : All photos above gothere.sg Big Brother Big 大哥大 How many of us still have such a ‘Big Brother Big 大哥大’ at home? Sigh…I don’t have one at all…. I’m referring to the first generation of those mobile phone – big bulky type. Later toy makers made water bottles mobile phones lookalike for children to mimmic. Talking about such ‘Big Brother Big’ mobile phone users, probably because of the size of the phone, they were usually held on the hands and ‘displayed’ on the tables when the users were seated down. Above Photo : Relatives ‘displayed’ their Big Brother Big mobile phones on the dining table during my wedding dinner on 19  Dec 1992. Above Photo : A lady reporter from the Chinese media holding a ‘Big Brother Big’ mobile phone in 1992. Take a look at how this man used the ‘Big Brother Big’ mobile; Don’t you find the long antenna troublesome? Such bulky mobile phones were popular during the 80s and 90s; and mainly from Motorola. Do you still remember what brand and model is your first mobile phone? I don’t remember the brand and model, but I do recalled that the phone advertisement on TV showing it floats on a leaf. Do you know that brand for this ad? That was my first mobile phone in 1991 or 1992 when I was working for a US MNC as a Product Manager. The phone was fully paid by the company then and of course the monthly bill too. Too bad the phone was returned back to the company when I left them. In 1991 or 1992, I do remembered that my boss was using the popular Motorola Micro Tac phone; In fact, in the early 90s most Big Brother Big mobile phones were slowing fading off from the scene. The smaller version of mobile phones like the Micro Tac was surfacing then. If I were to keep all my handphones since day 1, I really don’t know how many will there be? But it was easier to trade-in used handphones in the past, so I didn’t keep most of them. Below are only some of those that I have left; Feather And Leaf In My Book I wonder how many of you ever try or believed that by feeding a feather with pencil shavings, it will grow and reproduce. I did! When I was in primary school, my classmates and I used to keep those beautiful colored feathers in books and fed them with pencil shavings. When I tell this to my primary 4 daughter, she wanted to try it. After 2 months, there is still no sight of a new born feather…I remember it did reproduce when I was in primary school or my eyesight something wrong…hehe. Another thing I used to keep in my books is ‘落地生根’ (pronunced as LuòDìShēnɡGēn) or Bryophyllum pinnatum leaf. I used to tear a leaf off from my godmother pot of 落地生根. After some time, roots will grow from the leaf! To a primary school boy, this seem to be a miracle! So what other things you keep in your books besides bookmarks? Old Calendar A very belated Happy 牛 Year to all (though I’m rather late in this greetings…the last day of Chinese New Year). Finally things have settled down and I managed to squeeze some time to blog. This year the Chinese New Year falls in January, the first month of the year 2009. Before I could rid off my old 2008 calendar, the Chinese New Year is already around the corner and now the 2 days holidays were over. Every end of the year, I will be looking forward to getting new calendars for the following year. Every beginning of the year, I will be deciding which calendar to use for the hall, and each room or to be given away if there is any extra. Sad to say, nowadays the number of calendars are getting lesser and lesser probably due to poor economy. I personally preferred my Tampines Town Council table calendar. I’ve not used those olden times wall calendar for a long long time. Some of the commonly used old calendars (some of which still using now) are: 1. Single Page Date Type. I love this type of calendars especially now that my eyesight is failing haha. But I hate the hassle of tearing the paper daily. Some people will use the paper torn off to place those bones during their meal time (good recycle idea!). Of course most of these calendars were attached to an advertisement board as seen below and they were usually given free by the company. Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS You can even see that this roadside barber (below) also hang one such calendar on the wall. The setback is that one must usually put a nail on the wall to hang such type of calendar which is probably why most people are not using them now. Credit : National Archives of Singapore, National Heritage Show There were some type with a smaller size paper calendar as shown below; Credit : Chinatown Heritage Centre 2. Horse Racing Calendars. The other type of popular calendar is the horse racing type showing the dates of one whole month on one page including the horse racing dates. Credit : National Archives Of Singapore, PICAS I like this type too as I only need to tear off the page after 1 month and not on a daily basis. There is also a smaller version for those taxi drivers to hang in their cabs. 3. Swimsuits Type These are very popular type among some shops like car workshops, furniture shops, etc.. where women in swimsuit type of calendars were usually hang on their shop walls. Also in the past during the Chinese New Year, my godmother would like to hang a new Chinese Zodiac Signs type of calendar on the wall too; Credit : National Archives Of Singapore, PICAS With such a Chinese Zodiac sign calendar, we are able to roughly tell the age of a person if we know his/her Zodiac sign like Tiger, Pig, Rabbit, etc… My Apologies; Sorry for not blogging for a long while as I’m unable to do so. My father (only 78 this year) has suddenly turned from independent to dependent. In December last year, he was having problems in getting up from his bed and finding difficulties in his movement. I thought it maybe gout and arthritis but after 3 weeks, he was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He was warded for a week, and everyday he was tested for what causes the sickness. He was diagnosed to have Polymyalgia Rheumatica, Frozen Shoulder and Mild Cervical Mylopathy. There isn’t much the doctor can do except to give him some pain-killer and discharged him to do Physio Therapy at another step-down hospital. He was discharged a couple of days before the Chinese New Year and now it was almost 2 weeks plus. After he was discharged, I’m his caregiver and I need to attend to all his needs 24/7 including bathing for him, etc… I thought taking care of my kids from baby to teenager is tough but now taking care of my father is even much more …. not only physically taxing but also mentally taxing. I’ve finally managed to shed 4 kg off within 1 week! The only contention is after these 2 weeks of home therapy, he is improving on his movement. Now I start to fear…will I be the same in 30 years time…when I aged. For those that I’ve not reply to you, my apologies. Guess What Quiz No.1 Most of the younger generation may not have seen this ‘Pass-Out’ shown in the below photo; I’m only showing part of the whole photo above for this 1st part of the clue. I believe the older generation like Victor, Peter, Philip or Chun See may know the answer very well. So Guess What is this ‘Pass-Out’ ? Answer : Philip got it right and Peek a boo came quite close to it but he is not quite definite about it. It is a cinema/theatre Pass-Out card for interval Credit : Shaw Gallery at the Shaw Tower, Beach Road. You can view the above at the Shaw Tower located at Beach Road. But anyone knows why is it called ‘Pass-Out’? Have a guess.