How I Had Dim Sum at the Turf Club

I never felt so eager to visit the Turf Club. I don't mean the one at Kranji swarmed by punters on weekends but the former Turf Club at Bukit Timah - now rebranded Turf City. This was a heritage landmark in no hurry for me. I had this impression tucked inside a forested part of Bukit Timah and invisible from Dunearn Rd, it was inaccessible (I think cars enter via Turf Club Rd) and whatever scant knowledge I had of it did not interest me as much. My reasons for procrastinating are therefore, quite valid.

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A Private Burial Ground at Bukit Timah

Thanks to Raymond Goh who blogged about it, who in turn knew its existence from his tour participants, we now know of a surviving private burial ground in Bukit Timah. Unlike the one at Fifth Avenue which I just blogged, this one at Sian Tuan Ave actually has the tomb still intact!

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Pek San Teng Entrance from Upper Thomson Road

One thing that has fascinated me about the Thomson area is the birth of Bishan from its former namesake the Pek San Teng cemetery. The 121-hectare of cemetery land spread over several hills, each decorated with the famous tengs (pavilions), made way for the New Town in early 1980s. It must have been the biggest public housing project on cemetery land in recent times; and also a wildly successful one, for asset prices were not kept down despite its pantang history, no wonder millionaires here are on the rise. As I did not have the chance to visit the cemetery or witness its transformation into the housing estate, I often wonder about the exact boundary of Pek San Teng vis-à-vis Bishan and whether it is still possible to find vestiges from the bygone era. Now, where shall I begin?

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