8 December 1941 - The Japanese Invasion of Malaya

Last year for WWII anniversary, I blogged about the first air raid in Singapore while in 2008 it was on Pearl Harbor. This year is special. It has to be since 2011 is the 70th anniversary of the Japanese invasion of South-East Asia (note they invaded China before that). Not to bore you with the usual story and photos of torpedoed ships in smoldering ruins (they ran that image for 70 years already), I shall keep this post short, relevant and meaningful, in line with the theme of this blog.

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Ice-ball for 20 cents, Kacang Puteh for 20 cents

It is sheer contrarian and unusual that NHB is organizing Heritage Along Footpaths, a project that seeks to re-introduce trades of the past and in a bid to up the nostalgic factor, decreed that ice-ball will go for 20 cents, sama for kacang puteh. At such crazy-low price that is surely extinct in Singapore, the news is just too good to be true and the offer … too hard to resist! So what are we waiting for?

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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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