Precious memories of old Singapore

It's one of those places which holds the precious memories of old Singapore and yet will be slated for demolition soon. Dakota Crescent has rental flats built during Lim Yew Hock's time and it has a quiet and serene surrounding with the Geylang river flowing through it. I met some really interesting residents there who kept me for some time. I had a very late lunch in Eunos together with my team of volunteers from Project Awareness.

Mdm Abi sells mee rebus at Blk 21 Old Airport Road. I was about to order her mee rebus but it was all sold out evev though it was only 10.30 am. She said it was her birthday and there had been a long queue at her stall and almost everything has been sold out. But she treated me to one last piece of what she calls her new "product" - a rice cake with shrimp and coconut gratings. 

She is 94 and lives on the 7th (highest) floor in her block, Old Granny Tan is from the Hing Hwa dialect group and was amongst the first people to move into the flats more than 50 years ago. She prefers to live independently by herself although she is the matriach of a 5-generational family. She insists on serving drinks and told us her legs are getting weaker and the lift breaks down often. She recalls an incident when her great grandchild was trapped in the life with his parents and cried. She loves where she lives and says she can't bear to move out.

She smiled and waved to me when she saw me behind the volunteers. She said she has been looking forward to seeing me and invites me into her flat which was located on the ground floor. However, she could not unlock her front door and so opened the back door to let me in. Just then, Annie, volunteer from the Lions Befriender came visiting and everyone gathered inside Grandma Tan's flat for a good chat like some old friends.

Grandma Tan is a sprightly 83 year-old who would laugh heartily at every joke until she coughs. She speaks Mandarin and lives alone. She spoke of how she loves the surroundings in Dakota Crescent. Many of her neighbours have moved out but Grandma Tan is happy to stay put. Although Annie has been visiting almost every Saturday, Grandma Tan enjoyed our company and wanted us to come visit her often. She likes food that is on the spicy and sour side and loves to drink coffee. And the volunteers from Project Awareness will soon be supplying her some of her favourite rations.

Old Master Wong is 83. He lives with his 75 year-old wife and has a son who runs a successful spare parts business. Old Master Wong's father ran a Chinese martial arts school and he himself is a trained pugilist. Although slightly hard of hearing because of his age, he was eager to talk about his experiences and to demonstrate his martial arts skills. And we soon found out that he has been a Chinese chiropractor since the age of 18. He used to have patients queueing up to see him in his heydays and now, he still sees about 10 patients a day. Noting that I had been busy visiting the neighbourhood, Master Wong kindly offered to give me a back and shoulder massage. 

It was another long day. Every home that I stepped into was like a new chapter in a book. And there are endless chapters to read and try to understand.