Times of My Life

This year 2007, Singapore celebrates its 42nd Birthday as Singapore gained Independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. So is this our 42nd National Day Parade? No, it’s our 41st National Day Parade.

We had our 1st National Day Parade in 1966 at the Padang. The first National Day Parade started at 9am in the morning. There were no such thing as tickets issued for the National Day Parade so if you wish to view the parade, you may have to be there as early as 7am.Our President then was Mr. Yusof Bin Ishak - yes the face you see on our currency note.

Below shows our 1st National Day Parade at the Padang in 1966 and the third one shows the NDP in 1967;

Above 3 Photo Credits : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS.

Note : Did you see our late President Mr. Yusof in any of the 3 photos and what was he wearing then? Clue

For the next 8 years, our National Day Parade was held at the Padang until 1974 (inclusive). During the earlier years, NDP was very much simple and not so glamorous as now - maybe I should said more solemn and serious then.

For example, our first National Day activities include an official cocktail party at the Istana Negara, a special variety show staged at the National Theatre and a spectacular fireworks display at Fort Canning in the evening, besides the formal parade at the Padang in the morning.

For those who watched the parade on TV, it was then still in “Black and White” - without colour. Maybe I’m sadist, but I love to watch the soldier dropping down (fainted) while standing still on the parade;

Photo Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS.

Later on in the years, improvement in the NDP were made where soldiers no longer need to stand still there and wait for hours.

In1969, we started to have our first mobile column during the National Day Parade. I was so fascinated by it. The 18 AMX-13 tanks rumbled down the St. Andrew Road at the 4th NDP (1969).

Photo Credit : National Archives of Singapore, PICAS.

I could felt the floor vibrating even before their arrival. In the past, though the National Day Parade were held at the Padang, the troops were then marched right to the heartland location. Below shows one in 1968 parade;

After those tanks or heavy armor vehicles driven on the roads during the parade, the road need to be resurfaced again. Probably because of these, the mobile column display was stopped ater 1970. It made a comeback in 1990 and then maybe once every 5 years.

We had our first Decentralised National Day Parade in 1975 and the last one in 1983. The parade alternated between Decentralised and Centralised at either Padang or National Stadium. It was probably to mark the 10th years of Independence and to reach out to a wider audience. 13 locations were selected then. Some of the locations of Decentralised parade in 1975 were Toa Payoh, Redhill, Haig Road and Queenstown.

1976 - the National Day Parade was held at the National Stadium for the very first time. It was the natural choice to stage the nation’s biggest celebration. In fact, the utilization of the National Stadium was so successful, since then, three out of every four National Day parades has been held there. The Padang, being the historic site of the first National Day Parade, now stages the parade once every four years.

Below shows the first Decentralised parade at Toa Payoh in 1975;

Photo Credit : National Archives of Singapore.

The National Day Parade was first held at the National Stadium in 1976. The National Stadium was opened in 1973. Tickets to the parade were also issued to the public for the first time as previously admission were by invitation only. Altogether the National Day Parade was held at the National Stadium for a total of 18 times and the last one was in 2006 - the final one before it demolished.

Some of my favourites in National Day Parade were;

Precision Drill by the Military Police first started in 1986 at the National Stadium.

Photo Credit : Singapore Idler in 2006 NDP Precision Drill.

The Fly Past of our fighter planes and the parachuting display by our commandos were great too. I hate the mass display and I think it’s rather boring.

In 1986, the Flashcard display were first used and I love it.

1986 was also the year where “Count On Me, Singapore” NDP Theme Song was introduced. Everyone likes this song as the “count one me” section sound like “count money”….

1986 was also the first time the National Day parade was held in the evening. Since then except 1989 and 1990, every NDP was held in the evening.

I remember in one of the NDP (but don’t remember which year), all the religious leaders were gathered and blessed Singapore before the start of the parade, do you remember? That must be a special year…

Frankly I prefer the simple but solemn parade of the past at the Padang than the much “commercialised” type of glamor parade nowadays - but this is my personal opinion. Too many road closed for the rehearsal and preview and think the cost of such events are also too excessive.

All our past NDP were held on solid ground but this year 2007, it is the first time to be held on water at the Marina Bay Front! Seen the making of it on tv.

The Making Of National Day Parade 07 ;

Wishing our country a Happy Birthday!

When you mention 火城 in the past, most people will know you were talking about Kampong Bugis or Kallang Junction. Specifically 火城 referred to Kampong Bugis instead of Kallang Junction. But why named it 火城 (Fire City - direct translation)? It’s probably due to the installation of the Gas Work at the Kallang Juction or Kampong Bugis.

So when Kallang Gas Work started? Maybe 1861, take a look here. Maybe it’s easier to know the Kallang Gas Works ceased operation on 23 Mar 1998. This big blue cylinder is really a landmark at Kallang. Most people will know of it’s existence in the past.

Let’s take an aerial view of this blue cylinder from an old photo;

Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS

This was how it looked in 1961. Take note of the surrounding buildings and landmarks.

Take a look at this very old street directory;

Credit : Singapore Street Directory, Chief Surveyor

The Gasworks was shown clearly on the map. Below is another old street directory showing the Gasworks location and it’s surrounding;

Credit : Singapore Street Directory 1976 edition, Chief Surveyor

So what memories did it bring back for me?

1. Chicken shops at Kallang Junction

These are the row of shophouses located along the Kallang Road near the junction of Crawford Street shown number 2 in the above map. There were a couple of shops selling chicken and eggs. I remember my godmother and godsister brought me there to buy those eggs that were about to hatch. They used to check it by holding the egg against a light bulb. The popular coffee shop was a much later event.

2. Kwong Fook Chinese School

This was a local Chinese School where my father once studied there. Its premises were now occupied by the Tai Pei Buddhist Centre;

3. Old houses along Kallang Road

These were the old houses located along Kallang Road towards the Gasworks before the Hindu Temple shown on the left below;

Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS

4. Hindu Temple and Trespass Sign

Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS

The familiar red white stripes on the side wall of this Hindu temple is another landmark just before the Kallang Gasworks along Kallang Road or Kampong Bugis. This Manmatha Karuneshvarar Temple was built just after the gasworks were established.

Also you will find this no trespass sign if you pass by that place at that time;

Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS

To others, the Kallang Gasworks may made them recall the 1964 Racial Riots;

Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS

So what is left behind now? Here is how the Kallang Junction looks like in 2005;

Photo credit : Wikipedia

See the blue cylinder was gone (above photo). What you can see now is the remains of one of the gasholder located at the Car Park of Kampong Bugis;

Map credit : Mighty Minds, Singapore Street Directory

See how this gas holder looked like in 1900;

Photo Credit : National Archives, PICAS

The other remains are the hardware used in Gasworks incorporated into this Spirit of Kallang Sculpture;

Photo Credit : Nusantara.com

You will find this sculpture on the left if you are driving along Crawford Street towards Beach Road.

And this is how the place looks like now in 2007;

Do you still remember which is the first English song you listened to? I don’t but I remember which song that triggers my love for listening to nice songs haha. OK, it’s this song “Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree” that my Primary School teacher taught us during Music lesson. She brought along a portable record player (like this one shown below) and played that song;

- Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree by Tony Orlando and Dawn in 1973.

Yes that was in the 70s during my Primary school music lessons. Of course you will not forget his “Oh my darling knock 3 times” as you always heard it on radio then.

- Knock Three Times by Tony and Dawn

Here are some of my favourites songs of the 60s;

- Puppy Love by Paul Anka in 1960;

He wrote this song “Puppy Love” for Donny Osmond (if you remember the Osmond family).

- Puppy Love by Donny Osmond

Talking about Paul Anka, a singer as well as song writer, was popular in the late 50s and 60s. Here are some of his songs that I loved to listen to;

- 1957 Diana by Paul Anka

- 1959 Put Your Head On My Shoulder by Paul Anka

- 1969 My Way by Paul Anka

- 1974 Having My Baby by Paul Anka Duet with Odia Coates

- 1974 I Don’t Like To Sleep Alone by Paul Anka Duet with Odia Coates

- 1974 She’s A Lady by Paul Anka. This song he wrote for Tom Jones.

- 1971 She’s A Lady by Tom Jones (Tom Jones version)

- 1975 Times Of Your Life by Paul Anka (This is the popular Kodak Ad Song, remember? maybe also Chun See favourite song too)

Tom Jones is another sexy male singer of the mid 60s. One of his popular song was “She’s A Lady” mentioned earlier.

In 1969, he was;

and now;

Photo Credit : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Jones_(singer)

Some of his songs that I love;

- Green Green Grass Of Home by Tom Jones

- Delilah by Tom Jones

- It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones

So how popular is this song “It’s Not Unsual”? Just quote ” I dare anyone over forty to listen to Tom Jones’ “Its Not Unusual” without singing along to the chorus and attempting a brief Jones like hip swivel.“

Not forgetting the King of Rock & Roll - Elvis Presley!

- Love Me Tender 1956

- Jailhouse Rock 1957

- Are You Lonesome Tonight 1960

- Can’t Help Falling In Love 1962

In the 70s my godparents got this type of radio cassette recorders where I used it to listen to radio and try to tape down the songs that I liked.

Here is a photo of those old radio cassette recorder;

And the typical TDK blank cassette tapes that I used;

Luckily in the past, radio had less talk and commercial and they played more songs. Here is another song about racing that I loved best.
- Tell Laura I Love Her by Ray Peterson in the 60s.

Another of his top hit;

- Corina Corina by Ray Peterson.

- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow by Shirelles in 1960. Of course there were many version for those songs in other languages.

- I Can’t Stop Loving You by Ray Charles . Though he was gone, but this was a top hit too in 1961.

When I talked about Ray Charles, I tend to think about Stevie Wonder too. Another great singer!

- Part Time Lover by Stevie Wonder

- I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder

- My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder. Those head shaking action of his seems to become his icon.

- Blowing In The Wind by Stevie Wonder. You must watch this one and listen to what he said before singing.

The original version;

- Blowing In The Wind by Bob Dylan in 1963.

Another version by Bee Gees too;

- Blowing In The Wind by Bee Gees
In 1962 the year I was born, one of the best song was by Neil Sedaka. Another famous singer of the 60s.

- Breaking Up Is Hard To Do by Neil Sedaka in 1962;

- Same song when he was older.

- Laughter In The Rain by Neil Sedaka.

- Solitaire by Neil Sedaka. Another great song! I love to see him playing the piano as he is a good entertainer.
Remember I told you I loved to record those songs broadcasted on the radio during my Primary School days on the blank audio tapes. Some of the songs I recorded were;

- Take Me Home Country Road by John Denver in 1971.

Photo Credit : http://www.john-denver.org

A popular country song singer and song writer. Almost everyone who played the guitar then will play this song. In fact, I love quite a lot of his songs;

- Leaving On A Jet Plane by John Denver in 1969.

- Follow Me by John Denver in 1970. Because of him, I then came to know that guitar can have 12 strings and not just 6 strings hehe.

- Sunshine by John Denver in 1971.

- Rocky Mountain High by John Denver in 1972.

- Annie’s Song by John Denver in 1974.

- Perhaps Love by John Denver in1982.

- Perhaps Love by John Denver and Lene Siel. This is a beautiful duet version you shouldn’t miss.

When I looked at John Denver’s hair, of course that will lead me to recall Olivia Newton John. A beautiful singer who fell victim to breast cancer. Maybe you remember her better through that movie Grease with John Travolta.

Photo Credit : http://www.olivia-newtonjohn.com

- If You Love Me (Let Me Know) by ONJ in 1974.

- Have You Never Been Mellow by ONJ in 1975.

- Please Mr Please by ONJ in 1975.

- You Are The One That I Want by ONJ with John Travolta in 1978. This song from the popular movie Grease then. Movies like this one and Saturday Night Fever were very popular with youngster then. Of course we were all trying to dance like them like the fingers pointing slanting up.

- Summer Nights by ONJ with John T. also from the movie Grease.

- Hopelessly Devoted To You by ONJ in 1978.

- Magic by ONJ in 1980.

- Xanadu by ONJ in 1980.

- Suddenly by ONJ and Cliff Richard in 1980.

- Physical by ONJ in 1981. This video will help you to recall the TV entertainment show Solid Gold. Solid Gold was a TV programme to countdown the weekly top ten with their Solid Gold Dancers. A popular TV show from 70s to 80s.

- Heart Attack by ONJ in 1982.

Another popular lady singer during my Primary School time was Anne Murray. Her are some of her songs that I love best;

- Snowbird by Anne Murray in 1969.

- Danny’s Song by Anne Murray in 1973.

- Killing Me Softly With His Song by Anne Murray in 1973. My favourite at that time.

- You Needed Me by Anne Murray in 1978.

In the late 70s, my parents bought a HiFi set comprised of cassette deck, record player, radio, amplifier and a pair of speakers. That was the time where I started buying albums and more blank tapes to record my favourite songs. Here you can see of of my favourite singer Lobo;

See that big headphone on the floor. That was the trend I think at that time haha. Another trend, or rather fashion trend then was the “bell bottom” jeans or pants I wore. It was the fashion at that time hehe!

Some of my favourite songs from Lobo are;

- How Can I Tell Her by Lobo

- Me And A Dog Named Boo by Lobo

- I Love You To Want Me by Lobo

There were simply too many too many nice songs and good singers in the past. It will be never ending if I attempt to list them all here (though after trying for a week, I gave up hehe). Before I end, I don’t think I should before listing Beatles.

- Hey Jude by Beatles

- Yesterday by Beatles

Beatles had inspired other pop groups to form in other countries like the Bee Gees. In 1966, the Bee Gees. Barry, Robin, and Maurice worked together as a group to create and record their own songs. Though they were already singing as Gibbs brothers way before that, but most of us came to know about them maybe through the movie Saturday Night Fever.

The Gibbs Songs - if you wish to know more about this 3 brothers.

- Words by Bee Gees

- I Started A Joke by Bee Gees

- Same song but in the past. Let’s compare.

Last but not least this song for you;

- Holiday by Bee Gees.

If I didn’t post the title “Haw Par Villa”, you will never guess that this is the public toilet in the Haw Par Villa - and it’s free entry!

It’s so clean and no charges for it’s use except for 10cent if you want to have toilet paper. Usually when the public toilet is clean - it means not many visitors or it’s a “paid” toilet where a cleaner is stationed there.

I’m glad that after 70 years (built in 1937), this “attraction” (at least to me) is still around and the entry is free again (though parking charges is $5 per entry but now can park all the way inside besides Hua Song Museum);

This villa was built in 1937 at a cost of probably $1 million by Mr. Aw Boon Haw for his younger brother Boon Par, for helping him to market his medicated ointment Tiger Balm. This is the model of his grand 7 domed shaped villa;

Below is the old photo of the real mansion, but too bad it was destroyed in the war from 1942 to 1945;

So are there any changes since my first visit to the Haw Par Villa in the 70s till now? Of course there were many changes…

It was such a crowd puller in the 60s and 70s as can be seen in the below postcard;

Note that the entrance gate name was “Tiger Balm Garden” in the 60s and the Chinese name “10 Thousand Golden Oil Garden”.

Now in 2007, the crowd is gone;

Understand that the name was changed to “Haw Par Villa” in 1990 and same goes for the Chinese name too.

The most drastic change was in the early 90s when it was converted into a Theme Park named “Dragon World” in 1990 and managed by International Theme Parks, a joint venture between F&N and Times Publishing. You may not notice that it had actually expanded to 3 times it’s original size to include those 2 water rides “a slow boat through the 10 courts of hell” and “a rollercoaster like flume ride through a mountain and down a river”, etc. Many sculptures were relocated or stored in the “graveyard”.

Below shows the Buddha sculpture relocated to the main entrance in 90s;

This was the same Buddha sculpture I had a photo taken with my brother in the 70s, and it was then inside the garden;

And now in 2007, it’s back to it’s original position but with a thick and long “necklace” added and those joss sticks offering boxes placed in front;

Of course in the past when I was young, every sculptures seem like a giant to me, but not now haha. Do you realise that a lot of these sculptures now have these joss sticks offering boxes placed in front of them. I note that the caretaker goes round to offer joss sticks and cigarettes to the sculptures;

When it was converted into a Theme Park in the 90s, the entrance ticket was the highest priced - S$15 or S$16.50?

Though the slow boat ride was one of the main attraction thru the 10 courts of hell then, but we missed out a lot when viewing the sculptures. Below is the slow boat ride thru the 10 courts of hell via the Dragon Mouth;

It’s difficult to view the sculptures in the 10 courts of hell when in the boat ride as we need to turn our head left and right;

See the difference in the above 2 photos of the same 1st Court of Hell! The top photo was view from the boat ride in 90s and the bottom one is now in 2007.

A lot of sculptures were surrounded by water in the 90s to match the Theme Park;

Now, most of the water were drained off and the ground resurfaced;

The amphitheater constructed in the 90s where plays were shown in the Theme Park;

Now it’s gone… and the whole place is much quieter than in the 90s.

This used to be a place where the parents will tell their kids not to be bad or evil, else they will be punished like those shown in the 10 Courts of Hell!

After the trip, I asked kids if they like the place… “No” is the answer and the reason is the same as mine in the past - “scary”! Hopefully, we get to retain this beautiful place as long as possible, else what’s left to us is this 1980 stamp issue on Haw Par Villa;

If you ask me, I hope it will remain forever….

Most men treat their cars especially their first car like or better than their wives. For me, it’s already a thing of the past since I’ve been driving for the past 20 over years and driven more than 10 over brands/models of cars.

My dad’s first and only car was a Peugeot 404 bought for only S$3,500 in the early 70s. It was a 3yrs old car and most people go for a Continental car instead of a Japanese car then - the reason guessed Chun See had mentioned it before in his blog.

The thing I remembered well was that my dad would start the car engine about 15 minutes beforehand so as to warm up the car! We enjoyed the drive from Serangoon to Changi Point for our usual swim; there wasn’t any expressway then.

I got my first car (a 3yrs old car also) in the early 80s and it was a Ford Laser 1.3L. Luckily there wasn’t such a thing as COE then.

Don’t know why men like to pose with their first car? Also many of us like to spend hours waxing and washing our cars. Now I can’t remember when was the last time I go for a car wash hehe.

I recalled after collecting my first car, I drove into Joo Chiat those small One-Way street and went against the traffic. I hit my headlight against a lamp post while doing a 3 point turn out! Fancy getting into an accident on the first day of driving my own car.

Throughout my years of driving, I’ve only bought one brand new car and that was during 1991 when COE was introduced recently then. My first brand new car was a Subaru Viki 800cc, a car which will trembled when a lorry drove past you. The COE then was less then $10K and thereafter it escalated sky high. After driving this car, I wouldn’t settle for any car less than 1,600cc.

Now with the COE, ERP, Insurance, Parking charges, Rd Tax, Petrol tax, etc… it’s really a heavy burden to own a car.

I guess many of us have long forgotten the above ‘ugly’ piece of paper that had given us so much trouble in getting it before entering a certain place called the ‘restricted zone’. One has to go to certain places to purchase it at $3 or buy one that gives you free access for a month - the place to get it is shown behind the above paper;

Below is a typical ALS booth selling it;

Photo credits : http://web.worldbank.org

You may read more on here and here.

You need to display this ALS ticket on the top left hand corner of your car windscreen. This ALS (Area Licence Scheme) was implemented in June 1975. At that time, words like RZ (Restricted Zone and CBD (Central Business Districts) were very popular. Of course with this ALS, you can enter the RZ during the peak hour without 4 persons in the car. The price for entering is $3 for daily access and $60 for a month’s access.

You will be amazed by how that lady (usually) standing near the ’sentry box’ monitored those cars with the ALS ticket on the windscreen. How she can spot those without and take down their vehicle numbers. Understand that these group of people are specially trained for these jobs!

Photo credit : LTA Academy

After about 23years, we discarded this manual system and go for the ERP (Electronic Road Pricing);

Not so troublesome as the ALS as we don’t have to purchase that ticket anymore, yet there are always drivers who forget to insert the cashcard into the IU (In vehicle unit);

Photo credits above : LTA Academy, LTA.

Here is how the ERP system works in detail. Anyway, whichever system it is - it’s still Pay and Pay!

It’s been a long long time since I took a walk along the Esplanade, not to mention together with my family - my wife and my 2 kids! I must admit I’ve never been there together with my family at all…what a shame. Why? As usual, no place to park; must walk very far; MRT station also dunno where hehe….all my shit excuses I must say!

The 8.6M tall and 70 tonnes Merlion was built in 1972 at the mouth of the Singapore River before the Shifting of Merlion. It was built by the late Singapore craftsman, Mr. Lim Nang Seng at a cost of about S$165,000 if I didn’t remember worngly.

30 years later in April 2002, the Merlion has to be shifted about 120M from it’s original position.

The operation involved;

- hoisting the Merlion on to the barge

- sailing the barge to the foot of the Esplanade Bridge

- hoisting the Merlion over the bridge back on to the barge

- installing the Merlion at its new home just next to One Fullerton building

Below shows the old and new location;

The relocation cost is about S$7.5M, much more than to build it right? I’m not too sure what this cost include too.

But why the need to relocate the Merlion? After the Esplanade Bridge was built, views of the Merlion from the waterfront were blocked. Also the Merlion has stopped spouting water since 1998, so there was a need to relocate it. You may wish to read the URA web site for more details. The relocation process can be found here too.

Whenever I see this Merlion, I remember how my mother brought me and my brother to look for the sculptor of this Merlion Mr. Lim Nang Seng’s sister. His sister was my mother’s secondary school classmate. They were staying at Chinatown then and my mother sense of direction is very poor, so we had a tough time looking for their house. That was probably one of my longest walk at that time.

Continued from Part 1… 

Though what happened before SBS or STC were not part of my life, but it’s interesting to know more about it. Now let’s take a look at the Public Transport history before SBS was formed;

1882 to 1894 - Steam Tramway (The Singapore Tramways Company Limited)

1891 - Electric Tramway

1902 - Singapore Electric Tramsway Limited

1925 - Shanghai Electric Construction Company Limited established the Singapore Traction Company (STC) : Trolley Buses

1927 - All Trams were replaced by Trolley Buses

1955 - Hock Lee Bus Riot

1956 - Great STC Strike

1962 - Trolley Buses replaced by Motor Buses

1971 - 10 Chinese bus companies were re-organised into 3 main companies;

- Amalgamated Bus Company (West Route) Formed by Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company, Keppel Bus Company, Kg Bahru Bus Service.

- Associated Bus Services (East Route) Formed by Paya Lebar Bus Service, Changi Bus Company, Katong-Bedok Bus Service, Ponggol Bus Service.

- United Bus Company (North) Formed by Tay Koh Yat Bus Company, Green Bus Company, Easy Bus Company.

- Singapore Traction Company (STC) was to maintain its operation in the Town Area.

1973 : STC went burst. Government step in to bring the 3 bus companies together; Singapore Bus Service (SBS) formed.

Singapore Steam Tram around 1880s;

Here is the Steam Tramway Map in Singapore;

Credit : Above 2 from Malcolm of RailSing site

Here is a very good site about Steam and Electric Tramway in Singapore from Malcom.

Electric Tramway in Singapore;

Let’s see some Trolley Buses in the olden times Singapore. See if you can tell the differences between Electric Tram and Trolley Bus?

Trolley Bus along High Street in 1930s;

Trolley Bus Service No.3 plying Outram to Geylang in 1950s (you can see our police in shorts too);

Credit : nk4631

Postcard showing Trolley Bus along Anson Rd at the old Boustead Building (now Fuji Xerox) in the 60s;

So how to tell the Trolley Bus apart from Electric Tram? The differences are;

- Trams have flanged wheels and run on rails or grooved tracks. Trams take electric power from a single overhead wire and the return is from the track.

- Trolley buses have rubber tyres and don’t run on track or rail. They take power from a pair (2) of overhead parallel wire.

This is an interesting old photo - not only showing the 2 types but also take note of the front of the STC bus (there was a turning knob);

Credit : nk4631

Below shows an old STC Bus No. 4 plying Paya Lebar and Finlayson Green probably in the 60s;

Maybe they may be fun and interesting to look at now, but I for sure don’t think I will enjoy the ride at all.

When I was surfing one of those online auction site, I came across the above. Yes, it’s like one of those bus ticket hole puncher used by the bus conductors.

Well these are probably the only 3 tickets left in my possession - somehow hidden inside one of those old textbooks!

I hate taking buses not only in the past but even now! I hated those bus conductors who shouted right at my ears and pushing their way from front to back and back to front. I hated those bus drivers who brake and accelerate, accelerate and brake every few seconds. I hated myself for being unable to balance myself on the bus. So I never like taking bus.

During my time 60s and 70s, I think I still find the STC buses around until they went burst in 1973. So what goes before STC? Frankly I’ve not much ideas until I see some of my old stamps and phonecards.

Below are 2 stamps issued in 1997 showing an Electric Tram and a Trolley Bus;

I also have an old phonecard showing an Electric Tram near the Fullerton Building;

And also an old SMRT card showing the trolley bus;

I’m not too sure why is there a Tay Koh Yat Bus form in my possession too;

So how real the above are (steam and electric tram, trolley bus), it’s up to our imagination as I’ve not seen them personally. But thanks to the internet, much infos about our past can be dug out.

…to be continued in Part 2.

The once popular departmental store in Singapore during the 70s - Yaohan (八佰伴)!

The green colored logo is very distinguished and during that time, you can see their full page ads in the newspaper very often;

Credits : SPH, Straits Times.

Of course going to Yaohan means going to Plaza Singapura at that time. The Plaza Singapura in the 70s was so different from now.

Guess it was opened somewhere in 1975 and it was so grand, afterall not many big shopping malls were around then.

This photo shows the front of Plaza Singapura in the 90s;

Here is the inside view of the plaza in 1991. You can see that Yaohan is still around (on the left side);

I remembered I used at sit around at the benches below the escalators waiting for friends.

Some of the major departmental stores here were Daimaru and OG, and of course other stores or shops like Swensen, Swee Lee, etc. were equally grand.

Talking about Yaohan, makes me recall some of those departmental stores or supermarket that didn’t survive through the ordeal - Daimaru, K-Mart, Tokyu and Sogo.

Of course not forgetting Fitzpatricks Supermarket which was located at the now…, do you know?;

Photo Credit : Jonty

Here is another shot of the inside in 1969;

Photo Credit : Singas.co.uk

Below shows an old advertisement for Fitzpatricks in 1969;

Credit : SPH, Straits Times.

To be continued…