The other day I was zooming with my friends Beth, Heidi and Donna. The four of us spent part of our youth in the late 70’s in Rumbai, a Caltex oil camp in Sumatra, Indonesia. Our fathers were engineers on the hunt for petroleum.
We reminisced about our trips to Singapore, which occurred every six weeks or so. These were packaged as escapes from camp life and a necessity for those of us requiring orthodontics. We laughed at our memories: getting our braces tightened, shopping, dining at western restaurants when our teeth didn’t hurt, going to the movies (I’m pretty sure I saw every James Bond movie starring Roger Moore at Shaw Theatre, and on command, I can still sing the Brylcreem jingle from the previews), or, for the very adventurous with a little extra leisure time, the water park on Sentosa Island. Our bubble mostly stretched the length of Orchard Road, and that was it.
So imagine my surprise to find, many years later, a world to explore beyond Orchard. To be fair, Orchard continues be a main attraction for visitors and shoppers and has a certain appeal. But as a new Singapore resident, I’ve taken to pounding the streets as well as picking up some new lingo (see glossary below). Here are a few places I’ve recently visited:
Bukit Brown Cemetery. Covering almost one square kilometer, there are nearly 100,000 tombs that include some of Singapore’s most illustrious Chinese families. “Bukit” means “hill” in Malay and “Brown” is named after George Henry Brown, a British trader in the mid-1800’s whose home was on the property. The tombs are scattered among the hills and thick forest, evoking a wild and even haunting atmosphere. A few years ago a new highway was built through the cemetery, forcing excavation of some of the tombs and creating a bit of an uproar to save the rest of the cemetery from redevelopment. I hope it’s preserved, as I love this sacred refuge in the city.
Tiong Bahru. One of Singapore’s oldest neighborhoods, it was set up as a test case for public housing in the 1920’s. “Tiong” means “cemetery” in Hokkien (what is it with me and cemeteries?) and “Bahru” is “new” in Malay. Today, it is a hip neighborhood filled with funky cafes, art murals, and old world charm. It also has one of the only preserved bunkers that sheltered thousands of residents from air raids during the Japanese occupation in WWII. I visited this neighborhood last week as part of a Friends of the Museums docent-led tour. Tom and I also discovered Foodie Market, a Trader Joe’s type store that offers reasonably priced meats (bacon!), cheeses, spices, and other odds and ends to satisfy our western palates.
Punggol / Coney Island / Changi Jewel. A couple weeks ago, my friend Danielle took me for a walk in the Woop Woop. This Aussie term describes anywhere off the beaten trail. Originally slated to be developed into an amusement park a la U.S. fame, a portion of the area is now preserved as public space and managed by the National Parks Board. There are well marked paths, a few campsites, and itty bitty beach access points. We saw exactly one small snake and heard umpteen bird calls, but I imagine if you parked yourself here for an hour or so at twilight, more would be seen. Afterwards, we were famished and decided to take our stinky selves for lunch at the sleek Changi Jewel at the airport. Because naturally there’s an enormous shopping complex at the airport and we wanted to pretend we were going places.
Dairy Farm Estate / Bukit Timah Hill. I admit, Dairy Farm conjured up images of Iowa dairyland. Apparently there was a time when cows were present, but alas, no more. Today the area has walking trails and Bukit Timah Hill, the highest point in Singapore at a whopping 163.63 meters (597 feet, or approximately the height of a 52 floor building). Accompanied by four other women on our AWA walk, we encountered wild boar, a kingfisher, monkeys, and learned about the “red-eared” pet turtles imported every year from the U.S., only to be later released by bored school children into the wild and become an invasive species (sigh). This area is craggy and beautiful, with a quiet quarry and lake. I can imagine more wanderings and meditations here.
Many more explorations await…
Glossary of Terms, from my Aussie/Kiwi/British/Singaporean friends:
- Naff: cheesy
- Hackneyed: worn out
- Woop Woop: the boondocks
- Stubby holder: beer koozie
- Mate/chum: friend (most commonly used with males)
- Bloody good bloke: very fine fellow
- Queue: line up
- Out of stock (as in, item in a store): never getting it
- Not in store (as in, item a store): don’t have it, but eventually will get it
- Wet pantry: kitchen area in an office, with sink/running water
- Dry pantry: kitchen area in an office, without sink/running water
- Pantry Auntie: hired helper who will clean your dishes, as in an office setting
- Gado gado: Indonesian salad, but also refers to a mix of things
- Alamak: expression: oh dear (the “k” is silent; depending on tone, can be a cleaner version of a swear word)
- Hao la: Chinese term meaning, “it’s all good”
- Shiok: very nice, enjoyable
- Kiasu: fear of missing out
- Kaypo: busybody, nosy
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