Exploring Quirky Ann Siang Hill!
Waking up at an ungodly hour on a Saturday is no longer a big deal for me, as Haikal and I (yes, we’re back together) usually try to cramp our Saturdays jam packed with activities as it is the only day we get to spend a whole day together. The luxury of it all!
As we are nearing our seventeenth month as a couple, we realized that we have spent a LOT of Saturdays together, which meant that we have gone to a fair share of places (scroll through the archives and you’d see). So I think it’s kind of apparent to us that we have ran out of places to go and explore… well, that was what we THOUGHT.
Thanks to blog2u, I got invited to go on a tour of Ann Siang Hill and well, who can turn down an opportunity as such? Sponsored to explore Singapore by visiting museums and whatnot, you know! Hahaha… I tell you, if I can earn a living like this, I’d be the happiest girl in the world -.-|||
So anyway, the tour began inside the Singapore City Gallery, where we were greeted by the tour guide, as well as a huge replica of the Singapore skyline. It struck me just how pretty and detailed everything was, right down to the itsy-bitsy details like the windows. So much so that when I peered into my miniature office building (79 Anson Road), I could actually see myself sleeping under my desk.
Ok kidding. But seriously, that was how detailed everything was! And at around $15,000 per miniature model (for the better ones), it BETTER be detailed. Iris, our very sophisticated and knowledgeable Peranakan tour guide, informed us that the whole model’s cost run into millions. MILLIONS.
I wish I had that kind of money to construct my primary school art projects.
Iris further explained to us the reasons why certain areas are allocated for certain activities, why buildings are built the way they are, the projection of Singapore’s land for the next 30 years and things to that effect.
For example, she talked to us about the height limits of our skyscrapers due to aviation (which means Singapore can never host the tallest building in the world), the reasons behind why the URA has decided to incorporate living areas in the CBD area in recent years (to make it look less dead when all the offices close for the night/holidays), etc.
What struck me most was how interested I actually was about the whole thing! I don’t know about you, but I guess for me, being there whilst having something visually appealing to look at while having a running commentary from a very articulate lady sure beats learning in a dank classroom.
How else can I remember the above information, as well as the many more that were fed to me by Iris throughout the whole tour?
BTW, did you know that Beach Road was named Beach Road because it was actually the BEACH years ago? Yeah baby, everything beyond that and Telok Ayer are reclaimed land! I was REALLY surprised.
After being given a basic introduction and foundation, we then headed out to the open air to have a tour of the Ann Siang / Club Street area. As if bidding us farewell, three statues of Samsui women stood at the gates and Iris stopped by to have a chat with them.
The story of how the women came and lived in Singapore was really interesting (and to think I did not bother to register the stories when my National Education teacher preached about it eons ago), but I would like to divert and mention here that I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE DON’T LISTEN.
There were some people who represented the media from God-Knows-Where, and whilst I was trying to listen to Iris, they kept buzzing around in the background and interviewing people in the crowd. That’s rude, yo! Shouldn’t all that be done later?
And when we have proceeded to the next stop, this bugger from the media would go up to Iris and ask questions which have already been explained mere minutes ago. So for his sake, she would repeat everything. Not once, but several times!
Now that that’s out of my system, let’s go back to the tour, shall we?
Under the blistering morning sun (which did not bother me much, surprisingly), the group of us were immersed in historical tales of the area as we proceed from one place to another. As Iris puts it,
If the walls could speak, they would be able to tell you so many stories. But since they can’t, I shall be your storyteller for today.
And that, she was (a good one to boot). For the next hour, the group of us listened to tales of the olden times; about how China men first arrived, quirky tales of poopie Ah Peks, Indian settlers, exhumed cemeteries, amongst others (shan’t be a spoiler and tell you).
Ok maybe I shall just share one :P
Did you know that shop houses were first built without back doors? This only changed when the Poopie Man (the poor guy who has the worse job in the world - collect poop from all the houses since there was no proper lavatory system) kept on leaking poop when he walks from the ‘toilet’ at the back of the shop house all the way to the front door.
Perhaps after one too many cases of stepping on poop, the residents wised up and made back doors, to give the Poopie Man easy access to their poop! I could only imagine how frustrating that might be to the Poopie Man, who could previously have secretly reveled in dropping poop on the floor of the rightful owner hehe.
If there’s one thing which the tour makes me realize, that would be my lack of questioning why things are the way they are.
Why are shop houses long and narrow? Why are there bamboo poles on the roof of many houses? Why do these renovated shop houses still keep many of the old designs? Why does the height of the shop houses vary? Do Chinese clans still exist up till today? Why are there so many luxury cars in the area?
And most importantly, why does URA spend millions of dollars in miniature replicas? kekeke… Which of course, can be partially answered by Iris’s saying:-
We are planning for the future to save the past!
The past, essentially, is what leads to the current. And what is happening currently, will in turn affect the future. So to answer that million dollar question (pun unintended), the cost spent is nothing compared to the benefits that brilliant planning will bring to our nation in the future :)
I have to admit that by the end of the tour of approximately 90 minutes, so many interesting information have been fed into my brain, my eyes have had an orgasm from the many photo opportunities and my wallet has been crying for attention since I have spotted one too many unique clothing stores, bookstores and stores full of unique trinkets :P
I thoroughly enjoyed myself exploring the side of Singapore I’ve never been to, and the added information from the tour guide was a definite PLUS point. This coming week will be Explore Singapore’s last week, so they are having quite a number of free events which you can attend (and perhaps spot me? haha!).
Trust me on this, kids. It is interesting once in a while to go out and attend such stuff, instead of walking up and down Orchard / Bugis / City Hall day in day out. Those who know me will know that I am not saying this for the sake of this entry… I REALLY try to avoid doing that because I see no point in seeing the same old clothes every time.
And as the tour of Club Street wraps up, Haikal and I concluded the afternoon by eating Fried Mars Bars at a British Take Away place - Chippy. How apt :P
Thanks Bie for being my photographer for the day (though I can’t figure out why the pictures blur after I resize them)! And of course, thanks blog2u for the opportunity :)
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