Connecting the past as we move forward?

I would like to recommend this wonderful nostalgia blog that I stumbled upon recently:

Remember Singapore - remember the good old days

Why nostalgia? Hello!? I am into oldie songs!

If you have grown up during the 80s, you die die must visit his 2 wonderful posts on the 100 Things We Love About The 80s Part 1 & 2

By the way, the Ladybird storybook series is where I got most of inspirations for my bite-sized stories. Amazing  I still remember the stories! 

Jan 1980 was when I entered into Sec 1. And I left NS at Dec 1987. So my teenage years were in the 80s! 

Now people tweet, facebook, and chat. In the 80s, it was the era of the pager. Remember: "You never return my pager!?" LOL!


For those of you that have elderly relatives or parents, and you have difficulty connecting the old names of places of their time and the present names of today, this post is something I will boookmark, print, and save!!!

Old, Common Names of Places in Singapore, and their Origins


It meant a lot to me. When my maternal grandma was alive, she would tell me stories of her life at Singapore River and the surrounding places. I know where is 大坡, 小坡; but where exactly is 水仙门, 乌桥头 I have no clue... (You may want to test with "youngsters" below 30 on where is 大坡, 小坡!)

Now I have the "decoder" to translate the memories of yester-years to the present! Grandma is gone; but now I can connect better with my mom. Finally I can tell her where Kovan is using the old common name she can identify with!

These old common names, pronounced in Teochew, are especially close to my heart as they are how I remember them from my grandma and mom.

Singapore River is Hokkien and Teochew "territory". Chinatown is Cantonese :)  These old common names pronounced in their own dialects have another flavour than mandarin. You try!


CW8888 recently blogged about dementia. There's another kind of dementia - the external kind. I remember bringing my mom back to Singapore River 5 years back, and she had a hard time recognizing the place of her childhood...

Same goes for me. My Gan Eng Seng School at Anson is long demolished and now replaced by tall skyscrapers... My Hua Yi Primary School at Margaret Drive is also demolished last year and now new BTO flats will be built around it.... The old Commonwealth hawker centre is gone too...

I will make a visit to my former Taman Jurong 9 RITC army camp when I return home. I want to experience the lost and bewilderment that my mom had. The army camp is long gone and I've not been back for 24 years since my ROD!?

Singapore not big; but I am sure you too have places you have not re-visited for donkey years. See if you also experienced "dementia"?


You may laugh at my philosophical musings on finding anchors to my roots... What's the difference between calling myself a Singaporean and being a citizen of the world - if the anchors and memories that tie me to Singapore is being slowly demolished and chipped away?

All in the name of growth and progress?

In my journey toward financial freedom, what have I myself torned down and forgotten too? (1 finger pointing at others, 4 pointing back at me)


P.S.  RemSG is also a fellow CFD trader. Small world indeed!