Good old days

My wife told me that she wanted to go to a wet market for grocery shopping, but instead of going to the usual one at Punggol, we went to the one in Hougang.

In the modernized city where every 5 years we'll see upgrading, its hard to find a place like this in the heartland anymore. We see more old people than the young, old men sitting by themselves enjoying a cup of coffee, staring as the world goes by...



Kids nowadays grew up in air-conditioned food courts are fascinated with the sight and sound of the old hawker surrounded by flats that are 40 over years old. Most of them are left vacant and boarded up, probably waiting for the time for demolition.

Some stores are also vacant, owner probably moved to a more crowded location. The pathetic kiddy ride that only cost 20 cts instead of $1, sat motionless for hours, probably even days, waiting for its next little customer to ride it and play its cheerful song which could very well be its last.




As I sat there trying to get Isabel to eat her Chee Cheong Fun, I noticed at another corner, sat an old lady skillfully playing her harmonica into a little microphone, which the music was amplified 5 times louder through her squeaky speaker hidden behind her poster.

The poster shows her glory days before she ended up selling her talent in an old market side... She was probably from a harmonica choir, taught by the best teacher there is, been around the world to perform and won countless trophies...

But...