Toa Payoh Central's sacred tree





Toa Payoh, located in the center of the island, was Singapore's first satellite town after independence. I didn't go there often, except to the HDB when housing issues arose; eventually, my jogging led me to the town two or three times a month, and I gradually became familiar with it.
Similar to how Geylang refers to street as "Lorong" rather than "Street" and "Avenue," Toa Payoh's street plan featured a circular road in the center, making it easy for visitors who were unfamiliar with it to get lost. The "Lian Shan Shuang Lin" Monastery, Toa Payoh Park, and other attractions are also well-known in Toa Payoh. But in my opinion, the more notable landmarks are the "side by side" sacred tree and shrine in the Town Central. Although they are not recognized as historical sites, both have witnessed the development of Toa Payoh. You can read more about the tree's urban legend at this link: http://www.beokeng.com/disptemple.php?temple=ci-ern-ge

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The back alley

Image
While walking through Little India in search of breakfast, I find myself passing many back alleys. Some are only accessible by foot, while others are also accessible by car. We try to stay away from back alleys because they are often unpleasant due to junk build-up, unless when photographing old buildings in Little India; many of the buildings date back to the early 20th century and are regarded as island monuments. You can also see engravings of sacred animals, auspicious symbols, and verses on several of the double-storey houses that were once owned by the Peranakan. Recently, we noticed that Desker Road is right in front of the Indian cuisine café where we had our breakfast, an alley which, along with Geylang is infamous for being part of Singapore's red-light districts, and where customer solicitation once stretched throughout the entire back alleyways; I wonder if such acts still take place, considering that streetwalkers are rarely seen out and about these days. Years ago, I ...
Read more

Albert Street

Image
My house is right next to La Salle College of Arts, one street away. If you turn left and walk down Albert Street, you can reach the busy and lively Bugis. I have moved here for more than ten years. I sold my flat in the east and moved to my current house to shorten my commute to school. Now, I no longer teach at the college. However, I can still remember all the things I used to do in class. Sometimes, when I pass by the campus, I still see familiar faces, former colleagues, students and so on. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, we go on with our own lives.
Read more

The Rochor River

Image
When we were young, a trip to visit my grandma with my mother would excite us a lot. We'd say we were heading to Rochor or downtown. My grandma's house was along Beach Road, and to the east of it was the business district, while to the west, across the street, was the Rochor River, which crosses the Merdeka Bridge before merging with the Kallang and Singapore rivers and flowing into the sea. I have fond recollections of this stretch of the river near the Merdeka Bridge because my father's workplace was close to my grandma's house, he occasionally took us downstairs to the coffee shop for soft drinks and then to the river to play. Like the small fishing villages in neighboring countries are now, the Rochor river was a dusty and chaotic place fifty years ago; a chaotic yet relaxed place where many laborers gathered to make a living from the sea. The most startling aspect was how close the “primitive” toilets were to the river; urine and stools would drop from above and ru...
Read more