2009
It was a weird point in my career, as my company in Middle Road moved operations to a little basement office in Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, around Havelock Road. I remember spending countless nights in the office slaving away writing code. The air-conditioning was on twenty-four hours a day, it being a hotel and all. When I went back to visit it during my leave, that office had been replaced by some nightclub. Beside it, you can see the stairs I used to descend from the lobby to the office. |
| Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium |
 |
| My old office, now a nightclub. |
 |
| Concorde Shopping Center |
Wandering around the basement led me to Concorde Shopping Center. The provision shop I used to frequent was gone. Around it were suspicious-looking women in individual shops badgering me to go in for a "massage". One of them even pulled open her labcoat and flashed me. Ten years ago, I probably would have found this interesting. Now it was just... weird AF.
 |
| Zion Road |
 |
| Great World City |
There would be nights when I wandered the area aimlessly to take a break from the screen. During those times, I would go as far as Great World City, which was this huge-ass mall up along Zion Road. Now, I rarely actually went inside, as it was usually closed by the time I passed by. It was significantly more convenient to get there now, since the Havelock and Great World MRT stations are currently in existence.
 |
| Zion Riverside Food Center |
 |
| Singapore River |
No, the place I actually hung out at more often wasn't Great World City, but the block of shops just across the road. There was Zion Riverside Food Center (it may not have been called that at the time) and some bars, just by the Singapore River.
In fact, when I visited during my vacation, it struck me that this was the first time I'd seen the Singapore River from this exact vantage point during the day. Amazing.
2010 to 2011
At that point, I had spent most of my career in the general vicinity of Bugis Street. This was soon to change as I landed a job further up, to the other, less glamorous, end of Beach Road. It wasn't that far away, but the vibes were markedly different. This was the year I spent in Golden Mile Complex, which was under reconstruction works when I visited it recently. |
| Golden Mile Complex |
It was just a year, but what a year. I pulled twelve-hour days as was my wont. I saw things like barfights, sexual predators in toilets and the sordid nightlife that characterized life in Golden Mile Complex, colloquially known as Little Thailand. After sundown, Golden Mile Complex just turned into a completely different animal.
Golden Mile Complex, Golden Mile Tower and Golden Mile Food Center formed what I liked to call "the Golden Triangle".
 |
| Beach Road, again. |
 |
| Golden Mile Food Center |
 |
| Golden Mile Tower |
Golden Mile Tower was further up Beach Road, and Golden Mile Food Center was on the other side of the road, housing the Beach Road Army Market. Shopping there is a habit I picked up from National Service, one that I never quite managed to break. Working nearby in Golden Mile certainly didn't help! The shops were still there when I visited. The food looked largely the same. Ah, nostalgia.
Nearby were the ultra-retro complexes known as Jalan Sultan Textile Center and Sultan Plaza.
Behind Sultan Plaza, was a little playground where I spent several evenings with my then-girlfriend, or drinking in seedy bars with my buddies. There were a ton of them in these parts. I've gone almost completely dry in the intervening years, but it was still fun to reminisce.
 |
| Sultan Plaza |
 |
| Playground behind Sultan Plaza |
And then there was the Textile Center, the sister to the ancient creaking Sultan Plaza.
 |
| Jalan Sultan Textile Center |
 |
| Special little park behind the Textile Center. |
This little park behind the Textile Center may look like just like any other, but it holds special meaning for me. In 2017 or so, when I could finally afford to take another then-girlfriend (who's now Mrs TeochewThunder) out somewhere nice, it was to the classic Nan Hua Chang Fish Head Steamboat Restaurant just a street away, and we came here for a post-meal snuggle later.
I know, this makes it sound like I really got around, but it was just those two ladies. Around these parts, anyway.
No comments:
Post a Comment