Marina South: Indulge in Reminiscence

Posted by Simply Jean under Buildings and Monuments
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The Marina South used to be a popular hangout for youths back in its heydays. While most people I knew back then wondered what purpose the Marina Bay MRT station served, its location was highly appreciated when we found for ourselves the odysseys that it brought.

There were 3 main attractions at the Marina Mall – the bowling alleys, the mouth watering Marina South Steamboats and Cantopop; of which, the latter was somewhere I have never been to because I always thought it was populated by ah bengs and ah sengs. People would smoke outside the pubs and news of drug bursts were aplenty. Back then, smoking was still allowed in pubs, and judging from the amount of smoke coming out from the pubs, it seemed like they ran a smoking house for preserved ducks.

So, what was the favourite routine? We would meet at the MRT station to take the bus to what we called “The Marina Village”. The first stop would be one of the bowling centres where it used to cost between $3.60 to no more than $6.00 per person per game. If bowling wasn’t our favourite game, we would enjoy a game of “Bubble Puzzle”, or “Street Fighter” at the arcade within the premises. If all else fails, there’s always foosball around the corner.

After a game or 2, we would usually retreat to the nearly “Marina Village” where steamboats were the orders of the day. It cost just about $12 per person and each of us could eat to our hearts’ content – amidst signs that cautioned against wastage of food which could result in fines of $5 per kilogram of wastage. In the rare event that we were unable to finish the food, these would quickly become instant charcoal as we would hastily grill them till they became black on both sides.

Well, we were kids then.

So, going back to “Marina Village” brought some memories. However, there’s nothing much of it left to remember. Some of the bowling alleys have disappeared while the Cantopop pubs have made way to the impending Integrated Resorts. The Superbowl and the steamboat centres are just waiting for their turn to disappear not just into obscurity, but to be torn down completely. The surroundings looked a little eerie as cables hung precariously from the ceiling while rodents ran across the cement floor; scrambling to safety as workers cleared the nearby debris.

A sense of sadness crept into me as I walked away from “the village”, more so as the bus approached the bus stop because they will be abolishing the service soon. The fun and joy that “the village” once brought will perhaps, be only kept in our hearts. As I sign off this post, the buses serving Marina South would have ran their last rounds as SBS Transit abolishes the bus service and the bus stops in this place where it will be remembered by the people who visited it in its time.

Tags: Marina South, Marina Mall