From 7 to 50

Posted by noelbynature under Buildings and Monuments, Lifestyle, Reflections
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One Malaysian friend has commented to me that most people in Singapore ‘live in the sky’ - it wasn’t necessarily a complement, but an observation of how public housing forces most of the population to live in high-rise apartments. The highest of the public apartments is now The Pinnacle@Duxton, which reaches a staggering 50 storeys and towers over Cantonment Road. Chinatownboy remembers his youth staying at a flat in Cantonment Road back in the day when 7 storeys was already very high.

Chinatownboy remembers:

Ah, but before the Pinnacle came, there were two blocks of ten-storey flats. They were probably the most expensive rental flats then, at S$96 (if my memory serves me well) compared to the others, say in Queenstown that was at S$66.

We thought that we could give it a try, since it would be a far better place than the small rooms shared with a number of families in one of the houses along Craig Rd. At Craig Rd, we learnt tolerance and compromises. Going to the bathroom, one has to look for empty timeslot. The bucket system toilet was always challenging for us kids. There was no light inside the toilet and so, it was with a candle if we wanted to go in the night. The smell did not help. Not did the cockroaches which seemed to be everywhere. The landlady was very strict. It was lights out by 11pm. And so for us kids, there was the spitoon (which has more than its stated use) and the kerosene lamp so that we could sleep with a little light. Catfights or cat mating on the roof above us (we were on the top floor, being the third floor) added to our wild imaginations. It was a challenge going to bed early as the family would be at the second floor where we had our little dining table.

While the Pinnacle represents a new, gleaming gem over the Singapore skyscape, chinatownboy’s story reminds us of a simpler time when 10 storeys was pretty gosh darn high. Plenty of memories to be found in Cantonment Road, and I’m sure plenty more to be made in time to come.

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