Exploring nighttime Ang Mo Kio West, and childhood memories.
Foreword
In this new series, I’d be exploring local neighbourhoods of Singapore i.e. being a “home tourist.” I wouldn’t be featuring must-eats, must-buys, or must-visits, though. Instead, pictures in this essay and all to come will strictly feature only Singaporean daily living sights.
As for the reasons behind this series, well, a couple of weeks ago, I was feeling OH SO SLUGGISH. I had a pile of work to attend to but I just couldn’t get down to it. Neither did I feel like heading to town, or watching a movie, or playing any video game.
In the end, I dragged myself to Bishan Junction 8. After dinner, I walked all the way from Junction 8 to Toa Payoh Central, meandering through the oldest parts of TPY before reaching the town centre. I would never have guessed it but that 90-minute sweaty walk was surprisingly enjoyable. It was in a subdued way, also nostalgic, mellow, and even sentimental.
Ever since, I’ve been doing these HDB estate walks every Friday. (It’s good exercise, btw). Naturally, it didn’t take long for me to decide that I ought to squeeze a few blog posts out of these excursions. After all, aren’t our residential estates one of the architectural highlights of the country?
Ang Mo Kio West (Friday Evening, 7pm to 9pm)
Two things before I begin.
Firstly, I think the name “Ang Mo Kio West” is seldom used nowadays. Most Singaporeans just call the area by its full name or by the constituency designations. For this walk, I kept to the parts of the estate “west” of the North-South MRT line. My primary route was along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, Ang Mo Kio Street 22, and finally, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.
Secondly, I used to live here. Yeah … I lived in AMK for eight years between ages 4 and 12. I also attended kindergarten and primary school here. My route correspondingly sliced through the precinct where I used to live before ending near where my primary school formerly was.
In a way, I was tracing my daily route to school from all those years ago with this walk. It’s intentional too, if you’re wondering. I haven’t returned for over ten years and I was curious to see whether the old shops back then are still in business.
My walk began at the town centre. Doesn’t look the case in this picture but it was actually pretty crowded. Also, 51@AMK used to be … a cinema! Ang Mo Kio Cinema, if I’m not wrong. After they went out of business, the building was home to an arcade. I remember the latter because I once fought with an Ah Beng over an Operation Wolf game in the arcade.One of the shopping thoroughfares of Ang Mo Kio Town Centre. HDB town centres used to be sprawling, before they got smaller and smaller. Nowadays, I think they are, err, primarily shopping malls.View from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 as I strolled down it. I like the view of those dense, newer flats in the distance. There’s a mild … Coruscant feeling.Serene HDB flats and a playground. The surroundings became quiet once I was away from the town centre and AMK Hub.A furniture shop with a very 80s shopfront. Check out that sign!Keban Baru Food Centre. Things were more or less lively around it. However, many of the food stalls were closed.I shot this from right outside my old home. The immediate area hasn’t changed that much. However, none of those buildings in the distance existed back then. It was all forested land.A “Residents’ Corner.” This picture would feel meaningless to you, but right here was where my mother used to wait for me to return from school. (As in, for me to get off the school bus)Block 111. My family used to patronise the coffee shop next to this block for dinner. (There was a great Chicken Rice stall)Enthusiastic “aunties” doing their Friday evening exercises at Kebun Baru Community Club.Came across this SG50 mural at Mayflower Market and Food Centre. I’m usually not into such “nation-building” things, but I think this one is well done. It incorporates several icons of Ang Mo Kio and Singapore, as well as slyly reminds that the name “Ang Mo Kio” is believed by many Singaporeans to mean tomato.Another mural. This one at one of the 600++ blocks isn’t as impressive as the one above. However, I believe the dude in it is wearing Anderson JC colours. Anderson JC, as in, my JC. We did use to go around the estate collecting newspapers for recycling.The beautifully renovated coffee shop at Block 631. This is really a far, FAR cry from the coffee shops of the 80s.I have something childish to reveal. 😛 I used to be FASCINATED by these hexagonal shops; there were several in the town centre too. I have no idea why but as a kid, I found these uniquely shaped shops exotic. I even dreamt about someday owning one.Last but not least, Ang Mo Kio West Chu Sheng Temple. This has been here since the 80s, if I’m not wrong. Going by the temple’s profile on Google Maps, it enjoys a large number of devotees too.
All pictures were shot with my LG V40. The V40 is not the best camera phone for 2019, according to many. But for me, it more than good enough.
Geek, gamer, writer, movie lover, photographer, and occasional graphic artist. I like to consider myself a one-stop content creator of sorts. But the truth is, I obsess over too many hobbies.
