Visiting the royal hill of Singapore i.e. Fort Canning for the first time in 25 years.
I had a short hiatus with evening walks since my last post, reasons being:
- The Haze. (What else?)
- Went down to Little India to check out the Deepavali/Diwali lights for this year.
- Unfortunately, a noise disturbance issue with my neighbour removed my mood for anything for a few days.
But, I’m back at it, and this time, I decided to check out a revitalised attraction of Singapore i.e. Fort Canning.
Would you believe it? The previous time I went all the way up to the “summit” was in the 90s. 1994, to be precise; I remember because I spent that afternoon reading a Shin Megami Tensei 2 walkthrough at the summit; as in SMT2 for the Super Nintendo.
With so many pictures of our former royal hill being shared on social media nowadays, the new gardens and all, I figured it’s high time that I revisit. Hmm, the place certainly looks and feels different. In fact, it’s so different, the only structure that I recognised was one of the public toilets …
Ascending Fort Canning!
Sang Nila Utama Garden
I was specifically on the lookout for this new attraction, having seen numerous pictures of it online. I’ll confess I was also curious as to how much of a Bali Handara Gate #deepfake it is too.
Raffles Garden i.e. the “Summit”
Let me break the mood a little here. The main reason why I never again went up to Fort Canning Hill since that afternoon in 1994, was because I encountered something weird.
Something truly weird, and lewd.
You see, there used to be this large wooden pavilion near the lighthouse. A square one a few steps away from the “cliff” overlooking Clarke Quay. That memorable afternoon, I strolled past the pavilion and saw the following:
- A teenage couple, in school uniform, in rather intimate positions.
- Squatting at the edges of the pavilion were two middle-age men. They were, you know, spying on, you know …
Would you believe it? Naïve me actually approached one of the older guys as he tiptoed away. I even ASKED him what he was doing, rather loudly, and continued to stare despite him looking supremely aghast.
…
He didn’t assault me. Instead, he spat, “Looking at you LAH!” in Mandarin. Before storming away.
… Oh foolish me. And the things I used to do! (I leave it to your imagination whether I was really that clueless)
View of Clarke Quay
All pictures were shot with my LG V40.
Read my other Home Tourist photo essays.
