Discovery walk of old Singapore - Beyond the West

Sunset, June, 1991

Discovery walk of old Singapore Perched high on the skeletal crowns of new hotels, offices, and apartments, construction cranes have been a part of Singapore's skyline for so long that local critics of government redevelopment nominated it for the national bird.

But in 1987, as Singapore's overheated growth began to cool and tourism started to level, the Urban Redevelopment Authority launched a belated effort to save what was left of the city's historic and cultural center. While some important buildings and cultural sites have been lost to new construction or, in the case of Chinatown's street markets, basic sanitation requirements, a surprising number of the city's older buildings and neighborhoods still retain their original, somewhat dilapidated charm.

You can easily see the first completed projects in three of Singapore's seven historic districts on a walk through the city's oldest, most colorful neighborhood: Chinatown. The walk itself takes less than an hour, but you'll want to allow plenty of time for shopping, exploring, lunch, and a visit to Empress Place, an outstanding new museum of art and culture.

Start by taking a taxi to Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, the Sri Mariamman (1 on map, below left), built around 1843; it's also a dependable place to get a taxi if you need one. Singapore is 75 percent Chinese, but it also has a significant Hindu community. The temple is dedicated to Shiva's wife. Prayers are offered at 7, noon, 6, and 9.

Turn right down Temple Street and window-shop for porcelains as you munch on a strip of sweet roasted pork from Bee Chun Heng (2). At Trengganu Street, go right a few buildings to see how the restored houses (3 on map; numbers 12 and 14 Trengganu Street) blend into the old street. At the corner medicine shop (4; number 16), Eric will give you a 5-minute head massage for the price of a $3 jar of Tiger Balm ointment.

Continue along Trengganu Street past the kite shops (5) to the corner of Smith Street and the new Chinatown Complex (6), where open market food stalls and street vendors were relocated in 1985.

While not as photogenic as the old street stalls, the wet market in the basement--with its fresh produce, meat, fish, and flowers--still offers a cacophony of sounds, sights, and smells.

On the second floor, you can assuage sensory overload with fresh fruit or a juice drink (try star fruit with pineapple) served "to go" in a plastic bag with straw. From he end of Trengganu Street, walk down Sago Street (whose east side is under construction) to South Bridge Road. Turning right, you'll see the triangular apex of the 1903 Jinriksha Station (7) at the corner where South Bridge, Tanjong Pagar, and Maxwell roads converge.

The classical detailing and lantern tower of the old rickshaw station mark one entrance to the Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area. The major restoration efforts here are devoted to the traditional shophouses, where families live above a street-level business.

Most of the area is still a wasteland of abandoned or gutted buildings, but the first phase of reconstruction along Tanjong Pagar Road is worth a quick look. The newness of the just-completed buildings gives somewhat of a "cooky-cutter" repetitiveness along the streetfront, and offices and art galleries seem to be replacing upstairs residences in the buildings. But the original structures were preserved where possible, or else carefully reconstructed.

Backtrack on South Bridge Road, turn right on Ann Siang Road, and stop in Chop Yick Sang Bean Curd restaurant (8) at street number 7 for a noodle lunch or a cool glass of fresh soy milk; then backtrack and go right down Club Street. Doors are often left open; peek in for a glimpse of singaporean family life or of the action at the local social clubs.

Dodging Cross Street traffic, continue slowly down unrestored China Street. Here you'll see a fascinating collection of shops. On the left corner (9), the noodle shop at number 38 has stacks of spring-roll skins being shaped and fried most mornings (ask to see fresh noodles being boiled in the back). The medicine shop (10) at number 26 has old wall drawers; at number 57 (11), you can buy peanut brittle and cookies.

Some of Chinatown's oldest shops are in the bottom third of the street. Ban Poh Guan (12), a wine shop at number 6, has cracked marble tables and wooden counters where you can drink a medicinal glass of lizard wine for $4.

Across Church Street, cut down modern Synagogue Street and cross N. Canal Road to an old shop at number 2(13) that specializes in dried fish. You can buy shark's fin or sea cucumber, but Mr. Low, the 81-year-old proprietor, swears by the healthful properties of his specialty--dried bird's nest--at $2,000 a kilo.

Turn down the alley next to number 3, then follow Canton Street a short block to Boat Quay, edging the Singapore River. Just 15 years ago, this was a bustling harbor jammed with brightly painted bumboats. Today the boats are gone and the old shophouses fronting the quay are slated for restoration similar to Tanjong Pagar's.