I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself:
What a wonderful world!
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to my self:
What a wonderful world!
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying ‘How do you do.’
They really say: ‘I love you!’
I hear babies crying I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself:
What a wonderful world –
Bob Thiele (using the pseudonym George Douglas) and George David Weiss
Contemporary Boxing Day in many countries is now a shopping holiday associated with after-Christmas sales. And I certainly have no intentions to shop! The origins of this day is based on giving gifts to the less fortunate members of society.
Christmas day lunch was at the Tanglin Club hosted by Leslie & Ivy. This is the first Christmas a Grinch approached me and told us to dampen our merry spirits. Leslie handled the situation tactfully by talking to the manager and the president of the club and we continued with our usual merry makings for & with the next 2 generations 🙂
Many thanks to Leslie & Ivy to gather 4 generations of family get together fun day.
And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more – Dr. Seuss
N(l)ights of the Esplanade, Swissotel The Stamford, Singapore Flyer & River, Merlion, Fullerton Hotel, Cavenagh & Anderson Bridge, and Asian Civilization Museum… but no snow, unlike the USA where storms have caused much delays with traveling both on the East & West Coast.
Let there be light and there was light – Genesis 1:3
Exercise always help when frustrated or stressed. Took the bus bright and early to HarbourFront and started to walk from MarangTrail to MtFaberPk, HendersonWaves, TelokBlangah Hill crossing SIN’s highest pedestrian bridge (above HendersonRd), HilltopWalk, ForestWalk, AlexandraArch, HortPk (gardening hub), CanopyWalk, KentRidgePk and ended at SciencePk. It was hot when not shaded by the trees but was pleasantly surprised to discover that one can be far away from the 4.6 million maddening crowd here. The concrete paths are clean and well marked.
A snake slithered across the path. Strangely enough, I did not jump out of my skin as I thought I would, even tried to take a picture but it disappeared into the jungle by the time I had my camera ready. Spotting it in advance might have helped, but still do not like the creepy feeling when I see them. This is the first one I met in SIN since I left in 1965. 5 TemenggongRd was surrounded by trees and jungle then (still is); now without 5, I can recognize the undernourished rambutan tress where the snakes were and probably still there.
Once bitten by a snake, she is scared all her life at the mere sight of a rope – Chinese Proverb
Problems with computer and printer for the whole weekend resulting in a panic attack. Thanks to the management & staff at Hagley & Hoyle Pte Ltd (a graphic design/advertising company where I worked in 1999), my 2008 Seasonal Greetings (for those who do not have email addresses) are now out in the mail. The contacts for the family email need to be updated and edited, hope to complete by this week. The Christmas presents are in the shops but still have to be bought and packed… if only Abracadabra helps 🙂
How did I manage when the children were younger? At least 6 varieties of home-baked goods, pickled herrings of varieties, the other foods and beverages, clothes for the occasion, shopping & wrapping of gifts, the house & tree to be decorated, and the list goes on… just thinking about it is enough to wear me out nowadays!
With The Omen, I really felt I wasn’t in control. It was panic – Richard Donner
Very sad news of Helen’s passing away on Wed leaving behind her 2 young children (under 14 years), husband, mother and 2 siblings (Albert is one of the 2) & their families. My condolences to Patricia, Kiera, Albert & the Chua & Teo families.
Checked 15uncle out of Mt Elizabeth after his overnight stay for his tests on Wed. Thank you Vincent Chan for a delicious lunch at the Cathy. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra performed an entertaining sing along Christmas concert that evening; it was an opportunity for Yun to experience the Esplanade Concert Hall’s acoustic. Looking at it architecturally, it is rather appropriate for the locals to name it the Durian. We remembered Esplanade as the waterfront just north of the SIN River, where we walked along Queen Elizabeth Walk and ate satay in the 1950s.
Yun flew back to Toronto yesterday and hopefully she will not wait for another 20 years before her next visit. Today is time to clear my accumulated backlog before the arrival of cousin David from Hawaii.
Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life – Albert Einstein
Time flies and the weekend is over. A lively Sat lunch with Leonard, Chuan & family from Kuching; his children are about the same age as my grandchildren… hopefully there will be a number 4 from them too!
Yun & Dika hosted a delightful family Sun lunch. Met up with our 6 aunt LAM Poh Ying, her daughter in law Letty YANG and grandson Justin CHIA. Cousin Robert CHIA was the first of our generation to pass away in 1999.
Mon was a public holiday, Hari Raya Haji. The 0800hrs prayers were loud enough to wake the neighbourhood but it was late compared to Dika’s 0600hrs flight! Jo, Yun & I visited with 4 & 13 aunt LAM Poh Kow & LAM Poh Suen. We paid respects to our grandparents LAM Song Kee & CHAN Swee Ngor at Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng; to my parents LAM Tin Yue & TSANG May Lan at Mandai Crematorium.
Tue- Yun & I were at Mt Elizabeth Hospital with 15 uncle LAM Tin Cheong for his tests. Edith left for Vancouver yesterday morning. The day ended with a pleasant family dinner at my brother Steven. Yun has to pack and hopefully she will manage to fit everything into her suitcase. To have her as family & friend is a blessing…
Chance makes our parents, but choice makes our friends – Jacques Delille
6 Dec 2008 – Temenggong, An Ancient Malay Title of Nobility
#5 Temenggong Rd in the late 1940s. GrandfatherLAM SongKee bought #5 and it was my birthplace & childhood playgrounds until 1965. Today the jungle has overtaken the house whih was demolished in the 1970s?
#5 was demolished after I left SIN; ruins of the gates’ pillars and the undernourished old rumbutan trees echo memories of a dim grandeur era. From the road one can see a sign State Land No Trespassing posted near the fallen pillars where a magnificent villa once stood on the lush slopes. One can still only reached MtFaber by a footpath from TemenggongRd; it is no longer a muddy path, but a paved one with lamp posts. Temenggong&MtFaberRds are the few roads in SIN which have kept their charm&serenity.
Wed 15 Aug 2007, The Straits Times published an article by Jeanette Wang & Lim Wei Chean titled Mt Faber foothills slated to be next lifestyle hot spot. I wrote to provide them and the Heritage Board with historic info of Temenggong Abdul Rahman who made it possible in 1819 for Raffles to establish a British Settlement in SIN; I also expressed my thoughts as to why SIN does not need to slate the next lifestyle hot spot on historic grounds.
March 1823 Raffles arranged for the Temenggong Abdul Rahman who signed the preliminary Treaty with Raffles in 1819 to establish the Settlement and his followers to vacate the village (kampong) at the mouth of the Singapore River and resettle in a new village (Kampong Bahru) in Telok Blangah. This was Singapore’s first urban renewal project.
The Temenggong’s new area stretched from Tanjong Pagar to Telok Blangah and covered approximately 200 acres of land. He built his house here and on his new land he grew spices, fruit and gutta percha. He became prosperous.
The Temenggong’s Istana (palace) was demolished. Later the Batu Shoe Factory occupied the site. The factory no longer exists but has been replaced by other modern buildings. The present Mosque which belongs to theGovernment of Johore (Masjid Kerjaan Johor)was previously a reception hall of the Temenggong’s residence.
Next to the Mosque on a hillock is the Royal Mausoleum; it includes the royal tomb of the Rajah of old Pahang Johore, Rhio and Lingga Empire. Temenggong Abdul Rahman who died in 1825 is also buried there and the various tombstones in the Mausoleum are indicated in a legend placed against a wall.
In front and behind the Mausoleum among numerous other graves is the special bathing area (now covered with dense trees) of Temenggong Abdul Rahman. There was a running stream which flowed from Blangah Hill (Mount Faber) to the bathing enclosure – Dhoraisingam S Samuel.
Honor the spirits, but keep your distance from them – anonymous
1950s: The above picture was taken with the habour view from 5 Temenggong Road. Quite a contrast from the BEFORE to NOW, where the wavily roofs then is now Vivocity with more wavily roofs… at least the wavily remain consistent 🙂
KeppleHabourWharf8 with PulauBlakanMati in the background (B/Wpix from family album) taken from #5TemenggongRd in the late 1940s. Today the view (coloured pix) is blocked by TelokBlangahHouse and the highway; the old godowns/warehouses is now Vivocity with Sentosa in the background.
19Apr2011 – Mapletree Group to launch IPO By Francis Chan
Mapletree Commercial Trust, which owns Vivocity mall and office complexes, will offer about 713 million units priced at 88 cents apiece – PHOTO: VIVOCITY
INVESTORS can now own a piece of Singapore’s largest mall or be landlords to a big American bank and the operator of the world’s second busiest seaport.
This can now happen, after Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) announced Monday that it will raise $893 million in an initial public offering (IPO).
The offer could also potentially rise to $983 million if the over-allotment option of 101.5 million units is exercised in full.
MCT, which owns Vivocity mall and office complexes including the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Harbourfront and PSA Building, will offer about 713 million units priced at 88 cents apiece.
Based on the offer price, trust manager Mapletree Commercial Trust Management has forecast a distribution yield of about 5.7 per cent for next year and 6.2 per cent for 2012.
The public offer for MCT opens tomorrow and closes at 9am on Apr 25. MCT expects to list on the Singapore Exchange two days later on Apr 27.
25Oct2014 – And A Forgotten Reservoir
Since in the area, decided to revisit TemenggongRd.
It saddens me to see the fallen gates which once led to a stately house where I was born in 1950 and lived there until I was 15.
Iron gates at the dead-end of TemenggongRd, and also the 2 caves or rather 1 cave and the other was a big hole, have been sealed and now a white-washed concrete wall.
The foot-path to MtFaber is no more a dirt-path but that has been paved even from the last 2 visits!
BayHotel/50TelokBlangah uses TemenggongRd as their entrance; is the newest addition to the neighbourhood. Some people might mind about staying in a hotel next to the mosque and burial grounds. But of course this is no ordinary burial grounds…
The supervisor at BayHotel kindly let me into one of the unoccupied 10th floor rooms to take some pix.
If #5 still existed, one would be able to see it from this view from one of the 10th floor rooms from the hotel
Ruins of the top gates at #5.
Bottom gates are now completely destroyed, the ruins were there at my other visits, but now completely gone.
View from #5 in the 1940-50s. Today’s view is VivoCity, taken from the 10th floor of the BayHotel, which was the location of a petrol station in the 1950s.
This was what it looked like where BayHotel is now standing. B/W pix credits to my father LAM TinYue (1911-1996)
Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again ― Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca
14Nov2014 – Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim
Wed: bright and early to pay a visit to the mosque, MasjidTemenggongDaengIbrahim. It is the only mosque in SIN managed by the state government of Johor/Malaysia. Originally built in 1890 and named after DaengIbrahim, son of TemenggongAbdulRahman.
History buffs may want to pay a visit to this mosque as the Temenggong’s tomb lies within a small cemetery surrounding the JohorRoyalMosouleum located which now has its own building under construction.
3May2022: edited with this interesting YouTube link tkx to TuahBugis/SarafianSalleh but plx note that Haji Khairizan bin Haji Khair info regarding the remaining pillars to the gate is incorrect. They did NOT belong to the IstanaLama, but were remains from #5Temenggon Rd, my birthplace and where I lived for the first 15yrs of my life.
Coincidentally met up with this night guard and asked him if he had any knowledge of the neighbouring land to the mosque. To my surprise and delight he told me that when he and his friends were kids, they used to help themselves with rambutans from our trees and how the owners of the grounds let loose the dogs to chase them. OMG, I remember just like it was yesterday about those incidents. When we parted ways, he asked if all is forgiven. Told him that there was nothing to forgive as when we were kids, we too helped ourselves to the jumbu fruit trees in the cemetery and exchange was no robbery 🙂
Unfortunately my knowledge of #5TemenggongRd (marked O on this ariel map-tkx to Benny for this map and X on other maps here) is minimum and no one from father’s generation/blue generation had any interest or facts that I can find to go on.
Used to climb down the drain behind the stone-bench in the early 1950s, one of my earliest memory recalled.
Have been told by word of mouth that grandfather LAM SongKee bought #5 from the WONG AhFook’s family. When? When was this house build?? By the time the LAM family acquired this site, it would have been around the 1940s??? Area of site????
Wong AhFook, Immigrant, Builder and Entrepreneur by LimPuiHuen/Pat, my godsister
Early 1950s – the house where I was born and grew up in from 1940-50s
Later in 1950s – after the wall was built, and I remember watching that stonewall being built in the early 1950s.
The 1950s views of the lower-field with PulauBlakangMati then in the background, Sentosa now.
When the State took over the land, it was supposed to be used for PSA then (so they claimed!). But who knows what they have in mind now? Better with a green densely overgrown jungle than a concrete block or anything concrete. Anyway it was supposedly to be full of spirits as most of the bank staff experienced when they had to attend their annual dinners at #5. Have never experienced or seen any in the 15yrs there! But then according to my grandmother, even the spirits fear me – hahaha.
Much appreciations and thanks to my young hero Chris who accompanied me to #5 and helped to tear off a piece of the cement where the bulb-wire fencing was! So sorry that he got bitten by red-fire-ants. Without him, this journey would have not been! Now a closure to this chapter is possible before the memory fades!
Sunlight through the trees in summer Endless masquerading Like a flower as the dawn is breaking The memory is fading – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats
Inside the densely over-grown jungle and at the lower field. I was a total wimp, fully dressed and sprayed from top to toe, even with gloves and cap! Not about to take any chance in case a snake crosses my path. Tripped a couple of times over the roots but thank goodness nothing broken except the heart 🙁 Disheartening to learn that the house where I was born was deliberately burnt down and destroyed.
The house in the 1950s. The stone-bench was@the upper-field when rockwall was not yet built. This pix is after the rockwall was built and the stone-bench moved to from the upper-field to the same level as the house, must have been around the mid 1950s. Remember father planting trees by the stone-bench after the rockwall was built. Discovered that part of the rockwall by the upper field still stands today.
The wall and I in its heydays 1956! Some parts of this wall still stands and as far as the memory can recall, this end section of the wall ended with a smaller set of stairs which led to rambutan orchard.
1950s view of part of TemenggongRd (by the fence) and the row-houses on TelokBlangahRd, the godowns@Gate8 with a cruiseship. Today’s (2000s) VivoCity with Sentosa in the background.
3May2022:TelokBlangahRd/TemenggongRd with fond childhood memories of the ice-cream-man (can still remember his face up to today!) ringing his bell on his tricycle-ice-cream-cart by the EssoStation. 2000s Habourlights condo, TelokBlangahHouse.
To be edited, hopefully when more lights & pix and factual info are gained…
#5 no longer exist and thus no info can be google or provided anywhere. The only info are my memory which I will be putting in this blog posting and editing when more info or facts turn up. This is a touchy subject as the State took over our family’s land with the min compensation at a time when I was too young to understand!
By words of mouths, ie not sure if these are facts: the State bought over the house and land at min price in the 1970s? claiming to be used for the cable car. PSA also had part of their hands in it. Somehow nothing was done and there were squatters in the house. The house was burnt down and destroyed…
Cousin YatSoon in London asked ‘What has happened to the site?‘ And the only answer I could provide was: the site has been taken over by the State many moons ago. Do not know when the house was destroyed as I left SIN in 1965. Today it is a an overgrown jungle and the only ruins left standing are the one gate pillar and the rock wall by the upper field.
24Feb2015 – saw this fantastic map at the National Library. Will look more into it when time permits.
Updating with more info&pix when they get into my hands as time goes by…
10May2018 – appreciations to the Malaya Heritage in FB and to Tuah Bugis who shared this YouTube. I heard about the IstanaLama Bugis (just learnt the name) when I was a child but unfortunately by the time I could run and play in this area it was no longer. Instead there was a BataShoe factory there and that too is no longer. Now replaced with condos.
Incorrect info the above video – both the pillars to the gate and the rock wall did not belong to the Istana Lama. They were remains from #5.
Edited 16Apr 2019 – grandfather LAM SongKee’s (1889-1950) funeral – is the building in the background part of the Istana Lama??
Mother Tsang MayLan’s (1911-1965) funeral – the roof&building in the backgound was probably the BataShoe factory??
Wed21Feb2024: as pix&research for 5TemenggongRd have now been requested, a reminder again that IstanaLama/TelokBlangah(pix downloaded) are NOT the same buildings! Then Istana(now HabourLightsCondo) was demolished in 1954 and then #5(now still a lovely piece of undisturbed Greenery) was demolished sometime in 1970s.
21Oct2020: many thanks to Singaporean painter YusoffAbdulLatiff of 5TemenggongRd/from family album B/W pix provided by me. The write-up below is from a magazine PASSAGE/Friends of the Museums Singapore – January/February 2021
This stately mansion at 5 Temenggong Road, Singapore was owned by Amy Lam’s grandfather Lam Song Kee, whose brother Lam Ji Chiew founded Kwong Lee Bank in Kuching in 1905. The bank later established branches in Singapore and Malaya. Lam Song Kee bought this mansion from Wong Ah Fook’s family. Wong Ah Fook the builder, entrepreneur and philanthropist was heavily involved in various major construction works in Johor Baru , Singapore and with the Johor royal family. Being close to the Johor royal family, he might have obtained the land, next to the now defunct Istana Telok Blangah, for building this mansion from the Temenggong whose land stretched from Tanjong Pagar to Telok Blangah.
However this property and land was acquired by the government in the early 1970s, at the then minimal acquisition rate, supposedly for the construction of the cable car. Today this land after more than 40 years looks unkempt and still undeveloped, probably because the government planners at that time changed their minds and chose the Harbourfront site instead, for the cable car station for it is more aligned with Sentosa and Mount Faber.
It is a pity that such a magnificent building with a history of it own was torn down and then nothing was done to the land. Similarly the Malay Settlement at Sembawang, established by the British during colonial times was acquired by the government in the 1980s, supposedly for the expansion of Sembawang port, but today, after 40 years the land has become a forest, saved for the isolated kampong mosque. Off course it is the policy of the present government to consider wooden houses as temporary, no matter how well-built they are.
The late prime minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew did express his regret at his decision to demolish his alma mater Raffles Institution (established 1823) in order to build Raffles City, which could have been built on the Marina reclaimed land. A magnificient and historic building or structure, with a great history and heritage behind it, once demolished is lost forever and the country is poorer for it.
Guess the location of this picture in SIN and when & where it was taken from…
MayHALD flew to Shanghai Mon and Thu she heads to OSL. LAM Kah Yun & DikaLAM are in Kuching and thanks to Chuan, I will have a picture of the Kwong Lee Bank Road when Yun & Dike return to SIN on Sat. This is the last month of 2008 and I still cannot find pictures of the first Kwong Lee Bank started by my paternal grandfather LAM Song Kee and his brother.
Thank you Ken TAN & his wife Cynthia for a lovely dinner together with his mom 11 aunt LAM Poh Yue, 15 uncle LAM Tin Cheong and his daughter, Edith LAM (from Vancouver). Colour-coding the names but also including the family names for a more organised system. My father’s generation- 18 of them excluding spouses and those before them were more systematic with the family name first, followed by their generation name and then finally their own name. LAM Tin Yue, LAM being the family name, Tin (males), Poh (females) for their generation and Yue is his name.
In my generation, the paternal side- 35 of us excluding spouses, the names are supposed to be LAM followed by Kwok (males), Su (females). The system got messed up by not following the generation names and adopting western names. Thus, colour coding to differentiate the generations. Must have been out of my mind to want to map out this family tree… would have been easier to walk another long distant trail!
It is quite a jungle where my family tree is concerned – Amy Lam Su Guan
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