Trip - Tiong Bahru Air Raid Shelter

Good Morning Blog,

Today's trip was suggested by one local blogger - Chasing Peaks, HY. She knows that I will love such a trip, and credit to her if I don't know this, I might have missed this opportunity.

So what opportunity was this?

It was Exploring Tiong Bahru hosted by Eventbrite, they have a tour to explore Tiong Bahru's history and Air Raid! Best of all, it's free!

Alright, the fat man was getting ready. I anticipated it would be a group, but as usual, I would wear a top.

Still looked like a weirdo

Took the early train and Thomson line seemed so quiet.

Because most people were just avoiding sharing the same space with me. 😂

Oooo, this was my first time coming to this part of Singapore.

Old vintage-looking houses in Tiong Bahru, which you don't see such architecture these days.

The meeting point was at Tiong Bahru CC

Ah! Finally! Got a chance to meet the legendary Chasing Peak blogger - HY! I learned so much about her urbex journey and she is very supportive and non-judgemental over my humble disgusting blog. Having at least one female reader supporting my blog content is essential. Otherwise, people might perceive my blog as catering exclusively to a specific group. I seek to build confidence and embrace my unique preferences, regardless of mainstream trends. Anyway, today's trip was largely credited to her. Thank you HY!

Participants started to gather and register themselves by the corner.

I spotted a piano here and thought I could play some music but nah. No seat was found.

Gathering time. We were given a pair of free earplugs to enhance our listening experience during the guide's presentation or you can read more here.

The guide explained to us the name of the estate Tiong Bahru 中峇鲁 meant "New Cemetery". Tiong 中 initially used to be 塚 in Hokkien reading (but the Chinese word doesn't have this character and I found it in Japanese), which means "cemetery"; and Bahru is a Malay word, meaning "new". Read more here.

An ironic wall mural depicted the everyday lives of ordinary locals in the past. It was actually how I saw my grandparents and many Singaporeans' living conditions.

I might not have seen a wooden TV like this. Still, these two famous local comic duos - Wang Sa and Yeh Fong, were popular as they appeared on many local TVs and shows, doing slapstick and conversing in many mixed languages like Chinese and Malay, sometimes Singlish (it was not encouraged during that era). During that era, those who could have a TV at home were considerably wealthy; as the show started, the adults and kids who couldn't afford a TV would peep from the window or open their door to allow their neighbours to sit in and watch the show together. What a period of unity and so-called kampung spirit. It was strong. You can read more about the two comic duos here.

This simple cloth curtain, hung over through a metal wire to achieve what it needed to; to cover any nosy passerby.

Typical attire for male Singaporeans - Simple loose shorts and singlet due to hot and humid weather conditions; but most of the time, most guys will be top bare. Usually, they would sit in their favourite spot reading the local newspaper Xin Ming. Notice the head news? It was when LKY breaking news to all Singaporeans about Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965.

I can still remember in the past, most of our houses would have a thick yellow book which we used to find contact numbers and most of the time, it would be used as a platform for anything.

Most walls would hang family portraits and a metal plate of calendar which you need to tear the dates off daily.

One interesting thing about the past Singapore architecture that the guide shared somehow gave me a clearer picture. Sometimes, I wondered why they were built with such an approach? From what I can remember, the sharing from the guide so far; in the past, travelling overseas was rather daydreaming for most people. Hence the architect tried to infuse travelling elements into local buildings to make the locals feel that they are travelling leisurely. So you will see a circular window and curved edges like cruise ships.

From the look of this street, it seemed like a Chinatown street.

Along Tiong Bahru Street, there is this popular temple for the Monkey God. This temple has a very long history since 1938. You can read more here. I should stop explaining because today's focus wasn't on Tiong Bahru.

The sculpture of the dragon seemed inferior to the sculptures from Taiwan.

This was the MAIN highlight of the whole trip - Tiong Bahru Air Raid Shelter!

There are some information boards outside, and good reading material.

Everyone started entering a long passage of bricked wall.

The wall and piping seemed like a rush job.

They have many empty rooms like this.

It looked like a long stretch which led to rooms. Can I have one of the rooms for free?

This seemed like room for storage/ration.

Hmm... Honestly, this place was rather "clean" that you do not know what it was for.

The wall in which people left their inconsiderate art here.

It seemed like this was the only entrance.

Without a headlamp, I doubt I will come alone.

Just look at it! My phone light was not strong enough to light this place up.

(Credit HY) With her strong headlight, I was able to have a couple of shots taken here.

(Credit HY) HY and her friend returned to this place for the second time themselves to explore deeper; and shared these few photos with me.

(Credit HY) The deeper part was flooded. It seemed like someone had placed a few tiles for the path.

(Credit HY) It seemed like it is not safe to explore alone as there was a risk of fallen debris.

(Credit HY) I remembered seeing a rat running across or within the rooms. I could imagine when a lady saw it... Screaming and panic happened.

(Credit HY) Bloated ceiling due to water damage. They quickly exited this place before they locked the door.

I could not believe the air raid was right under these buildings, it hid so well.

Hmm... What a short trip. We could not stay in the air raid too long and I didn't snap many pictures as we moved from place to place. I recalled that I had not finished my Taiwan posts

Last information about this sculpture. It was about a lady dancer sculpted like Merlion.

Overall, I doubt I can come back to the Air Raid Shelter myself as it will be locked to prevent anyone from entering to risk themselves and damaging that place; but I had a great time learning about a place's history - rich in cultural history. You can also sign up for more such guide to know about Singapore historical background with eventbrite.

Jeff