Reminiscing... Clementi and Pasir Panjang

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Our day started with beef bee hoon (small noodles about the size of angel hair pasta but harder in texture - they're a Singapore thing that I remembered). Then after a few detours and line-ups to extend our transportation tourist pass, we made our way to Bugis to go shopping at the market there. We enjoyed our time and bought a few little things, and I was delighted to find the Malay sweet I had been looking for but couldn't remember the name of. It was tutu kuah, a coconutty-type thing (not sure what's in it or how to describe it, but it's good!) and it was indeed as yummy as I remember! I also had kiwi juice, and Rhonda had coconut juice straight from the coconut!

Next, it was off to Clementi, my childhood home. We got to the MRT stop and weren't sure if we'd be able to find anything since we saw nothing about the Singapore Polytechnic listed on the bus stops. But we hopped on a bus and, sure enough, two stops later, Rhonda spotted a big "Singapore Polytechnic" sign. At first, I thought we were on the main side of campus and that we'd have to walk a ways to get to the apartments where I used to live. But after just a few steps, we saw a "staff apartments" sign, and, sure enough, there was my apartment! Things had changed. The beautiful hibiscus bushes that were all over the front are gone. There's a kindergarten on the bottom floor now. The "jungle" out back where the security guards used to catch cobras has been replaced by a building. But many things were the same. Ahh, the memories! I remember that the girls I used to play with lived on the first floor on the opposite end. I remember sliding down the hill by the other staff apartments on a piece of cardboard. I remember being bit by a carpenter beetle. I remember throwing snails off of the top floor one night with Joel and some of the older boys (not sure how poor Joel got stuck with little sister tagging along); making baskets and other things with palm branches; talking with Mayim's mom by the playground at the other staff apartments; staying away from our apartment's playground because of killer bees.

We walked through what used to be the "jungle" to take the back way to the dining halls and swimming pools. We found the staff dining hall where I used to eat with my family, but it was closed to the public that night. I stuck my feet in the wading pool where I spent hours as a kid, and then we ate at the student dining hall right beside the pools, which now has a Subway, a Starbucks, and a KFC.

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Photos

I used to slide down this hill on cardboard
... I also remember getting eaten by red ants here once... or at least there were a lot around!

Our apartment... again...
Ok, so maybe this was rude, but I had to look as closely as possible! And Rhonda wouldn't let me knock on the door. So this is as close as we got.

Our apartment building from the back
Everyone hangs laundry outside

Other playground
This was the playground between the other two staff buildings. I played here often with a Finnish girl, Annadora, and two British boys. And I remember sitting in this little area to the left talking with Mayim's mother.

Palm Tree
This would be in what was once the "jungle" behind our apartment.