tanjong pagar train station, an old dame will resign from her role after july 1 this year. when he was there today, he was surprised to find only a few people were around - instead of hoards of travellers crushing the roofs of the station, during this time of the year. the reason, due to the continuosly rain for the last few days, johor flooded big time, and all train services were stopped after kluang.
he remembered the first time he was in singapore many years ago, as a teenager. stepping out from the tanjong pagar train station, he smelt the novelty around him, in this not-so-strange city of hdb flats. he was quite apprehnsive the at idea of finding the way to his uncle's house. he knew he had to take a bus, a certain bus number, drop at certain place.... and he did as he was told.
he looked around the area for a place 大牌门(big number gate).... asking around.... but nobody knew the place.... it was getting quite late in the evening, around 10pm.... then somebody pointed out to him, the address he showed on the papaer was not 大牌门, rather it was 大牌17 which mean block 17... a typical way of naming the flats in singapore.
now at the same old station, little or no changes over all these years.....
as he was taking photos inside the train boarding platform, a guard showed up. he took his picture. the guard felt offended and angrily demanded, "you, delete immediately!"
he deleted it. he demanded he delete other pictures he took in the platform. he delete one more, and showed him the rest not taken of the platform.
the guard was doing his duty, it seemed. but he wondered why the platform was opened without any guards at the gates, and people were allowed to go in to take pictures...
- people with power acts, but out of sync with necessity.
