So yesterday I decided to head for Pandan Gardens for a change. Pandan Gardens is not another city for sure, nor is it a garden; it is an old residential estate where I once lived in for about 7 to 8 years before moving to another residential estate closer to the centre of Singapore, then a newly constructed land area.
Pandan Gardens is located in the south west of Singapore (district no. 5 in this map). It is one such place and one such period of time in my life where - I believe I could only NOW proudly admit that - I had the best times of my childhood years ever (some photographs attached ��� check them out).
Pandan Gardens though was not the first place I grew up in. Since I was born, I was living somewhere in the city with my grandparents and uncles and aunts, or 'extended family' to be concise (photo left). I lived my toddler hood in the city with them and 2 years later (I think), my family moved to Pandan Gardens where I lived there all the way until I was 9 before we moved again.
So yesterday I had a look at the flat I was living in. I went up to the 12th storey of Block 411 not only to have a look at the view of the area from there but also to get as close as possible to the doorstep of the unit I was staying in last time. I must say it was quite thrilling to be standing close to the current tenants' doorstep as I tried hard to sneak a look at the door to see if it was left ajar.
Being back in Pandan Gardens reminded me of my life as a kid. And it is amazing to know how much I have grown up. Being back there too brought about pictures created in my mind of me running around that neighborhood, making so many friends, and at the same time getting scolded by my fierce and ever-worried mother every so often! But if only I could see little Marinah now, I would probably let her know that life is good now and that she shouldn't worry about any thing ever.
Anyhow I've got some old collection of pictures of us at our Pandan Gardens home posted here, so I had better describe them. The 1st pic above is probably the latest of all three posted here. It is a pic of the 4 of us in the living room of the unit. I am the one behind the baby. The 2nd pic has got only three of us - Hasan wasn't born yet at that time - all at the door; pic taken from inside the unit. The 3rd pic shows mum standing at the corridor outside the unit with Murni overlooking the Pandan Reservoir. The corridor is also one which I went up to yesterday, to have a look around.
So yesterday, apart from checking out the 12th storey of that flat, I also checked out the surrounding features of the neighborhood - the swimming complex, the community centre, the car park, the bus stops, the reservoir and the shops. And guess what? They are all still around and are just the same as how they used to be about 18 years ago when my family and I left the place. And yesterday too, as I walked past some shops, I stopped by my favorite bakery and got myself my ever-preferred Pandan cream bread. Mmm...Yummy! It too tasted just the same as before.
Yesterday, my journey back to Pandan Gardens was all entirely awesome. Perhaps I should go there more often and get some snapshots of the neighborhood before changes or developments start taking place in that estate.
[map reference Singapore Property Listing, Available [Online]: http://www.singaporepropertylisting.com/singapore_district_map.htm
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