9.20.2005
The Cake From the Moon

Nicky and I went down to China town last nite. Mooncake festival was on~~ and we were both really excited as the last time we were down in Chinatown armed with our cameras was on Chinese New Year... a couple of years back. I was expecting little ones with a small lantern, lovers hand in hand watching the moon, and Ah-Maas seating around eating mooncakes with the auntie aunties.

As we were reaching our destination, we saw the road closure with policemen - a sign that it's a big event happening... that got me even more excited.. it's been a long time since i've had such an excursion.. just snapping in the crowd.

But no.... sadly, the both of us were pretty taken aback when the street were filled with people watching some stupid 'cannot-make-it' performance, some stupid mother pushing her stupid baby chair in the already impossible to move crowd, and according to nicky, "that's the ugliest Chang'er I've ever seen".

And to add to the lament, we saw less than a handful of kids holding on to a lantern. And most of the lanterns we saw were bastardised electronic ones in the sad shapes of Spiderman and Hello Kitty making awful noises and shitting out bubbles.

The best thing last night? - A terrific dinner at the Food Market. The authentic old skool hawkers selling $2 carrot cake and pork rib rice ( which i waited for too long for! ). And while we were waiting for the food we commented on the way things have changed. How the food market will probably go thru some govt revamping, making it into a stupid air-con food court complete with the bright sign boards and brown trays. As i wrote several posts before, how most of us will never recognise this place that we use to live in. To me, the biggest regret is how my children will never see Chinatown like how chinatown use to be, how the old national library use to look like with the good old S-11 outside, where the merlion use to be, how people took ferries to Ubin from the little ferry point at Changi... etc.. the list goes on.

And how sometimes i find it a really redundant argument when they try say that we have to preserve our culture, and our past, and blah and blah and blah, when they are crashing everything down. A total joke if you ask me.

I makes me angry actually.

Very angry...

| louis at 02:18