My House Then and Now

I've read about many people saying about "the good old days" so I thought I would write about the old days and compare them to the things we have now.  

This series of posts is not meant to offend anyone.  It is solely based on my own experiences and perspectives.  

I used to stay in a shophouse in a rural part of Singapore in my childhood years. The roof was made of some kind of metal (called "sa li" in Teochew, not sure of the English name). On rainy days, there would be water leaking through the roof into the house. At night, I could hear the neighbours' dogs barking and cats crawling on the rooftop.

Being in a rural area also meant there were very few bus services. There were only 2 bus services available and you could wait for more than half an hour to 1 hour during non-peak periods. We also encountered frequent blackouts.

Even though we had our own bathroom and toilet in the house (unlike those shown in the TV drama "甘榜情" whereby they had to walk a distance to the common toilet and bathroom), we would still need an umbrella to go to the toilet on rainy days. There was no sheltered walkway from our house to our toilet and bathroom. Our toilet was not the flushing type so someone had to come to the back of our house periodically to clear the manure. Can you imagine doing your "business" halfway and someone pulled the bucket away to clear the manure? Life was such then and this was in the early 1980s.

Now, I stay in a HDB flat in almost the same part of Singapore. This place has developed a lot. I can walk from my flat to the MRT station in about 15 minutes.  There's no water leaking problem from my flat's roof. Hygiene conditions and the overall environment are much better now. I no longer have to wait so long for buses and there are many bus services at the main road to different parts of Singapore. Don't forget the MRT line that goes straight to Singapore's shopping district, Orchard Road. So far, we have only encountered one blackout in June 2004 which also affected many other parts of Singapore.

All HDB flats that are 3 rooms and above have 2 toilets. Waste matter can be flushed down the drain with the press of a button. All of the waste matter is eventually recycled, even the water.

Although I do reminisce a bit about the past, I do not miss it, especially when I think about the above. The good old days? Well, doesn't seem all that good to me.