The shophouses in Chinatown bring back many memories, of good and of bad. The elder people will be reminded of the hard times they had when they were living in these shophouses. Here, wars and epidemics caused many residents to die, while others suffer in pain and helplessness.
Today, most of the shophouses in Chinatown have been demolished. But there are others which are still around, and some people are still living in them.
An interview with a resident......
As you are strolling along the stretch of shophouses and you want to know more about them, just ask around and you will get remarkable help from the exceptionally kind people there. The following is my experience:
I met an old Chinese lady, Mrs Chua (aged 76), who was a resident there. I asked her a few questions about the old shophouses there. She was extremely helpful in giving me a detailed explanation and told me about her family background. I was also invited to visit her shophouse which was built some ninety years ago. It had housed her family for four generations. The following is a photo which I took with Mrs Chua and her grand-daughter in the living-room of her shophouse.
This is a photo which I took with Mrs Chua and her grand-daughter in the living-room of her shophouse.
Mrs Chua was very kind to allow me to tour around her house and take a photo of her kitchen which is unique of its own kind.
Like the other war time widows, Mrs Chua lost her husband during the war and had to raise four children alone. She had undergone a lot of hardship in order to keep the shophouse which was her mother's property. Now, all her kids are grown up and have their families, however they are still staying under one roof.
To the GREAT LADY --- Mrs Chua, I pay my highest respect.
