This is a 2nd part of my earlier blog post - A Happening afternoon. I readily admit that i have not gotten a chance to visit a kampong (a malay name for village), much less live in one. Therefore, i decided to visit Kampong Buangkok yesterday afternoon to relish the chance. It is the last standing kampong which still exist in Singapore. It’s a place which might vanish off the face of Singapore, anytime the government decides to do something else with that small piece of land. It certainly felt surreal walking through the kampong, especially in the context of what Singapore has become. I feel all of us should visit this kampong while it's still alive, it will be something once lost never to be able to recover. It won't be surprising that in the future kampong will be forgotten as what it was many years ago, who knows the word "kampong" might even "extinct". I can only take a trip down to memory lane at Lorong Buangkok to experience the simplicity of life and all. It's a different world, a different kind of lifestyle - one that's simple and of a slower pace, that we, city dwellers often have forgotten or overlooked. Main entrance leading into the kampong. Back in the days, living in Singapore meant village life. Kampong Buangkok was just one of the dime a dozen villages scattered throughout the island.
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This is a 3rd and last part on my earlier blog post - A relaxing evening. After taking a break from the photography session at the kampong in the sunny afternoon, i settled down to catch a movie in the evening to end my happy day. This is a new Japanese movie titled "My Patisserie a.k.a Patisserie Coin de Rue 辛福洋果子" starring famous actor, Yosuke Eguchi, popularly known as 江口洋介. This movie screens exclusively only at GV Vivocity, therefore i travelled from north to south just to watch this much anticipated movie. Indeed, this movie did not disappoint me and in fact, it was such a meaningful show that i can't help to ponder on some thoughts after the show. This story is about 江口洋介 who was once widely lauded as a legendary pastry chef but some years ago he inexplicably left the field. Since that, he has lectured at culinary schools and wrote a guidebook for pastry critics. He later meets a young girl who aspires to be a potentially professional maker of pastries. Her determination to strive somehow managed to move 江口洋介 and he decides to move on from despair and take on a new challenge in the pastry making world. This film is a visual delight, every bit as tasty as the cakes / pastries and deserts shown on screen. This is a story about passion and grief. We build our lives around people. Even though they may not be who we think they are or they leave us unexpectedly, they give our lives purpose and meaning. So how do we react when they are no longer there? We could just run away and hope the world never bother us again. Or we can fight. It is really a delicate affair, matching desolation with an obsessional desire to be the best you can be in your chosen profession. This movie is about the people and their relationships. How customers’ lives interact with the shop, how an outsider can provoke change, how new lives can emerge from the old when people work together. This movie is not a sentimental romance. It reaches an ending that feels right in all the circumstances. Life will go on. It will not be the same. Hopefully, it will be better than before.
You may not understand or agree fully on the above, well, all i can say, go & watch this movie. You'll know what i mean. "My Patisserie" is not a movie to be missed - sadly, i can't have samples of the cakes served as i watched the film to perfect my enjoyment. :-) What a fun day yesterday was. I had a pre-birthday celebration with great friends in the morning, followed by a photography shoot at a local Kampong Village and lastly watched a Japanese movie in the evening. Yesterday was all about doing simple things in life that makes me happy and this is definitely the kind of quality life that i am currently leading and hope to spread it around.
My blog post on yesterday shall start from this first - A morning brunch.... My birthday is not till early September but Sijie got a small group of friends together to go celebrate my birthday yesterday. There is no doubt that a birthday celebration with close friends is always being felt warmth, cosy and is appreciated. Unlike a lot of the later milestone birthdays, most people prefer to celebrate their birthday as if it is the first milestone birthday party of adult life. As you grow older, you'll probably want to approach it as it's like your 21st. All birthdays are special, but some are more special than others. For adults, these are the milestone birthdays - the ones that make you feel the passage of time. They arrive when it's time for the human body odometer to turn over to the next decade 30, 40, 50 etc. A photo can tell a 1,000 words. I guess the pictures below will depict the fun times that i had with my friends yesterday over morning brunch !! I went to the calm and serenity of the once bustling Lim Chu Kang Jetty, one of the last few wooden jetties remaining in Singapore which currently serves as the docking place for the offshore fishing kelongs (villages built on stilts) and aquafarms. This jetty is more for offshore kelongs with fishing traps and several fish farms to transfer caged culture fish to lorries on the mainland.
It is actually a good place to relax at dusk by walking along the fishing jetty. You can enjoy the tranquil sea breeze and watch a spectacular sunset, or the fishermen returning with their catch. Before arrival, i have framed images in my mind of i want to take based on what i know about this place. A sunset in the background, one or two fishermen in their boats and maybe some interesting subjects in the foreground. I was hoping that all things will align themselves for my photo shoot at the jetty. The whole experience turned out to be more than just photographic rewarding, and also a discovery about the daily simple, laid-back and fulfilling life of a fisherman. It is so different from what i have been leading as a city dweller's. |
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