A walk down memory lane

The circular walk around Marina Bay today brought back many memories, mostly to do with the fact that we knew the names of the streets but everything else was so totally different.   However the changes are very exciting. 

We do not actually remember Raffles Hotel when it was beside the sea (we are not that old) but the sea in front of it was being reclaimed so the area was very sandy and of course there were no buildings on the newly reclaimed land.   Beach Road was the final road before the newly reclaimed land.   

The buildings in the picture below did not exist in 1972.      

 These are the buildings on the other side of Marina Bay.   The now financial heart of Singapore.    They have taken the place of old Singapore, which was very messy.    I must admit the streets between the buildings are still as narrow as they used to be.

Tall and very narrow.

Not much light between the buildings.  But there never was anyway.

Reflections! 

 We had an argument about whether the Custom House and the hotel next door existed when we lived here.    The Fullerton Hotel in between Cliffords Pier and The Custom House has now spread and incorporates both buildings.     Collyer Quay which runs along the length of the waterfront, is almost non existent.

Change alley, which is opposite Cliffords Pier, is still there but very subdued.   No longer packed with people and full of sleezy money changers, who promised a better rate than the one you could get from banks.    It was also a place for pickpockets!

Raffles Place, the hub of Singapore, until Robinsons' department store 'accidently' burned down.     There was a subsequent massive rebuilding of the area afterwards.    The small fancy building in the right  forefront of the picture is the entrance to the underground railway network.

Looking towards Elizabeth Walk near the entrance to the Singapore River, with its parkland and old buildings behind it.    The Satay sellers used to set up their business on this parkland.      

When you turn around you see the hotel on Marina Bay Sands, across a new bridge and the bay.   Gone is the open sea.

Looking back towards to the city centre and the entrance to the Singapore River, with the old bridge still there on Fullerton road.     The old Post Office, now a hotel, is to the left of the bridge.

Changes, changes, changes!