Sightseeing: Geylang and Katong

I needed a break from work, and took leave to sightsee parts of Singapore. Eastcoastlife very graciously and generously made time out to show me about various parts of Geylang and the Katong.

Along the way, before the start of the journey, I took a photo of the ixora (a flower) that I had seen near our meeting place. I have found the red hue of the flower to be very attractive against the bright sunlight of the tropics.

She showed me the places to get crispy roast pork and roast duck, as well as a place where the professional cooks would get their sauces and condiments from. This information may come in handy one day.

I was attracted to the architectural designs of some of the shophouses that we saw along the way. For myself who lives in a flat, a tour about Geylang was refreshing for I was treated to shophouses of various designs. A number of the shophouses in the area were built before the second World War.





We also saw a lot of red lanterns in the Geylang area. I could not figure out why one shop which worships the God of Fortune has a lot of red lanterns all around its perimeter. Eastcoastlife said that it could be to attract the attention of passerbys. That sounded very probable.

Eastcoastlife pointed me to the 'cool noodles' which was prepared like a salad. I was told that in China, this dish is a common street-food. Unfortunately, the 'cool noodles' that we had was not the authentic 'cool noodles'. The authentic version should be translucent. Neverthless, at least I have a glimpse to one of the street-food commonly found in China.





Much later, when we were at Katong area, I could not help but take photos of the former Grand Hotel. It looked more deserted-looking than when I saw it about more than a year ago on my walk-about the Katong area. Anyway, I was drawn to its isolated, worn-out and yet majestic front. Hopefully my snapshot below has captured my reactions to the Grand Hotel.





For the remaining part of our adventures about the Katong area and our lovely lunch at Kim Choo Kueh Chang - Restaurant / Gallery, I shall not blog in this post. I am hoping to write a post about my sightings that are related to the Peranakan culture in another post. Please stay tuned for the updates.





Over lunch, Eastcoastlife filled me in with information about the funding support for training offered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA). For Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents who are looking for subsidies for training programmes to improve their employability and enhance their skills, it is worth the time to look at the various services and programmes offered by WDA.

My heartfelt appreciation to Eastcoastlife for showing me about the Geylang and Katong area. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me. It was a memorable day of sightseeing. Thank you Eastcoastlife.


(Also see Eastcoastlife's posts: Things to do in a red-light district, Sichuan Cool Noodles.)