After settling in at the hotel I walked over to Victoria Street, past the National Heritage Board building pictured below and caught a number 2 bus down to Eu Tong Sen Street, alighted in Chinatown, and went for a walk to my favourite eating haunt. I used the integrated electronic ticketing system that one can use with the trains and buses here in Singapore. If only they could get it to work in Sydney.

Shao Ping and I used often ate at the Tai Pei Eating House in Trengannu Street. My meal was predictable. The staff know what I will order. I always have the hot plate beef with ginger and some vegetables plus a little chilli sauce. And steamed rice. And a glass of beer. I followed that with home-made ice lemon tea.

Singapore is constantly changing. I would not be surprised if Singapore forms part of the definition for change in the Oxford dictionary. As I walked through Chinatown I noticed that the Housing Development Board flats were being upgraded. Lift wells that serviced every floor were being retrofitted to the structure. Prior to that the elevators stopped at every sixth floor. A resident that lived on the 8th floor, for example, would alight at the 6th floor and climb the stairwell to the 8th floor. Compare the photograph of the block below with this one taken in 2003 and this earlier view from 2000.

I went for a walk around Chinatown after dinner. I noticed that the Hong Lim Housing Development Board flats had also been given a fresh coat of paint. That is the third upgrade I had witnessed for these flats during the last three years. Some of earlier photographs of the same area taken in 2000 can be seen here.

I kept walking and taking more photographs as I had done in 2000. The old building on the corner of Ann Siang Road and Club Street has been renovated. It had been in a sad state back in 2000.

During my stay in Singapore I had taken many photographs around the Chinatown area documenting the change, the people and the events. These photographs area available in these galleries: Chinatown Scenes 2003, Chinese New Year 2003, Singapore Visit April 17th 2005 and the View from Chinatown 2000.