Five Stars Refresh Rooms

This morning , my wife and I went for our usual morning walk . The sun was just rising in the East. It was bright and golden . It looked like a big round crimson brass plate just emerging from behind some deep dark interior , shining fiercely across the super structure of a highway that was now in place above Upper Seranggoon Road. We went up the gentle slope , passed a huge bust of Ganesan . Then we went past some low shrubs. I think they were the curry leaves plants. We strolled past the Caltex petrol station . And it is interesting to note that there was a new term for the toilets there - " five stars refresh rooms". They are toilets ! Refresh rooms, not refreshment rooms. See : The word" refresh" has acquired a new usage - an interesting one too . Imagine : If you are new to the English Language . And you associate "refresh" with "refreshment" . What a joke it will be if you are looking for drinks and find yourself in a toilet !

Kampong Days

Practically all the kampongs are now gone. Today ,we live in big blocks of apartments. Our surroundings are getting more beautiful with trees ,shrubs and creepers, planted all over the island. We work very hard , busy hurrying from one block to another in cars ,buses and trains. Some on bicycles as well. Life nowaday is very different from the past . Instead of pirate taxis , we have many companies competing for passengers. Once,we used to race around on bicycles on earthern tracks in our kampong . Now ,we have many who take chances with fast moving vehicles mimicking F-1 racers . The city roads are a danger to many users and often a frustration . I really miss the safety of the kampong tracks .