Singapore's Carpark Wardens Through The Years - By Peter Chan

Scene 1:
Woman claims she parked at 1.10pm. URA car park warden, Ms. Kamsiah bte Wang claims woman parked at 12.51pm. The woman appeals against fine for the second time, claiming her watch is accurate. She decides to appeal (as a matter of principle and not because of the $30 fine) to the URA “relevant authorities”, only to receive a flat rejection letter. Will she go to Subordinate Court #26?

Scene 2:
A motorist considers it a waste of money to use a 50-cent parking coupon and leaves his car at the kerbside. He claims he can see his car and since everybody else is also doing the same, should be no problem. He goes into the kopitiam for that famous Bak Chor Mee and cuppa of coffee. Then all hell breaks loose as someone loudly screams, “Mata lai lor! Kah pak liak! Chut Saman! You see men (and women) dashing off to their cars leaving their bowls of Bak Chor Mee half eaten.

Singapore is a really “fine” city because we Pay And Pay. We have fines for all kinds of offenses, including a fine for paying a fine late. I guess we need fines to maintain discipline otherwise how could Singapore have got to where it is today? But who is that “Chenghu” (Hokkien for the authority) on the street? It is none other than our URA parking warden whose duty has somewhat changed over the decades.

Photo 1: Left; lonely warden writing on her booklet. A Hock Lee Bus passing by the public car park (circa 1967). Right; two wardens needing to rest their tired bodies against the cars. Notice a lorry double-parking “waiting” for a car park lot (circa 1972).

In the 1960s, the car park warden was responsible for issuing tickets to motorists in public car parks and at kerbside parking. Wearing one of those “Chinese funeral type” straw hats, she could be easily recognized by any motorist.

She had in one hand, a booklet of parking tickets, a stiff cardboard to provide hard support and to prevent writing through the carbon paper. She did not have the non-carbonized paper type but the Pelikan brand which came in black ink. The carbon paper was trimmed to the size of the booklet and inserted between the original parking and the duplicate parking tickets.

The entire process of issuing a parking ticket and making a payment was simple. After a motorist pulled into a parking lot, she walked towards him and asked how long he would be parking. The motorist was given the original ticket whilst the parking warden kept the duplicate. Payment received would be kept it in one of her safari jacket-pockets whilst the small change was kept in the other jacket-pocket. If a motorist exceeded his parking time, he was issued with a pink ticket neatly tucked under the windscreen wiper. All he now needed to do was to walk up to her and make the additional payments. The car park warden checked the time the pink ticket was issued and the time on her wrist watch. Mentally working out the duration, she would tell him the right amount to pay.

A fine occurred when the motorist drove off. The URA sent out letters of demand within 2 weeks from the date of the offence - stating the fine, the amount for the exceeded time and due date for payment. The first letter of demand was in white and the final warning letter was in pink. When the motorist chose to ignore, a visit to the courts was not unusual. You don’t need to guess how come I knew so much. In court, you see a long line of traffic offenders in a queue, each person waiting for the prosecutor to call his or her name to stand before the magistrate. When I pleaded guilty (always a smart thing to do instead of raising your hands or displaying a “boh chap” attitude because this adds to the cost) the compounded fine was S$50/.

Photo 2: Left; One display method (circa 1980), Middle; Parking coupon + computerized fine (circa 2009), Right; Car Park Warden speaks: “Madam I already key into computer. You not happy, you can always write in. I am only doing my work.” Then Madam speaks: “Chi kuan a lang bor tow lor….wah buay tahan. Gor a ji tu buay sai……”

One thing good about yesterday’s parking. You doubled-park your vehicle against a double-white line and wait; allowing your passenger to do errands such as running into the bank to make a deposit or to deliver goods. Surely these errands could take up to 30 minutes but the car park warden never chased you away. You could block other motorists also but as long you move your vehicle, it was alright. All kinds of reasons not to pay were accepted by the car park wardens. Maybe people in the past were more reasonable and forgiving. Try doing the same thing today in front of the Bank of China Building on Battery Road. Did you see in the rear mirror someone taking out his “Weapon of Mass Destruction”?

Things changed with the introduction of self-ticketing parking coupons in 1980, the HDB joining URA later that year. In 1980 there were 658 URA car park wardens employed. When the self-ticketing system was introduced, car park warden duties were changed to enforcement duties at the car parks. They imposed surcharges on the spot when motorists display invalid coupons. The surcharge was four times 40 cents parking if it lapsed within one hour, when more than an hour an additional $10 was imposed.

By this time, URA created a special “Hit Squad”. Enforcement wardens on scooters were sent out to keep a look-out for motorists who did not display valid car park coupons, tampering with the coupons (folding backwards without tearing away the tabs) or cheating on the starting time.

Photo 3: The law on wheels; yesterday and today

I observed that with the implementation of self-ticketing parking coupons, city parking charges went up even faster than before. Consider that in 1965 it was just 20 cents for one-hour, then it became 40 cents for one hour in 1974, 50 cents for one hour in 1980, 60 cents for half-hour in 1985, and now $2.00 for one hour. There were all sorts of variations as shown in Photo 4 that can be very confusing for motorists. Fines also escalated to newer heights.

Photo 4: Motorist woes, government happiness. Left - Early 1970s; Middle - Late 1980s; Right - Today

With coupon parking and Cashcards, it has lead to the demise of the once popular URA car park warden. Now we have the CERTIS-CISCO carpark wardens but they belong to the “Hit Squad”. Thirty meters away, you hear “Vrooom Vrooom, Vrooom”. Then nearer to you, he loudly beeps the scooter horns. You can’t pretend you didn’t see him coming because very soon you see on the driver’s side of the window, a familiar figure in dark glasses starring hard at you. “MOVE!” Sheepishly you crank your engine, move the gears and step on the accelerator. It certainly looks like our car park wardens have “reinvented themselves” so that they can stay relevant in this modern age.

Let's Go Haadyai Again! - By Peter Chan

In the 1970s, when I told friends I was in Haadyai, suddenly all eyes became wide opened and conclusions were quickly made. SEX was the perception. Has it changed since then? Depending on your background, your views may be different from mine but it's probably because we are looking at the same thing in a different way. If I am new to Haadyai, I probably thought the same way as you did but hopefully perceptions can change over time. Surely we all know we live in a world of sin but we don’t have to be sinners.

Photo 1: The 1974 memories are kept alive in my photo album including those of the late Michael Chua who wrote, “Dear big Pete, whenever you look at the photo think of the good times we had together and me.”

Haadyai, isn't it a big farang tourist trap? It was actually a big tourist town from the late 1960s through 2007 for tourists from mainly Malaysia, who were there for the weekend although some Singaporeans did go there. However Haadyai is unlike Phuket, Pattaya or Bangkok’s Patpong because Haadyai was never on the R&R list of U.S. servicemen involved in the Vietnam War; so the influence was never there. While you can find wild crowds of merry Westerners, street bars, katoeys, pole-dancing, lap-dancing, street walkers, and music (that increases in volume as the moon rises), the same cannot be said of Haadyai.

Photo 2: Left – Standing on Niphat Uthit 3 Road. In the background is the present-day Yong Dee Hotel and Yongdee Market. Middle – We’are on the way to the “chicken farm”. Right – The short and taller blocks of Novotel Centera Hotel (circa 2009). The shorter block was the original Sukhontai Hotel. The neon corporate hotel logo faces the Hadyai Junction Railway Station.

My recent trip to Haadyai was more heritage than anything else: of utmost importance was to locate the old Sukhontai Hotel where we stayed, 35 years ago. That day my luck was pretty good. I spoke with a Thai-Chinese money-changer and was told the Sukhontai Hotel (under new management and ownership) is now Novotel Centera Haadyai. I hurried off with my friend but a big surprise awaited me. The single 10-storey block became a part of an even taller tower block with a podium block. I was very happy on one hand and confused on the other. I could not figure out some of the old photos with the street names and nearby buildings. Once my orientation became better, nostalgic memories came back: our Minute steak at the Morakat (the popular Sukhontai coffee house), BBQ seafood, cha-cha-cha dancing, our first experience with fiery hot Thai chili padis, Mohan Rao’s hand trapped between the elevator doors, and not forgetting the night life in Haadyai. What night life?

We got educated about “chicken farms” and what was available as an after-dinner treat. We probably pissed-off the bell-hop (who acted as a sort of go-between) after visiting the “chicken farm” on the outskirts of Haadyai town. Despite generous discounts from the opening price of 1,300 bahts or so for an “8pm to 8am companion” our minds were made up. We were not into that kind of excitement. I still can remember the moment our tuk-tuk arrived at the “chicken farm”; a loud whistle brought all the girls together forming a circle as if ready for parade inspection. You won’t find chicks from southern Thailand, the vast majority of the girls selling their bodies (as is usually the case) were from the northeast of Thailand. Why would an 18 year fair-skinned girl do that? We got the standard answer: farmers and families paying off their loans in kind because the rice harvest was poor that year. Then there was the occasional Myanmar girl who was given a Thai nickname “Nok or Phin” - and she looked similar - but you will only discover that if you speak Thai. Generally, the Myanmar girls don't speak any Thai, or speak a very limited amount. “Lah” means he’s from Malaysia. If you hear “Cheap”, that’s from Singapore.

We went to check out a few night spots because we heard so much of their cabarets and unique shows. As these photos show, we soon learnt the "house specialty". Initial bubbling excitement soon became monotonous. We had many questions but few answers. It was easy to deal with the ala Rose Chan performances but suggestive non-stop couple-acts (and more couple to couple acts) and paraphernalia were very mind-boggling. Was it humanly possible to do it? It sure looked a tough way for any (Thai) (wo)man to make a living. Well I thought I found the answers when I had to use the loo - which also doubled up as the backstage changing room.

Photo 3: Left – Can you use your hands? Full suction power to pick up the coin (or suck Singha beer through the straw) and transfer it to another bottle? How could she ever do it? Another entertaining act we saw that night was one of using an artist brush to paint a “Van Gogh”. (Funny thing - Asians, especially couples, like to sit in the front row while Angmohs sit backstall.) Those who sat in front row got a rude surprise. The performer sprayed “water” by bending her knees/body backwards and resting her palms on the floor. Right – In the dark the audience could not make out whether the sexily-clad dancers were real women or "post-ops". Could you tell the difference? I think I might have the answers for both photos.

There has been an effort in the last few years under the leadership of Mayor Prai Pattano to clean the town up. The results can be seen with the new sidewalks and the removal of the overhead electricity cables, but it has gone a little further than that. Ever since the Muslim insurgency problems in the southern provinces flared up, Haadyai's tourist economy had to change. Today you can be forgiven when you mistake Haadyai for a Malaysian town because out in the open, many Thai Muslims and Thai Muslims of Malay origin are wearing the tudung.

Photo 4: Left – Everywhere you go, you find this new Haadyai cultural landscape. Right – I tried the “Korek Telinga” service at 50 bahts. Everywhere I went, I found foot massage services.

Before rushing off to catch the last train back to Padang Besar, we found time for one “last fling”. We headed for the spa because we know that in Singapore, a spa treatment can run into hundreds of dollars and you had to reluctantly purchase a package of 10 sessions in order to get the best deal. Here at the Preuksa Spa (ask for “Toy”), an hour cost me S$20 (S$1 = 23 Baht); in Singapore the equivalent of S$90 at a wellness and spa retreat. Come to think of it, even a doggy in Singapore gets a good body massage, so why can’t I pamper myself?

Photo 5: Doggy gets a massage at Bishan Park (Photo Credit: a Flickr user). Middle – The spa tariff from Peruksa Spa on Niphat Uthit 3 Road (Photo Credit: Ms. “Toy”). Right – One of the treatment rooms at Peruksa Spa. I slept for 3 hours because of the rustic ambience, the soft piano music and lavender-scented body massage.

Personally I am glad I found my old Sukhontai Hotel. When the group holds the reunion at this year’s end, we should have a good program lined up. Where else can you have a bowl of original beef ball kway teow soup for 30 bahts? Tired bodies and Singapore-made stress? I have the answer. Even Mr. Asdang Sukwises, the general manager of Novotel Centera has promised us the hospitality of a lifetime after he heard about how we crossed the Malaysian-Thai border to come to Haadyai 35 years ago. Now, it’s time to sit back and reminisce about Haadyai back in 1974:



In the concluding series, I will tell you more of our return trip through Sadao to Changloon, the nearest Malaysian border town 10km from Thailand.

Pimm's #1 or Pussyfoot?

In this post, Peter Chan describes the night entertainment scene in the 1970s.


How did it all begin?

I think it had to be Mr. Adam Hing’s Christmas Party at his Jalan Buloh Perindu house. Adam Hing was our favorite form teacher and his teacher-wife graciously arranged for a dozen girls from St Nicholas Girls School. I sheepishly took my place in the boys’ row of chairs facing the giggly girls. Minutes ticked without any boy daring to walk across the wide expanse of the living room to ask the girl for a dance even though Mr. Hing selected the best from his extensive collection of singles:

“Sugar Sugar” by the Archies



“Yellow River” by Christie



and “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry



I suppose those hot numbers were not enough to stir interest on a Sunday at 4.00 pm.

Fast forward to 1970 when dancing was preceded by Pimm’s #1 for the guys and Pussyfoot for the girls - two “in” drinks before Bacardi Coke became the rave. This time the girls (more like women) were more exciting. The lights went out, the boys pressed against the girls, the girls were clutching boys in the 1970s version of slow-dancing and French kissing was a must. Things in Singapore were a bit wilder then - rules were meant to be broken - and this might have contributed to our early maturity. The youth sub-culture was very much adult-oriented. We dressed like adults - guys in jersey material shirts with huge 6” collars and 28” bell-bottomed pants. The girls were dressed in elegant evening dresses - Maidenfoam wired bras (to give that big jug look) and stiletto heels from Bibas of London. Guys, if you did not sport long hair nor had a Benson & Hedges cigarette between your lips, you were not the groovy type*. No wonder we could slip pass the bouncers at “Talk of the Town”.

Photo 1: Left - “Talk of the Town” in High Street spread over 3 levels and you needed to climb a spiral staircase to get to the top floors. Right - The PUB at Hotel Malaysia.

Social outings first innocently started with house parties. From house parties it progressed to town for more dancing. “Double dating” was a common practice then. By the time our Senior Cambridge Examination results came out in March the following year, many would have patronized most of the discos in town. One method of minimizing expenses was to take a bus to your date’s house. Then you impressed her mother by calling for a yellow-black taxi to get to the discotheque. You made sure your date was not the “thirsty sort” or else you would burn a hole in your pocket buying her that second drink at $3+ including service tax; first drink @$5++. What’s left was usually good enough to cover for the “after midnight” taxi fare to send her home first and then to your house. This all required careful planning and you made sure you didn’t have to date someone who “lived in the ulu” unless you had “wheels”. Of course you had to make sure your “father’s wheels” was a/c and sporty. No Morris Minor, Benz or Volkswagen Beetle please!

Orchard Road’s nightscape was so different from Clarke Quay or Boat Quay. The entertainment strip began at Hotel Malaysia – The PUB, then GINO’S A-GO-GO on Tanglin Road on the second floor, passing Ming Court Hotel’s BARBARELLA, THE EYE at Cuscaden House and Singapore Hilton’s SPOT SPOT. Was that all? Nope, there was BOILER ROOM at the basement of the Mandarin Hotel and MAXIM’s over at the Cockpit Hotel in Penang Road. The discotheques were complemented by more adult-oriented clubs such as DANNY’S LOUNGE at Wisma Indonesia. EL AMIGO or PINK PUSSYCAT.

CLUB 3-9-2 just across the road from the former Singapore Forum Hotel (now Forum Galleria) offered a different kind of experience – no dancing but a live band to keep pubbers happy. The late Michael Isaac was the lead singer. This was where one learnt a new word: “prostitute”, all because the “USS America” came to town and pretty white boy was doing his bit to support our tourism industry. Such was the height of the popularity that it later spread to Orchard Towers where you found strange women with Adam’s apples and speaking in a low voice at the TOP TEN. MOONSHINE at the Ocean Park Hotel in Katong was located out of town and probably the only seaside discotheque in Singapore. The ambience was vibrant like those you find in Kuta Beach Bali. When festive occasions came, even restaurants were temporarily converted into discos, such as the KELONG at the Cathay Restaurant in the Cathay Building.

Photo 2: The PUB at the former Hotel Malaysia which later became the LONDON SCENE (circa 1971). Hotel Malaysia was sold and renamed the Marco Polo Hotel. The PUB was in the basement level below this bunch of musicians. Where is yours truely?

When business people saw more opportunities, competition spread. More up-market discotheques opened at the Shangri-la Hotel – LOS HORIZON, PETE’S PLACE at the Hyatt (the former bowling alley), the ROOFTOP at the Oberoi Imperial Hotel and KASBAH at the top of the Mandarin Hotel. I am quite sure that KASBAH had an Arabian Night theme for its decor. I was pleasantly surprised that after many decades of inactivity, the previous hotel management of Mandarin Hotel did not tear down the decor until the recent upgrading program at the Meritus Mandarin Hotel.

One hot spot for the “under-20something” was BARBARELLA. It was popular with the Singapore students as well as the Singapore American School and St John’s Comprehensive School expatriate students. BARBARELLA was housed in the now-defunct Devils Bar of the Orchard Parade Hotel. Its interior had a space-age theme with dark blackout curtains for the ceiling to floor windows. Smoochers preferred the “capsules” surrounding the dance floor but no advanced reservations could be taken. One had to queue up early as 8.00 pm which was well before the opening hour. This was the place where “Steven Koh” befriended “Baby G” from the Singapore American School. OMG, the Americans were physically much more matured compared to Asian girls; you never could guess a 15-year-old girl could look like a 19-year-old girl. The British girls were a bit snooty but the American girls were easy-going and less demanding on the wallet. If “Baby G” liked you, you got an invitation to swim at the American Club.

Photo 3: Left – The ROOFTOP at the Imperial Hotel. Middle - Ming Court Hotel’s unique doormen. Right - BARBERALLA Discotheque (circa 1970).

Then the bad news came. It was time when the Singapore Government became harsh with the rapid spread of marijuana, LSD and the keeping of long hair by males. The police were hot on local male youths sporting long hair below the collar and covering the ears. Not surprisingly that on Saturday nights, you could find youths running in different directions down in Orchard Road whenever a police car came along. They confiscated your ICs and detained you at the police station until you got a decent haircut. By 1974, discotheques closed and the entertainment scene shifted to Kuala Lumpur such as the TIN MINE at the KL Hilton.

Photo 4: - Left - Review of jazz singer from the Hyatt Hotel. Right – The Mezzanine Floor at the Mandarin Hotel (circa 1982).

Supper clubs, hotel music lounges and pubs appeared, replacing the discotheques. There were TIARA SUPPER CLUB, NUTMEGS, WEST END CLUB and PEPPERMINT PARK. “Live bands” were replaced by DJs like Brian Richmond who began at the WEST END CLUB at the Goodwood Park Hotel and ended at STUDIO M at the Hotel Merlin.

I wonder how things are today. Honestly I don’t know. “Under-20somethings”, you keen to help? You see, the last time I stepped into a discotheque must have been more than a decade ago at the PITSTOP in Jakarta, or was it JJ MAHONEY in Hong Kong? Hmm, cannot remember; so long ago.

Note:

* - Alfred Dunhill, the cigarette brand, even bought advertising hours on local TV showing a swanky Chelsea discotheque with psychedelic lightings and spotlights beaming to a rotating globe-shaped crystal ball above the dance floor. Guests to discotheques were even handed 45 rpm records of the theme song and a complimentary packet of the cigarette. Such was the power of cigarette brands that in later years, they were sponsors for various international sports.

The "Old Smuggler's Trail"

In this post, Peter Chan describes an epic journey which he made with his friends to Haadyai 35 years ago. All of them had just turned 20 that year. Hmm... Haadyai? Could it be the men's rite of passage to turn them from boys into real men, something which National Service in Singapore had failed to do? Yes, it is the "S" word. However, it is not about sex this time. Read on to find out.

On my way to the Thai Immigration & Customs Checkpoint, I briefly conversed with Anan. After many decades, this would be the first time I was using my “pasar bahasa”. Anan is of ethnic Malay descent but holds Thai nationality**. He makes a living by fetching passengers on his 100cc Honda across the Malaysian-Thai border crossing at Padang Besar, Perlis.

Anan: “Kenapa awak mau datang ke-Padang Besar?”
("Why do you want to come to Padang Besar?")

Me: “O, macham ini-lah. Lebeh 35 tahun dulu, ada enam olang Singapore naik keretapi sampai ke-Padang Besar. Mereka nak pergi Thailand dari Padang Besar…….”
("O, it's like this. More than 35 years ago, there were 6 Singaporeans who boarded a train to Padang Besar. They wanted to go to Thailand from Padang Besar......")

Anan: “Berapa hari di sini? Sekarang nak chari apa? Ini tempat sangat sengep. Semua orang sini chepat tidor”
("How many days you plan to stay here? What are you looking for? This is a very sleepy town. All the people here go to bed early.")

Padang Besar is located at the north western corner of Peninsular Malaysia and happens to be an important border-crossing and rail connection between Malaysia and Thailand. I dare to make this trip after spending 2 years of planning, researching and analyzing the information. The background work faced many shortcomings because I relied on information from backpackers, Malaysians and Thais - people who visited Padang Besar but with very little knowledge of the 1970s era. I even turned to motoring road maps and street directories but none were available on this remote Malaysian town. Literatures from Tourism Malaysia were vague.

The break-though came about three months earlier when an important parcel arrived from England. It contained a 1: 63,360 topographical map of the Padang Besar area prepared under the direction of AD Survey, Far East Land Forces and revised by the Survey Department of Malaya. This excited me because “Survey Department of Malaya” was something I could connect with. Back in the 1980s, I had worked for an American IT vendor which supplied the software mapping package to the Survey Department of Malaysia, now called JUPEM. JUPEM is responsible for land surveying, mapping and aerial photography. Why didn’t I think of this “Malaysian Kawan” right from the start?

Photo 1: Left - Topo map of PD vicinity (circa 1960). The black line across the map is the Butterworth to Bangkok railway track. The old Padang Besar Station is the black rectangular box below “2102”. Center - In the background is the border which is shared between Malaysia and Thailand. In the foreground and right of the track is the old Padang Besar Station which was completed in 1957. The future new railway station would be to the left of the Padang-styled roof. Photo courtesy of Chayaphiwat . Right – The border areas between Malaysia and Thailand were closed between 6pm and 6am as shown by these border security signboards (circa 1970s). This explains our predicament at the Padang Besar Station which housed both the Malaysian and Thai immigration & customs facilities.

The topo map corrected any previous perceptions which I had of the landscape and the relative positioning of prominent landmarks such as the old railway station, the railway siding and the “bukits”. When the topo map was superimposed over Gogglemap, I could see that the entire landscape has radically changed. For example, an important building, the old Padang Besar Station has disappeared to inside the inland KTM Bhd. container-yard. The railway siding is now the roundabout. Some landmarks did not change: the single railway track across the border, the Chinese temple in Pekan Siam, and the highway to Sadao. The new landmarks that appeared included the semi-concrete security fence, a PETRONAS gas station, Bazaar Padang Besar, and of course the new Padang Besar Station - entirely in a new position carved from the former hilly terrain.

So why do I attach so much significance to this trip?

There were six of us who made the trip on July 20, 1974. All of us turned 20 that year and so a trip to Haatyai was meant to be a celebration. Of the six who went, Michael Chua passed away in 2000 due to terminal illness. It was sad to hear of his demise but the spirit has to continue because of a pact we made; that by the time we reach our golden years, we would come back for a reunion and make a commemorative trip for old time sake. You see we all knew that we would part ways after NS. We were also aware that each of us had to pursue a career and possibly even settle down with families. That would have meant we would never “talk shop” or do things like we once did as “young cocks”. Only See Kit and I kept in touch; each time we met he would ask for the others; Rennie Wee, Mohan Raj and Teo Wee Kiang. Thirty-plus years is a very long time and the fear is whether people and places change. So in a way it was my “baby” to make sure our forthcoming commemorative trip at the end of this year will turn out well. Today this trip was a reconnaissance mission. Now I like to share with you on the legacy of this project.

Photo 2: The group of six with the late Michael Chua as the camera man. We stood in front of the newly opened Sukhontai Hotel (now Novotel Centera Haatyai). We travelled with the Nam Ho Travel bags and a shared Samsonite suite-case. Besides the Sukhontai Hotel, the other top-rated hotel in Haatyai at that time was the Montien.

1974

About 8pm we arrived at the Padang Besar Railway Station in a hired taxi from Butterworth. It was certainly the wrong time to come because the Thai and Malaysian immigration counters inside the railway station area were closed for the day and there was no way we could cross the international border nor find hotel accommodation in Padang Besar because it was an “ulu town” (and it has ever been since thy kingdom come). We were dejected until a dark tanned figure appeared and told us he could take us into Thailand the very same evening for a fee of M$10 per person. Anan is the modern version of that dark tanned figure of 1974 except for one major difference. He does it with official approval from the Thai and Malaysian authorities. Unlike foreigners, Anan does not need a passport or show letters to cross the checkpoints. Incidentally, Anan was once a runner fetching people across the border in the 1970s.

It can be very difficult for me to explain the route we got into Thailand. Firstly there was no moon that night and no street lights, secondly no map and thirdly no camera to take any photos; if we did we had no camera-flash. However there was something good which has stood the test of time – our memory.

“Face the Padang Besar Station’s main entrance from the main road, kekanan pusing and chepat jalan 250 meters until you come to a concrete-paved open space. Walk in a 1 o’clock direction and cross a railway track. Belok kanan until 2 o’clock position and walk for 100 meters before reaching a fence with plenty of shrubs and lallang. Get down on all fours and crawl through the hole in the fence. Bediri dan chepat jalan 150 meters, then berhenti.”

How does this look on a map? Let’s examine Fig 1 closely.

Fig 1: My mental map of Padang Besar reinforced by fresh inputs from topo maps and street-level photographs. The orange colour indicates the route taken by us from the railway station through the border fence. Inside Thai territory is the Pekan Siam to Sadao Highway which we traveled to get to Haatyai. This is the same highway which connects to Danok and Batu Kayu Hitam.

After emerging from the other side of the fence, technically we were on Thai territory. The unmistakable sound of the percussion instruments and someone singing “Lol Lol Krathong” was the evidence. It didn’t strike us that we were doing the wrong things because the runner had assured us everything was above board. We thought it wise to organize ourselves just in case something unexpected was to happen. Walking in a section battle formation of “1-Up”, we walked down a narrow track, lallang on one side and trees on the other. The further we walk; the lights in Padang Besar became smaller and dimmer. We came to a wooden hut and waiting for us at the steps was another tanned-looking fellow (only this time he was a fat one) dressed-up in a sarong and white Chinaman singlet. Our runner whispered into his ears and on his signal, we handed-over six Singapore international passports to him with M$10 neatly tucked inside. Our passports were returned to us. There was something unusual about our passports; the passports were not rubber-stamped but carried hand-written signatures and the date of entry. Of course we were suspicious but language difficulties prevented further probing. A short while later a big beige 1960s Chevrolet appeared which took us for a 1.5 hour drive to Haatyai. We did talk about it in the car, whether the endorsements in our passports would be valid on our return trip into Malaysia but the long journey up from Singapore – by train and taxi - simply drained all our energies. That issue was the last thing on our minds. Whilst one or two of us kept awake, the others fell asleep. An hour and the half drive would not be considered long by any standard but in southern Thailand and the only car on the road at this hour of the night did give rise to concerns. What happens if we were kidnapped? Can the Thai driver be trusted – he was always so polite and laughing? He didn’t speak English, we didn’t speak Thai. The only light was the car’s headlights beaming weakly into the dark.

We (honestly) didn’t know that we were on the “Old Smugglers Trail” when we crossed the border. It is only after much reading and getting comments from others that we know what we did 35 years ago. Some commended us on our courage. Smuggling along the Thai-Malaysian border was very rampant in the 1970s, comprising rice, fuel, sugar, fire arms, cigarettes and the vice trade. You can imagine the consequences if we were detained by the authorities or worse still by the smugglers. Beside the smugglers, there were also fear of the Communist Terrorists (CTs) and armed bandits. Today, Malaysian Rangers from the 8th Infantry Bde are deployed on the Malaysian side of the common border because of militant secessionist movements.

2009

Now try and guess where did we enter Thailand in today’s context?

Photo 3: (A) 2.4 meters high border fence beside the railway track. (B) The empty plot of land on the Thai side of the border viewed from a passing train heading into Malaysia. We came through the gap between the two parked trucks and continued walking to the tree on the right. Behind that tree is now a metalled road and a row of 2-storey houses. (C) The view of the parked truck and the border fence from the metalled road. Behind me on my right is the Chinese temple. (D) The road beside the railway track where container trucks enter/leave Thailand for the KTM inland container-yard. This container-truck is heading back into Thailand.

Photo 4: (E) The semi-concrete security fence when it was under construction (2002). Photo courtesy of Jasa Kepada Rakyat Malaysia. On the left of the fence is Malaysia, the building right of the fence belongs to the Thai Immigration & Customs. The “Bukit” in the background is at the spot height of 660 feet. The security fence begins from Wang Kelian in Perlis to Rantau Panjang in Kelantan. (F) The same Thai Immigration & Customs building today. (G) The Maybank branch was the spot where a road led to the old Padang Besar Station.

Photo 5: Left - Anan brought me to this location to see a recently discovered secret “smugglers trail”. Grey colored markings on the rubber trees and tree trunks buried in the sand serve as direction indicators. After its discovery by the Malaysian authorities, this trail was shut-down. What is the clue to this location? Look out for places (along the border) with rubber cultivation. Right – A typical hole in the fence. Notice there is no concrete wall below the fence unlike today’s border fence.

The next time when you visit Padang Besar, look out for those places I have mentioned. Just picture this as a young adult’s adventure which only can happen once a life-time. On the other hand should you think that is inappropriate, try to imagine then as a “Then & Now” thing; i.e. you are into heritage trail stuff. Next time I might consider writing the next episode of our return journey from Sadao (Thailand) to Changloon (Malaysia).

Notes:

** There is a difference between an ethnic Thai Muslim and an ethnic Malay Muslim of Thai nationality.

Further readings:

The Smugglers' Express

Dark Secrets Of Apprenticeship - "Money See Monkey Do" - By Peter Chan

Foreword by Victor Koo

In this post, my friend Peter Chan talks about the oldest profession in the world. Yes, even for this topic, Singapore has its heritage too. And it goes back much more than the 30 years in this true story, I can assure you that. Yet nothing much has changed through the years. Basically, it is a commercial transaction, i.e. money for sex. No prizes for guessing which gender offers what.

Prostitution is legal in Singapore, provided it is licensed. It is probably easier to control and track STIs that way. There is even empirical evidence that sexual crimes are moderated because horny men have an outlet for satisfying their innate carnal desires.

The phrase in the title, “Money See, Monkey Do” is not a typographical error. It is a deliberate play of words by Peter - one party sees the money and then does the monkey trick. It is all mimicking or acting. Little or no feelings involved, usually. Maybe lust on the man’s part. (“Part” here means “role” and not any physical organ, so make no mistake about that.) As for feelings, there are usually none, not even for the men.

Because Peter likes to use Cantonese phrases in his articles (to add colour and authenticity to his masterpieces and not due to his lack of vocabulary, I am sure), I have included a glossary at the end of the article to benefit readers who do not know Cantonese.

I have also included some relevant photos, mostly taken by me while out on a purely photography trip and ahem… not for any other purpose you are imagining.

This article is so good (the one that follows, not the one above) that it deserves a “foreword” just like that in a good book and I have the honour to write it for Peter. And since no one else is willing to host this taboo subject I also have the honour of featuring Peter’s article on this blog. After all, sex is an incidental topic for this blog. But I have to be very careful not to write a foreword longer than the article itself though.

So enjoy reading Peter’s masterpiece:

I am inspired by YG article: How Keong Saik Road developed into a red-light district to shed more light on this taboo subject. Some 30 years ago, I was approached by a fellow University of Singapore undergraduate friend to help with her Sociology Hons. academic thesis. It was a difficult topic considering she was the “kwai” type but I could detect that she carried early indications of a passionate and future social activist.

At that time, her only link with the topic was her cousin who worked as a social escort with a very well-known social escort agency called “My Fair Lady”, whose office was at the old Heeren Building down in Orchard Road. Her cousin ably connected us with a number of people but my friend needed someone to accompany her on those face-to-face interviews and to ask those difficult questions only a man would know better. I had in me plenty of “curious genes”, the sort who wishes to know about the unpublicized. The other reason for helping out was because I was “in-between” jobs as it was a very difficult time for Social Science graduates to find employment. Now I continue the story where YG stopped.

My friend used a simple closed-ended questionnaire; the first-cut I felt would not get us anywhere. She could think of only 5 questions to ask and focused on the social demographics and “Why you want to enter this profession?” I advised her to create plenty of open-ended questions (because we didn’t have any literatures or clues as to what intelligent questions should be asked) in order to produce a good thesis (see I got the makings of a future market researcher. Hehehe). So we headed to places such as Keong Saik Street, Lorong 18 Geylang, the cabarets at Golden Million@Peninsular Hotel, Multi-Storey Carpark and Datuk Rajah@ The Great Eastern Hotel (now Hotel Windsor) - three of the largest known cabarets at that time – and “Top 10” a discotheque at Orchard Tower. We had to finish all interviews by October for her to submit her thesis the following January. We needed a sample size of about 60 respondents. Remember this was the mid-70s and there was a stigma attached to somebody in this trade. It was not easy to obtain tightly held information and my friend knew it too well that ending up with one category of workers could skew the research findings.

Now I know there are 3 categories of sex workers; licensed prostitutes who operate in a fixed geographical area, hostesses in night clubs and escorts who have a main job but occasionally make side incomes when necessary, and street walkers who are not confined to a specific geographical area. There are many things one can talk about but due to space constraint, I confine it to licensed prostitutes.

What was most informative for me was to understand the “period of apprenticeship” and how to make the client happy. Like any other industry, to be a successful worker one had to go through a period of apprenticeship; how short or long that depended on how fast one learned the skills. But there was no such thing as a “stupid worker” who couldn’t learn anything.

The most important skill was personal grooming to make one more “saleable”. First stop was the dressing and a good fashion sense meant wearing low-cut tank-tops, mini-skirts, push-up/wired bras but no jeans. Of course if one had a 36” C cup and a slim waist of less than 25”, you were lucky because body-hugging material (no black colours for dress; black was for panties) would have made you easily stand out from the competition. “Never dress too old or older than your age” was a wise line I recalled from one interview session. One thing though, Brazilian Waxing to remove unsightly hairs was an unheard procedure in the 1970s. Most workers manipulated their skin condition to “fit” the trade. The means of manipulation included maintaining the smoothness of their skin by using good-quality moisturizers and cosmetics; only Asian brands for Asian girls, so brands like POLA Cosmetics and Shiseido were preferred over Max Factor. Not surprising, “pakor foochok” was a favorite dessert consumed by the girls.

“More bang for the Bucks” required the licensed workers to “squeeze the customer dry” on quiet days. How was this achieved? One answer we got: “Prolong the period of foreplay so the customer would take more than twenty minutes to orgasm and had to pay for the additional time block”. Sometimes the worker pretended that a particular customer was her first client for the day. A crucial skill was on the bed itself; often clients paid more than the agreed price because of the perceived satisfaction when she “talked dirty”, comparing and praising the size of the private part, “doing all positions” and faking orgasm. Most times clients could not differentiate between KY cream and natural wetness, according to one respondent.

Supposedly a first-time worker felt shy about handling a male customer, no problem. We were very shocked to know that there were classroom sessions conducted whereby a male “shifu” would demonstrate to all the girls how to make the “shifu” happy. All the girls had hands-on lessons mind you. The lessons taught the correct techniques for BJ, HJ and (powder or oil) body massage. These were paid lessons and cost not less than S$300 per person. As a reward the “shifu” would hand-out red packets to the best performing student.

Learning the “tag-team” (“Tar Mah”) skill was left to the “Ka Cheh” who taught junior during the actual session itself; something like Monkey See Monkey Do or rather, Money See Monkey Do. What is “tag-team” for the uninitiated? It is a threesome where 2 females are booked for one session and the client pays for each person as if he booked for a single sex partner. For example if you booked for a S$150 girl and you ordered two, you ended paying $300 plus tips for a 30 min session and not 60 minutes. In a nutshell, if you have preference for wild fun, get prepared to burn big notes. In a “tag-team”, no coercion is applied to team-up if one of the workers didn’t feel like doing it; so it was down to individual comfort levels and personalities. We were told this was where the juniors pick-up newer skills or remedy their weakness by observing the “Ka Cheh”.

First-time licensed workers had an estimated “value” (price) tagged on them by their agents or pimps. The “value” was predominantly based on perceived attractiveness/age, “shifu inputs” and customer compliments. However workers were also subjected to reviews with most declining in value after one year unless she was a “Hung Pai”. Prices started at S$80, S$100 and S$150 per shot for Chinese girls; high prices commensurate with less than a year of experience, those of West Malaysian origin and those very “pak shuet shuet” from Tanah Ratah, Perak. We knew of one respondent who earned almost S$15,000 a month because she had great credentials from her fellow customers; she was a “Hung Pai”. For those who did very well in the trade, their investments went into purchasing gold jewellery (never diamonds), ladies Rolexes and the rest into FDs.

Licensed workers were more careful over money matters than their counterparts in the health centers who offered illegal services. The former seldom borrow against “future earnings” nor recklessly gambled away their hard-earned savings at Genting Highlands or the race track. Many told of their future plan when they exited the trade. Unfortunately marriage was not in the plans. The thesis found many Malaysian sex workers preferred to establish a beauty salon back home, keeping their dark secrets in Singapore away from other hometown folks. Sometimes, forgetfulness breeds happiness and secrets are best burned with their holders.

Cantonese was the lingua franca of the licensed workers and communicating in a language other than Cantonese was considered disrespectful to the elders and other actors of the industry; .e.g. the drivers who send/pickup the girls from various houses in the lorongs and “Sum Ku” the supervisor of the brothel. The girls in Keong Saik only need to walk from one block to another from their rented rooms in People’s Park.

It was a practice to always tip “Sum Ku” handsomely. Unlike places like Bangkok or Manila where the customer can check out and select the girls “inside the fish bowl”, in Geylang and Keong Saik Street you don’t get to see the “goods”. On some days your favorite girl could be “yau sek” or “chou gan gung” and you are running out of patience waiting. “This is where “Sum Ku” is also so important to the customer because she could visualize the kind of girls most suited to each customer’s taste – you just tell her what kind of action you need, she has a memory bank of which licensed worker can do it. “Sum Ku” could literally roll-out the names of the licensed workers – Betty, Ling Ling or Mimi - and their house telephone numbers to call. After what has been said, is there any truth to a common belief that Cantonese girls make the best mistresses?

Because of the social stigma, the only friends they knew were the people connected with the trade itself. They were united because of their dependency on each other whilst facing cold stares and hostility from others. There was also the dilemma because they live in an Asian society which is conservative, yet at the same time a society that endorses erotic entertainment.

In Singapore, the authorities have de-politicised public debates over the existence of the industry by the enactment of laws. The laws ensure that the industry operates in a confined location sanctioned by the authorities and always under the radar of the anti-vice department. Legalised sex workers need to carry the Yellow Card and undergo regular medical check-up at the Department of STI Control in Kelantan Lane. There are legislations for the protection of women, so there is no evidence that women cannot leave the trade because of bondage, or employing under-aged girls.

Glossary of terms

chou gan gung - doing work, performing another assignment

hung pai - literally “red card”, a very popular girl who is everyone’s favorite

ka cheh - elder sister

kwai - goody-two-shoes type or well-behaved

pak shuet shuet - white as snow (of complexion)

pakor foochok - gingko nuts and dry soya sticks (usually boiled to make a dessert)

shifu - “old master”, someone (usually a man) who is a subject expert

sum ku - “third aunt” (address for an elderly woman)

tar mah - doing a double

yau sek - literally “rest day” or “day-off”. However in this business, it is a commonly used euphemism for the girl who is having “that time of the month”. (Prostitutes do not have official rest days.)

HJ, BJ, KY - Sorry, you have to find out yourself what these acronyms stand for because if you don’t already know, then you are probably too young to know. I can safely tell you that FD stands for Fixed Deposit though.)

STI - This one you should know, whatever your age. It stands for “sexually transmitted infections”. You get it from an infected partner whom you have had sex with. Often the infected person is seen by others as being promiscuous but there are actually innocent victims too.

Further Reading:

1. Singapore’s Growing Sex Trade

2. Secret Singapore

F*ck Fork in the road - Teck Lim Road on the left and Keong Saik Road on the right.

Other legitimate businesses on Keong Saik Road.

But somehow, other businesses on this road always have names or numbers with a sexual connotation. They talk about cocks…

Even hotels…
have numbers…

that are suggestive

Some like No 9 are on the ground floor

No 4 is on the ground floor too but 4B is on the 3rd storey

Don’t pray pray, this old man can still do it. (Climb the stairs that is, what were you thinking?)

I swear this man is innocent. I witnessed him going in to deliver newspaper and he came out in 1 minute. Not a case of premature ejaculation.

Over at Geylang, things seem quiet on a weekday afternoon. But if you look hard enough, you can still find some on-going activity.

A place for lion dance in the day and some other kind of dance at night.

The number 30 is displayed on something that looks like a dice. Perhaps to warn you that this is a dicey activity.

Some "operate in a fixed geographical area" like just a street corner to stand…

While some are mobile…

And can afford life’s little luxuries.

A Business Proposal For Marina Bay - Will It Work?

(This is an article written by my friend Peter Chan.)

"Singapore needs to plan for and invest in our city so as to safeguard our position as a premier place for business and talent. With its waterfront location and availability of unencumbered land, the Downtown at Marina Bay can be Singapore's competitive advantage, providing the opportunity to develop a unique business and financial hub as a seamless extension to the existing CBD (Central Business District)."

Photo 1: Model of the Downtown at Marina Bay

“The planning vision is to develop the area to provide prime office space for global business and financial institutions, complemented by a full range of residential, shopping, dining, and cultural and entertainment activities. Hence, the Downtown at Marina Bay will not be just a place for work but will be a business and financial hub that is integrated with quality housing and recreational and leisure facilities to provide a total live-work-play environment.” URA Vision Statement (2004)

So far, the progress has been very impressive:

Photo 2: Left; Marina Sands Casino, Right; One Raffles Quay, The Sail and Marina Bay Financial Center.

Hmmm…another project, another concrete jungle! How about some rustic charm that beats everything that has been called “entertainment” so far?

Photo 3: Floating Bar & Restaurant in the middle of Marina Bay with transfer service from pick-up points at Clifford Pier, Marina Sands Casino and the Promontory@Marina Boulevard.

Photo 4: Options for Transfer Services; “Quickie Quickie” or “Slow Boat”.

Photo 5: If you happen to lose your way, just look out for these prominent signboards.

Photo 6: On-board the deck is the “watering hole”, there will be space for a bar and a restaurant. Diving is also permitted.

Photo 7: Variety and reasonable prices on food and drinks.

Will this proposal work?

Fighting Spiders (2)

I blogged about fighting spiders here before. Today, I received a comment about fighting spiders on another post from a blogger by the name of Jeremy Lee. His account of fighting spiders is so fascinating and well-written that I could not resist but put it up here as another post.

Thank you for your very informative comments, Jeremy. I hope you don't mind that I am treating you as my guest blogger. Oh by the way, Marcus (your 1-year-old son?) looks so very cute!

Jeremy's comments are as follows:

Ahh spiders,

Used to keep many during my primary school days.

Had so many that I did not have time to feed all of them. So I ended housing them on my father's orchid plants. One male per pot. I stapled the leaves together so that it made instant HDB housing for the spiders, and they would most probably not run away.

The better males I will feed, the rest probably find their own food if I am too busy.

Most spider experts would also at some time or other see their best males go down the drain after too much exposure to the opposite sex. They actually mistake a male for a female! While attempting to court her (errr him!) he might just get badly bitten too.

Best time to catch them sometimes after light rain when they come out for a drink, but the water also makes the leaves stick together and you end up parting a lot of leaves but no spiders in sight.

On dry days, using a thin stick or pencil to prod leaves that looked stuck together is the fastest and safest way to check for nests. When you confirm the leaves are stuck then you take out a plastic bag and put around the leaves and cut the leaves off nicely. Then you go to a flat pavement to check your catch.

Can picture myself in the 70s'as a skinny boy of age 6-7 squatting down and staring up the vegetation hoping to see the shadow of spiders hiding in their nests.

Some people use more crude capture tactics like using clumsy fingers to try and pry open the nest far enough to see if anything is at home. Other just use two hands and cup and grab the nest (sometimes ending up squashing the spider instead and scaring away several others nearby).

Good large male spiders tend to be at the bottom of cluster of vegetation. Due to their alertness, they are also quick in jumping out of the nest on the first sign of threat. Hence going to pavements to check the catch. Newly caught males are very jumpy and you can easily lose it. Hence the nostalgic images of boys running quickly from the vegetation of the school fence with their hands cupped together with trailing bits of vegetation, and then squatting on the pavements nearby or basketball court checking their catch.

Spiders also have the knack of being able to return to their nests after you missed it the first time. So we often go back to the same spot and check the next day. Often a knotted stem serves as a marker for missed catches.

The crudest method of catching spider I have ever witnessed was watching a guy use a panel from a cardboard box and shove it at the base of a bunch of long lalang-like plants and just grab the whole bunch and thrash it against the cardboard... dislodging spiders from their nests and onto the cardboard.

Pandan clusters also tend to have lots of spiders (and mosquitoes).

Newly caught spiders are very jumpy and can easily be lost when they make quick jumps from your hand. One trick is to blow a gust of wind at them. They will instinctively crouch and stop moving. After a few minutes of handling, you can already see the difference. The spider becomes less weary and will just walk among your fingers.

Sometimes if you are alone and trying to spar your spiders, one might just walk too fast for your liking and end up near your neck or head. Best to put the other one down and take the stray one away from your head area. Not a very nice experience to have one run into your ear. The loud sound and the itch will send chills down your spine. Very tempting to just squish the bugger but the mess afterwards might not be a good idea. Just have to find a friend and use a thin stem to chase it back out. But the ordeal during those few minutes will make you more vigilant about not letting one get anywhere near your ear.

It was totally embarrassing the other day when I could not find even one spider to show my kids. I think the pesticides really do their damage. I cannot even find a fighting spider among the type of plants that I used to find them.

Ended up in the car park of Pierce Reservoir determined to show my 5-year-old daughter what a fighting spider is and met another middle-aged man trying to do the same. His son was a bit shy when I asked if he wanted to pit his spider against mine... and us two old-timers ended up fighting spiders.

What took the cake was when an Nparks official came up and told us to release the spiders back. Gave a half-cocked lecture about preserving our heritage.

So remember not to bring back the ants too when you go for picnics in the nature reserves ya!

So Mr Andrew Ngin, are you reading this?