Sunday, August 17, 2008
03:55 by FoxTwo
Image via Wikipedia For the older people among us, we remember the days when we used to dread the journey up to Dempsey Hill, the site of the old CMPB, or Central Manpower Base, to report for our compulsory 2 year stint in the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces).
(Yes, male Singaporeans are required by law to serve 2 years in the army here in Singapore).
We remember the lost looks most of us have on being sent away to an ulu island, for our BMT (Basic Military Training, or "Boot Camp"). The luckier few among us, get to do their BMTs on mainland Singapore up in Yishun (or "Nee Soon" in the old Hokkien dialect).
We remember the waves of goodbye and tears shed by parents and girlfriends as they waved us off to our various locations for BMT.
Tonight, however, we went back to the old CMPB location for a totally different reason - to eat and drink.
The intervening years have transformed the place. The whole place is now something like Holland Village (located not too far away) or Boat Quay. The old buildings have been renovated and now sport restaurants, bistros, pubs and spas.
First stop - Harry's Bar. Now, I have never been to any of the branches of Harry's Bar, and this is my first time in any of them. The place feels nice, but not really cosy. Drinks were ordered and we settled in pretty quickly.
Yeah more pictures of drinks only. Sorry we're pretty camera-shy :) Somehow I can't bring myself to "camwhore" on my blog. You will see lots of pictures but hardly any showing us in embarrassing poses.
The "band" that was playing there was actually very good. Well, more like a one-man band. It was just a single performer, using a host of digital equipment to provide music and entertainment for the pub goers there.
Seriously he is good. Not so much as he can tap the keyboard on the ground with his foot at the right time to bring up the drums or bass, but he is able to croon tunes of songs with his own style, and yet manage to not mangle the song. Now that is an achievement indeed!
We did notice that the bar next door, Quarubar, was deserted as we walked into Harry's. Later it was revealed to us that the owners of Quarubar were people without scruples, and it was probably why people avoided the place. I will not relate the story here, but suffice to say, it may contain a hint of truth, for people to avoid the place like that.
Anyway, we rounded the night off at a nearby MacDonald's outlet for ice cream.
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03:55 by FoxTwo
Image via Wikipedia For the older people among us, we remember the days when we used to dread the journey up to Dempsey Hill, the site of the old CMPB, or Central Manpower Base, to report for our compulsory 2 year stint in the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces).(Yes, male Singaporeans are required by law to serve 2 years in the army here in Singapore).
We remember the lost looks most of us have on being sent away to an ulu island, for our BMT (Basic Military Training, or "Boot Camp"). The luckier few among us, get to do their BMTs on mainland Singapore up in Yishun (or "Nee Soon" in the old Hokkien dialect).
We remember the waves of goodbye and tears shed by parents and girlfriends as they waved us off to our various locations for BMT.
Tonight, however, we went back to the old CMPB location for a totally different reason - to eat and drink.
The intervening years have transformed the place. The whole place is now something like Holland Village (located not too far away) or Boat Quay. The old buildings have been renovated and now sport restaurants, bistros, pubs and spas.
First stop - Harry's Bar. Now, I have never been to any of the branches of Harry's Bar, and this is my first time in any of them. The place feels nice, but not really cosy. Drinks were ordered and we settled in pretty quickly.
Yeah more pictures of drinks only. Sorry we're pretty camera-shy :) Somehow I can't bring myself to "camwhore" on my blog. You will see lots of pictures but hardly any showing us in embarrassing poses.
The "band" that was playing there was actually very good. Well, more like a one-man band. It was just a single performer, using a host of digital equipment to provide music and entertainment for the pub goers there.
Seriously he is good. Not so much as he can tap the keyboard on the ground with his foot at the right time to bring up the drums or bass, but he is able to croon tunes of songs with his own style, and yet manage to not mangle the song. Now that is an achievement indeed!
We did notice that the bar next door, Quarubar, was deserted as we walked into Harry's. Later it was revealed to us that the owners of Quarubar were people without scruples, and it was probably why people avoided the place. I will not relate the story here, but suffice to say, it may contain a hint of truth, for people to avoid the place like that.
Anyway, we rounded the night off at a nearby MacDonald's outlet for ice cream.
