Taking a trip down nolstagia lane. Literally.

First up - these images are not going to be award-winning images, but fragments of my memory.

There are so many things I had wanted to do, but never really found the time to, especially after my first kid. One of it was visiting the neighbourhoods that I grew up in, or rather, neighbourhood. I have lived in Tampines all my life. Yes, even now that I’m married with a kid.

With the lunar “7th month” around the corner, I found a little window to indulge myself on this little project. Armed with the Kodak Portra 800 film loaded Nikon FM2, and the nifty Fujifilm X100V, I dragged my younger brother along for this.

Taking a bus at 800+. Shot on X100V.

I have always felt strongly for photographs, present or old. People who know me will say that I sound like a broken recorder. I’m still urging people to print out their photographs instead of having them lay dormant in digital form after passing their 1-month mark. Some have precious memories of their loved ones and children on mobile phone storage and lose them the moment they change phones. Yea, talk about ‘convenience’ of mobile phone camera technology. It may seem like a chore, but printing or backing up your photos on the cloud will mean a lot by the time you age. Seriously. Please do it.

Bus rides are so beautiful on film. Shot on Portra 800.

It was photographs that made me wanted to take a trip down memory lane. Because if looking at photographs can invoke memories, I believe that seeing the place in person could make the memories even more vivid. I wanted to feel and look at the places that I grew up with, and capture them when my memory begins to fail me soon. They are precious to me.

Arriving at block 298. Shot on X100V.

When I first bought up the idea to my brother and the cousins that I grew up with, I wasn’t even sure if that was a good idea. What if I couldn’t remember anything interesting? What if it was just a waste of time and I spent hours tiring myself out?

When we arrived at Tampines block 298, the memories started flowing back. It’s not a bad idea after all eh?

I used to love the sound of the bustling Pasar Malam just next to the window here.

We lived on the second floor, and I remembered Pasar Malams were always held just downstairs. You could hear the bustling noise and activity, and smell the aroma of the unhealthy, oily but delicious food. Those days, pirated VCRs and games were standard — the good old days.

Then, I only slept when there was noise. Yes, things have changed 360 since haha.

Used to run up and down this flight of stairs. Way before there were lifts for people on the 2nd floor.

We took some shots of the front of our old home, before turning around to see the neighbours looking at us and wondering what the hell we were doing, snooping around someone else’s home. Yikes.

I also remembered heading downstairs, saying hi to stranger friends and playing football with them. Yes, void deck football FTW.

I had fun playing football here, before they were disallowed. Shot on Portra 800.

We plucked flowers off this bridge to sip the dew. Young and dangerous. Why did we do that? lol. Shot on X100V.

Remembered falling down here on the drain, on a wet day. The drain is no longer there, but has been rebuilt into a roundabout. My brother crossed these dangerous roads by himself when he was very little too, just for some candy. Shot on X100V.

Most schools I know in Tampines have either been closed or renamed/rebranded/merged with other schools because of the dwindling number of young children in the neighbourhood. Wait till the new BTOs are built and ‘gan cheong’ parents going crazy over the lack of primary school slots. Yes, I’ll have to go through it soon. My primary school didn’t survive too - it was Griffiths Primary, now known as Angsana Primary.

Spent hours playing basketball in this school during my formative years. Shot on Portra 800.

Griffiths no more. Shot on Portra 800.

The primary school was also next to my kindergarten. Shot on Portra 800.

We then walked down to Block 272, our second home in Tampines. It was just next to Angsana Primary. We walked the same path we took, to go home from school. Block 272 is next to this enormous church called Holy Trinity. I had some good memories here - which includes failing many exams after I entered secondary school.

The lift landing of block 272 is still as dimly lit as the first time we remembered it. Shot on Portra 800.

Fell down here after getting my BCG. It bled like mad. Of course the playground is new now. Shot on Portra 800.

Church of the Holy Trinity under the watchful eye. Shot on X100V.

Next to the church is a huge drain. I remembered climbing into one of those manholes and appearing in this drain, to the curious looks of people. Youth.

The drain. Shot on Portra 800.

After our block 272 excursion, we headed to central Tampines, to catch a train ride home. Tampines has developed so much since I was a kid. Today, it is a bustling mini-city with three MRT stations (and more I think!).

A glimpse of my brother under the iconic MRT track towards Tampines Central. Shot on Portra 800.

BIRD! Shot on Portra 800.

Tampines Mall’s facade hasn’t changed much eh? Shot on Portra 800.

I used to spend a lot of hours at Tampines Central after school and on weekends when I was in secondary school. These days? I shun away from a crowd of five pax and above.

I remember spending countless hours sipping coffee at Coffee Bean at Century Square, movies at Golden Village TM and running around the malls playing hide-and-seek, buying video games, spending pocket money in restaurants like Kenny Rogers. So many, many memories.

My bicycle got stolen here. I still curse that fella today. Shot on Portra 800.

Meet at 8 phones okay? Shot on X100V.

Finally, our family moved in near Temasek Poly, the most bustling area of Tampines we have lived in by far. The place is filled with coffee shops, roti prata stores, famous Thai food outlets, convenience stores, hipster cafes, electronic stores, the wet market, McDonald’s, Arnold’s; you name it. We also get our fair share of noisy bike revvers and young punks misbehaving. Ah well, you can’t always get the best of everything and not expect the annoyance not to follow.

Good roti prata, good and accessible food 24/7 at 800+. Shot on Portra 800.

I did not share all of the memories that came flowing back because there were just too many, but I highly encourage people who are reading this right now to try it. Take a walk down memory lane, with your sibling, a cousin or even a childhood friend. I am sure there are many silly moments to share. Most probably they are stored right at the back of your head, waiting for you to invoke it.

Let me know if this was a good idea, to begin with, and share some of your stories with me down in the comments section!