The hungry years…

Life was not so easy when I was in Singapore in 1973…

*At the Botanical Gardens, Singapore in 1973

I did not have much money then, so I had to scrimp and save so that I could buy nice clothes and dress up to the nines…and also have some money for my “social activities”. Like those Roman sandals I was wearing in the photograph? I remember I bought those at Change Alley, Raffles Place…which, if I’m not mistaken, no longer exists today.

Well, I tried not to spend a lot on food then…as a result of which, I lost weight and became so very thin that people thought I was sick with terminal cancer or something. This photo was taken a few months after I had gone over to Singapore…..with a good friend of mine, Jane…

*Dhoby Ghaut, Singapore – 1973

She was stopping over on the way to England to embark on her nursing career. We had lost touch all these years…until recently, when we got reconnected on Facebook – along with her sisters, all of whom were very close friends of mine from our radio-listening (requesting), dancing and partying days. They are planning for a reunion next year…and I am certainly looking forward to that.

Anyway, back to what I was talking about, I was renting a room at one of the HDB flats at one end of Beach Road and right next to it, in an open space in the evenings, they had hawker stalls selling food that was more affordable for the likes of me. I remember ordering this…

…omelette fried with sliced Bombay onions and thinly-sliced lap cheong (Chinese sausage) for only $1.00…

…to eat with rice.

Those were the hungry years…

Sigh…..