Debbie's Reflection
A Foreign Area
I grew up living in west/central area. Places in the east are very foreign to me. My parents do not bring me to the east and I personally do not have many chances to explore into those areas. This was the first time that I visited Joo Chiat and explored it on my own (and of course with some of my friends).
Hearing that Joo Chiat Road was a Little Vietnam was pretty surprising to me. Though I always knew that Singapore have many foreigners, it never came across my mind that there would be an area that is actually “flooded” by just a single country. I was also fascinated by the fact that there are colonial buildings in Singapore. I have probably seen them on TV shows but in real life, this was my first time!
Walking down Joo Chiat Road, I realized that the street is actually quite empty. Very different from what I thought it would be. Most of the shops were not open in the afternoon and there are rarely any people or cars along the street. In the day, it is very hard to see that Joo Chiat is actually a Little Vietnam. Though there were quite a few Vietnamese restaurants, in which some were really very popular amongst the Vietnamese, they do not dominate the whole place. The restaurants were separated by a few other shops. In addition, there are other restaurants such as Peranakan and western restaurants which were noticeable too.
By just walking down the street in the day, I guessed it’s impossible to convince me that Joo Chiat Road is becoming little Vietnam. Although Vietnamese culture seems more dominant in Joo Chiat as compared to the other parts of Singapore, I feel that it is more of a hybrid of the different kind of cultures rather than just solely Little Vietnam. I feel that more research needed to be done, and visiting Joo Chiat at a different time of the day was necessary in order to truly understand how Joo Chiat Road is like.
After my second visit this time at night I was truly convinced that Joo Chiat is to a certain extent Little Vietnam. This research has made me feel as though I’m actually living in a cave. Singapore
may be small, but there are many interesting places like Joo Chiat Road waiting to be rediscovered. There are many stories that can be told, such as the Peranakan culture seen in Joo Chiat.
I was rather surprised that Joo Chiat Road is indeed a red light district, other than famous Geylang and Changi Village. Walking down the streets at night is a totally different scene. The pavements which were empty in the day were filled with mostly Vietnamese girls who were skimpily dressed and stood outside the bars trying their best to attract more customers. Many of the eateries were also open and they were filled with customers. The roads were also busier as cars streamed by for one reason or another.
We also did some research on the internet and we realized that Joo Chiat Road is actually dying off. This came as a surprised to me as I always thought that Joo Chiat road was a very crowded place. Though I do not frequently go to Joo Chiat, I always hear that Joo Chiat has a lot of
good food. The queues at these stalls were long. How is it possible that Joo Chiat is actually dying? After thinking about it, why not? Joo Chiat is a popular red light district and it is hard to set up a business there, due to the nature of the place. Hence business opportunists tend to shy away from such places over fear of unwanted attention. It seems like the Vietnamese population is growing in the area. I wouldn’t be surprised that Joo Chiat road may become Little Vietnam in time to come.
DATE: Thursday, March 22, 2012
TIME: ||4:07 PM ||