Move Over Chinatown, Here Comes Waterloo Street

FF Fashion

Not sure about others... for me, both locations still appeal to me because Waterloo St has the Kwan I am Temple and along the street, there's always pasar malam stalls, some more so near to Bugis Junction & Bugis Village while Chinatown has Peoples Park Complex and when you have time to venture those small lanes, sometimes you can find interesting stuffs and yummy food

Fri, Jan 23, 2009
The New Paper
By Ho Lian-Yi


ON the tiled streets outside Kwan I am Thong Hood Cho Temple in Waterloo Street, religion and commerce mix freely.

Old women wearing straw hats sit behind stalls full of flowers for devotees to buy as offerings to the Goddess of Mercy. Fortune-tellers under yellow and red umbrellas decipher the fates of those who seek answers to their questions about their lives - for a small fee.

And this, Mr Tan Siang Meng feels, is the real Chinatown. Chinatown had become too touristy and 'has lost its charm,' he wrote in a letter published in The Straits Times on 6 Jan.

Waterloo Street, near Bugis, on the other hand, is where many Chinese go 'to visit the temple, the OG Department Store, Fu Lu Shou Complex and the dried goods market' every weekend.

Along the street nearby was a bustling Chinese New Year market. It was a treat for the eyes: the vivid orange and yellow of fruits, the pink of flowers and the green of prosperity bamboos, in a sea of red ornaments.

Nearby, two competing salesmen had set up tables just metres apart from each other. One sold super-absorbent 'Magic Towels', the other sold mini handheld sewing machines. Speaking into headset microphones at machinegun speed, they tried to out-talk each other to attract customers.

At 5pm, it was time for one fortune-teller to pack his parasol and go home. The 70-year-old man man in boxy glasses, long-sleeved white shirt and white cap has been a fixture on Waterloo Street for 30 years.

Chinatown changed too much

What did he think of Chinatown? 'I don't like going to Chinatown. They've changed it too much,' he said.

But he doesn't gush about Waterloo Street either. 'This place is too 'complicated',' he said, shaking his head. Conspiratorially, he tilts his head in the direction of an old flower lady. 'She's not good,' he said.

He also declines to have his name published.

Mrs Manis, 47, sitting crossed-legged on a mat with a Chinese religious almanac, images of Hindu gods and a single stick of burning incense, was one of two Indian diviners there that day. For her, the popularity of Waterloo Street is easily explained.

'It is a place of great spiritual power,' she said. The Goddess Of Mercy is 'very powerful' there, which is why there are so many fortune-tellers around.

Ask anybody what makes Waterloo Street buzz, and the answer is always the same. It's the temple.

'Praying is part of Chinese New Year tradition,' said Mr Alvin Yong, who works at Nam Religious Goods Trading, across the street from the temple.

Some felt the reputation of Chinatown has also been affected by the prostitutes who have appeared there.

Shoppers go to Waterloo Street because its near the dry goods distribution centre, and so prices are more competitive. It is a also a centre for 'fengshui' goods.

Mr Teoh See Yong, 22, a Malaysian, was manning a stall selling Taiwanese candy and nuts, and some Japanese beans. For him, the difference between Chinatown and Waterloo Street is the crowd.

While Chinatown is busiest at night, Waterloo Street is busier in the day, when the temple is open.

'There are a lot of aunties and uncles, not so many tourists,' he said.

Mrs Iris Pereira, a spa therapist in her 50s, was looking at plants at the market. She doesn't come to Waterloo Street often, she said. But she was impressed.

'I was in Chinatown recently, but it didn't feel anything like last time,' she said. 'Here the atmosphere is more lively.'

Ms Heng Meow Ling, 35, a former process engineer, said she felt the atmosphere at Waterloo Street was only 'so-so', as she queued to have her fortune read.

But she liked it that the shops, the buildings and the crowd were 'very old'.

'If you're so used to Orchard Road, if you want something different, come here,' she said.