I haven't been living in Toa Payoh for a very long time like most of the other students. In fact, I just moved here less than a year ago. Toa Payoh is an unfamiliar place to me, and I still have problems finding my way around it. But one thing's for sure, I have not even heard of the existence of a park in this very neighbourhood of mine before madam Shanti(my English literature teacher) mentioned it.

Ironically, however alien Toa Payoh is to me, there is still this one place I frequent to purchase daily necessities and even find appealing. And that is- Toa Payoh Central. A place where the contemporary meets the passé. Every trip feels like a ride in a defective time machine. It's the type of feeling one will never get accustomed to. It's akin to a brand-new adventure every time.

I still don't feel like one of the residents, and I still don't think the world of Toa Payoh like I am supposed to. However, I am confident and certain I will one day adore it like I used to cherish my old neighbourhood.

Ting Jin Nee 3e3