Once it is a swamp..

As we can see how toa payoh has developed from a swamp to such a populated area with all the HDB flats and so on, like a interchange and so many changes. Now its a area buzzing with people shopping for their daily needs and stuff.

I grew up in toa payoh, this place has kept alot memories of me growing up. I feel very contended to live here as the Toa payoh provides me almost all the facilities i need. Entertainment facilities, all the nice foods, sports facilities like the basketball courts, swimming pool, badminton courts and alot others, you name it!

We have fast-food restaurants like Mac Donalds, KFCs, Mos burger, burger king , Swensen and pizza hut in toa payoh central, there are also Food courts like Kofu which is situated in the interchange. Fork and Spoon for the halal food near entertainment centre. Toa payoh will never let you down when it comes to food. The lorong 8 market with large variety of choices for you. Foreigners whom came and eaten our local dishes sometime came back for more. My dad's oversea friends felled in love with our local dishes and asked for take-away so that he can eat it on the plane when he is heading back to china.

The entertainment centre in toa payoh seems to be some reason why alot people is heading to Toa payoh central, the entertainment centre consist of a arcade, where gamers pit their skills against each other from, racing on cars to dancing on the virtual dance floor. The entertainment centre also includes a movie theatre which includes 6 halls. Besides the entertainment centre, there is also SAFRA, with its facilities like a smaller swimming pool compared to the toa payoh swimming complex and they have a LAN-shop , a KTV for karaoke and also a cafe to relax yourself.


I grown up playing basketball in the different basketball courts in toa payoh, such like the south Community Club with all the friendly people, which i came to know and some even became my close friends ever since, the west community club with all the very strong players, you might not really want to mess with them. There are other courts like the one near block 229 and the one near block 12, the one you need the key to open the gate. I remember climbing into the gate and getting caught while playing basketball by policeman and ended up getting reprimanded by my parents. Those are the days...

I started learning swimming at the age of 10, and it all started from paddling in the baby pool of Toa payoh swimming complex with my parent to supervising to taking on tests which is suppose to boost your rank from bronze to silver to gold to gold star and finally to honour. With my parents cheering for me.The people in the pools are very friendly but watch it when you are in the pool. Sometime when people can't control their bladders. they end up peeing in the water and there is one occasion i swallowed the water with a weird taste, i guess it is sour, and it makes your mouth have the feeling that its dried up. Totally disgusted, i climbed out of the pool and dare not waddle in the pool until next week.

Want to take a walk? You can go down to Toa Payoh Garden with all the places to slack off with your mates and perhaps bring your drinks there with a newspaper, as you sit in the park and feel the wind blow against you as your take a sip from your drink.

Any Hotspots? Why not in toa payoh!? The tree temple in toa payoh is one of those place which is believed to be spiritual,and the residents later than build a little shrine since 1969 with their offerings. Legend states that in the early 1960s,when land had to be cleared to make way for the New Town,an engineer who attempted to remove the tree crushed to death under his own vehicle.

With that, i will end my Post Aven =D
3E2

Toa Payoh

Hi

Lets see how to start. As you can see other people have already writen so many things about the blog already. I can start by saying that Toa Payoh have many fascinating places like the NTUCs, the pasar malam(night market)and i really feel happy living in here as there are so many good places. There are also places like interchange and many shopping areas and some fast food restraunts like MacDonald and KFCs.

Besides the places mentioned above, there is also a entertainment center which is also situated in Toa Payoh Central. The entertainment center consists of MacDonalds(all time favourite for kids), the arcade(all time favourite for teenagers), a 6-halls cinema and of course, restaurants such as Swensens and Sakae Sushi. It's quite lucky to have facilities near the place i stay as i can get everything i need in such a short period of time.

What will you think of when people ask you about Toa Payoh? Alot of people would just talk about Toa Payoh Central which my fellow schoolmates have done. Other than the Toa Payoh Centre, there are other places that i think people ought to know such as the Community Centres(South, East, West, Central), the stadium, swimming complex, and most importantly the neighbourhood. Apart from gourmets found in Toa Payoh Centre, there delicious food to be found around the neighbourhood such as in the markets and hawker centres. Let's give a brief history about Toa Payoh. The word 'Payoh' is originated from the malay word 'paya' which means swap.
Toa Payoh is simply means ' big swamp land' It was an extensive and notorious squatter district. Most squatters were engaged in farming and rearing pigs. (^oo^) The others were hawkers, factory workers, mechanics or domestic helpers. The squatters started moving out in1962. Clearance work was able to commence and the redevelopement project started in early 1964.

The Toa Payoh New Town, HDB's 2nd satellite town, was built in 1970. The housing estate was self-contained and had a town centre acting as a focal point for the shopping and entertainment needs of the resident. Industrial developemens were also built within the town to provide residents with job opportunities close to home while schoold were built within the neighbourhood.

Toa Payoh was the largest town in Singapore at that time as the first HDB town. The 12-storey structures of the standard blocks in Toa Payoh were then typical of the new apartment blacks built by the HDB, the new housing authority formed in 1960 to give a growing population an adequate shelther.

Most importantly, Toa Payoh has the honoured of having the visit by the Britain's queen, Queen ElizabethII. She is a distinguished dignitary who have visited Toa Payoh. She was here on 18 Feburary 1972, with the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne. On the day of their visit, thousands of Singaporeans lined the streets outside Block 53 and 54 to welcome the royal party. The visitors made their way through the red-carpeted lift up the 19th floor roof-top to see the view before the residents.'

This is the end of my blog post.
Hope you enjoy and thank you.

Okay,to start of,i don't live in Toa Payoh.But since the age of 6,i have been regularly visiting Toa payoh almost twice every week,and now because of my school,i go to Toa Payoh everyday.I'll first state my impression of Toa Payoh.To me,Toa Payoh is almost like a second home to me,meeting friend's,making friends,learning new things there and most of all it has such a lively atmosphere that arouses everybody's anxiety's.

The first time i went to Toa Payoh was probably around 5 years old,as i attended swimming lessons at the Toa Payoh swimming complex.Talk about fun!everybody in the pool will always take a delight in swimming in the cool waters,and some even pee in it.Yes,impossible as it may seem,it's true!I have even experienced the baby pool feeling warm and hot,with a sour taste inside it,now that really made an impression on me!

So basically,even though Toa Payoh has made many changes,i'll still remember those experiences that it has given me,the thing's it has taught me,and how lively the place still is despite all the changes here and there.

There are many hot spot's in Toa payoh.Like for example the Toa Payoh sports area,the tree temple,the Toa Payoh garden and the Mosque muhajirin.Each of the hotspot's that were mentioned each have their own unique history.For the tree temple,legend has it that in the early 1960s,when land had to be cleared to make way for the New Town,an engineer who attempted to remove the tree crushed to death under his own vehicle!After that incident,this tree was believed to be spiritual,and the residents later than build a little shrine since 1969 with their offerings.

But the best hotspot in Toa Payoh i feel is the Toa Payoh sport's area.Firstly,it has everything essential there about sports,and the travelling distance between each area is so short!from swimming to playing soccer,it's just a brisk walk of about 2 minutes to get to the other area.So it's the best best best hotspot in Toa Payoh and we LOVE it!

BRYAN?

As a resident of Toa Payoh since I was as young as eight, the memoirs I have are indelibly etched in my mind. I feel that Toa Payoh is a place filled family warmth and love, maybe due to the fact that this is where I belong since it's the place I grew up. No doubt, this is a place that brings back all my childhood memories.

As the time passes, things around changes; let alone it be the appearance and concept of Toa Payoh. However, no matter what changes may be made, there are some things that'd never be gone. That'd be none other than the memories being left behind, always kept in my heart.

I remember during my younger days, I always anticipated weekends and holidays as only during these times I would be able to stay over at my grandparents' place. As I have many cousins living near my grandparents, we play and live together since young. Apart from that, we even know each and everyone of our childhood friends! There was countless games that we've played together, umpteen quarrels or even misunderstandings and making up after five minutes. In my memory, those days were nothing but happiness. Sorrowful memories seem to be shadowed by all the happiness that took place. I personally feel that Toa Payoh is a place that allows one to reminisce and feel as if they are a child once again due to the environment. Albeit the elderly population over here is increasing, the facilities are still suited to the elders and younger children. An example would be hop-scotch. Think back and you'd realize that this is not as omnipresent as it was once, before. Even the playground which were once laid out with sand are now replaced with those with rubber foam.

Some thing that has never changed over the past few years or probably even, decades, would be the delicacies and delicious food found in Toa Payoh. Small it may seem; but when it comes to tempting food that'd make one drool by just a look at it, Toa Payoh will never let you down. Furthermore, there's a huge variety of different races food for you to try out!

A hot spot of Toa Payoh that I often frequent would be none other than the Toa Payoh Sports Area, as it consists of the stadium. Did you know, in fact, there's a history behind the Toa Payoh Sports Area? Singapore hosted the 7th Southeast Asian Peninsular (SEAP) there, in 1973, for the first time as a new nation and Toa Payoh was to play a very essential role in hosting the games. Today, Toa Payoh Sports Area is rather significant to many people living and studying in this district as residents would pay a visit to the Gym for workout, swimming pool for a swim and stadium for either a run or perhaps, jog. Schools around this area have their Sports Day held at the stadium too! Some schools also make use of the swimming pool for swimming activities for their CCA. In addition, the stadium is also going to be used for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) next year, 2010.

Joey [:
3E2

Toa Payoh!

Toa Payoh is a rather popular place in Singapore.Toa Payoh is not the place where I grow up in.Singapore is not my homeland.But I can feel the sense of warmess from the people and environment."Toa Payoh"it sound so unfamiliar to me,only when I was posted to First Toa Payoh Secondary School.I get adapted to this place slowly.Soon I had a sense of belonging to the school,to Toa Payoh.

Toa Payoh,have many interesting story about it past,and now too.Audition of Singing competition had once held at Toa Payoh hub,audition of singapore idol too.Many occassion take place there.

Toa Payoh is a convenient place for people to travel to and fro.Toa Payoh is also a place where i hope to live in.Toa Payoh has a pleasant history and I believe it will have a better future!(:

Serena Leong 5N2