Over the summer, I took a trip back to the other city I call home: sunny Singapore! This year, I was really happy to squeeze in quite a bit of exploring to several places for the first time. Watch this space, I’m looking forward to sharing more here! :)

To start, I have to share about the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, which if you plan to visit, you got to do it soon as it’s only open till December this year.

I’m quite embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know much about the station (a national monument of Singapore since 2011) and its history, until I visited and then read up about it afterwards. The station was opened in 1932 and stopped operations in 2011, it used to be a station for trains travelling between Singapore and Malaysia. If you’re interested, you can read more about the station’s history and architecture <here>.

Just like the station that stopped operating, the clock does not work too, if you’re wondering.

This station may not appeal to everyone, especially for visitors who prefer the Marina Bay Sands/Sentosa/Orchard Road side of things. However, it was exactly this contrast of an old, no longer in use station in modern and new Singapore that made the place a very interesting spot to visit for me.

To be honest, throughout my 19 years spent growing up in Singapore, I never did much exploring. Isn’t it quite a common occurrence though? The idea even seems funny sometimes, to explore your hometown. But yet, after moving away and when returning for the annual visits, I return with a list of places I want to explore and visit. I start appreciating things I never used to notice, taken for granted as simply being part of everyday life. So cliche but so true! I shared this on my Instagram while I was in Singapore, but allow me to repost it here. :)

Visited the Tanjong Pagar railway station today – an old railway station that is no longer in use, an interesting contrast of a place in modern and new Singapore. ???? — It’s funny how it took being away from my hometown and coming back to it to explore it with a fresh perspective and new eyes. Five years ago, I couldn’t wait to leave, wanting so much to experience my birthplace Hong Kong, a city I never got to know. Now I’ve returned to a country that has changed (and also remained the same) and I understand what a privilege it is to be a part of both cities, which no matter what anyone says, are completely different places and which are both wonderful in their own right. ????????????????????

A photo posted by Kylene Wu (@citygirlcitystories) on Jul 6, 2016 at 5:12am PDT

Anyway, I’m glad to have gotten the chance to visit this station before its closure (on 25 December 2016) due to construction of a new train station. It seems like the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be restored after construction is over and will reopen in year 2025. (More information here.)

If you’re interested in visiting this station, here are the details.

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station (*Closed as of 25 December 2016)
30 Keppel Road
Hours: 9am – 6pm (open during Singapore public holidays)
Free admission

*Update: I finally put together a video of this Singapore trip and included some memories from my exploring at the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in it, do check it out below! :)