Sunday in Katong

We went for a little walk this afternoon, basically for a tea and some curry puffs in Katong. At first we tried Dadi's, a favourite haunt, but they'd sold out of stuff to eat by the time we got there, as had the little café we sometimes frequent at Katong Mall. (I think that's the name of the shopping centre. Generally their names blend one into another for me. Noi, of course, would know, which is why I rely on her to get around.) But it wasn't an entirely wasted trip. We popped up to a little gym in the area to check out the prices and to see what it was like inside. I think Noi was impressed and since the charges are fairly cheap for single entries we may just try the place out next week.

Another, better, reason for feeling our little jaunt wasn't a waste of time was for the simple pleasure of taking the walk. The main road in Katong is quite a lively spot at weekends and it was fun just browsing the shops, mingling with the crowd. Quite a few new businesses have opened over the last couple of years in the area - and a number have vanished. An ice cream outlet that had been there for some years seems to be one of the casualties but such is the nature of the flux that we weren't really sure if we were looking in the right place for it. The new businesses seem generally of a yuppified nature - cake shops, spas, art shops - but there are also plenty of down-to-earth places - for example, at least three outlets selling fruit spill out onto the pavement.

Lately it's been raining quite a bit in the afternoons and it felt like we might be in for some more rain whilst we were walking, but we finished in bright sunshine and debilitating heat. People here often complain about the weather when it's hot but it suits me just fine. Lazy hot Friday afternoons in Geylang with Noi - where we used to go after I'd been to Mesjid Khadijah for prayers - don't feature in our lives like they used to due to changes in routines, but they persist in memory as amongst the best of times. Today's walk will join them.