A Football Fan’s Haven

Remember the blog post where I over reacted and lamented about the profound loss of some old buildings along Eng Hoon Street?
(Profound Loss @ Eng Hoon Street)

This was how the new building looked like about 3 weeks ago.

And suddenly it took on a baby blue and white colour on the facade recently.

Isn’t that the signature colour of a chain of budget hotel we all know?

If their marketing campaign would have you believe them, it is the place where husbands or boyfriends go and watch soccer on the free football channels while their bored wife or girlfriend chats on the phone with their friends.

When a Straits Times reporter called me on Monday to ask about the illegal dormitories in Tiong Bahru, she passed a remark about a budget hotel being set up here.

Initially I thought she was confused with several of the new boutique hotels that seemed to have sprouted out of the blue in this area.

My curiosity got the better of my and I emailed my “TiongBahruSource” to check and he said he heard it from voices on the street.

“Voices on the street”?

I was puzzled.

Were the voices Supernatural or just plain natural ones?

Whatever it was, there was still hope that it might not be true.

But today, the reporter called me back to tell me that it is going to happen here in Tiong Bahru!

Still reeling from a state of denial, I walked over to Eng Hoon Street to take a look.

Yes, the colour scheme is correct but maybe someone just happened to like the same colour scheme.

So I walked over to ask the workmen about the building they were working on.

In his heavy Indian accented English, he said “Hotel Eighty One, Hotel Eight One”

The Voice on the street has spoken and my heart sank.

The reception counter look quite the part too:

In a daze, I slowly walked off to meet a tenant who was looking forward to rent a place here in Tiong Bahru.

Soon there will be many football fans and bored wives or girlfriends who will be heading this way.

I wonder how the landscape will be affected by these football fans.

One thing for sure, the eating places will be more vibrant than before.

And who knows, we may even have our own famous beef kway teow noodles here in Tiong Bahru!