Singapore post office

        Now this building is used as a hotel

The other day, I uploaded a picture of Fullerton hotel in this blog. The building used be a central post office in those days.

 This is a picture card of the same place 55 years ago

In those days, those crews or passengers of ships which arrived in Singapore port would post their letters or postcards at this post office to their family or friends in their home countries.

最初の写真は現在のプラトンホテルです。そして2枚目の写真は半世紀以上前の郵便局の絵葉書です。当時はシンガポール港に着いた船客や船員さんがこの港にある郵便局から遠く離れた故郷への便りを投函したと言うことです。

これはホテルロビーに保存されている当時の郵便ポストです。ネットも携帯もない時代の通信手段、郵便ポストは日本でも郷愁を感じますね。

Words related with directions

It’s interesting that the words showing or related with directions are used as the words meaning ‘teaching or instruction”.
The other day, I wrote about 指南宮 in Taipei. 指南means a compass because it always indicates the south or north. The word 指南 means instruction or teaching.
An English word direct means showing directions and a word orient means the east or showing a right direction.
英語のdirectionやorient も中国語、日本語でも指南など方向や方角を示す言葉は洋の東西を問わず指導すると言う意味になるのは興味深いですね。

Count down to spring

At this time of the year, my wife starts to count down the days to March. She believes winter is over at the end of February singing “Haruyo koi Hayami koi” Come come Spring early!.
I understand how eager she is for spring. It’s too cold for her as she is from Malaysia.