Seletar Country Club

When the children were small, we lived in an HDB flat. We had no access to a condominium pool. I liked my flat (it had 2000 sq ft) and I did not want to move into a condo. However, I needed a place to bring my children on weekends to let them run around. Singapore is crowded everywhere. Yet, children need space to run, swim and play in relative safety.

We joined up 2 country clubs and when the children were in primary school, we went every weekend to either one or the other. Back then, for us, it was an extravagance which I found necessary as a mother of young children. Compared to condo management fees, the monthly club fees seemed very reasonable. Since I had no intention of ever moving out of my HDB flat, the extravagance seemed reasonable enough.

Later on, the country clubs became convenient places for my teens to host teenage gatherings. I gathered a bunch of teens, dropped them off, and they found things to do from swimming, table tennis, bowling, foosball, snooker and tennis. At that age, they wanted privacy away from me. I could leave them to themselves knowing they would not get into trouble. Else, they would have to hang out at the public snooker halls and bowling alleys. I wasn't sure who else hung out at public snooker halls and bowling alleys.

Now that the kids are grown, we rarely go to the country clubs at all. So, we got rid of one. The remaining one sent us a letter stating that unless we spent $45 every quarter at the restaurant, they would bill us $45 every quarter for NOT spending enough. So, The Husband and I went for dinner this night.

We had forgotten how nice it is to sit and eat in spacious surroundings. Believe it or not, there are some places with nice scenery, even in Singapore. When the kids were little, I thought this a necessity. Which parent does not want to provide their kids, the best? For The Husband and I alone, it seems a needless luxury.

We are happy to hang out in Chong Pang.

2019 was the year Petunia discovered Chong Pang Market. For what it is worth, Chong Pang Market offers unbeatable value. Yummy food and interesting goods are so cheap there. There was also my ethnographic curiosity and a desire to train myself to tolerate crowds, smells and noise. I think I have come a long way since Jan 2019. These days, I can spend 1 hr at Chong Pang Market without feeling overwhelmed.

I have proven myself an autistic Chong Pang survivor!

Still, it won't do to leave this Seletar Country Club sitting there without using it. When the grandchildren come, we will need to use it again. It may be time now, to go back to the rhythm of a morning swim at the country club, followed by breakfast. It does feel so good to eat in a place where the tables are clean, where there are no crowds, and where birds aren't waiting to steal your food.