My final weekend in Singapore ended in front of a shop I have wanted to sketch for many months. Joss paper shops in Singapore sell candles, joss sticks, oil and papier-mâché items to offer to the deceased at funerals and special occasions such as Qing Ming (Tomb-sweeping Day) and Zhong Qiu Jie (Hungry Ghost Festival).
Siong Moh Trading stocks bundles of money, credit cards and cheques, denture sets, six-packs of beer, gold and silver bullion, shaving sets, jewellery, watches, iPhones and iPads, medicines, make-up, handbags, shoes, shirt and tie sets, cars, cigarettes, houses, facial treatments, radios, cassette players and gambling sets.
The shop closed at 5pm, so I had to return on the following day after work. This was my last night in Chinatown - I strolled to the hawker centre for a final meal. I am going to miss Chinatown. I am going to miss Singapore. I will miss Asia. If only I had started drawing a few years ago, I would have had so many more memories.
Sigh.