Get your shoes fixed :)

Have you ever got your shoes repaired? I don’t.

Every time when my shoes decided to turn into a crocodile, I would simply just shove it into the back of the shoe cabinet or just chuck it in the bin. No hesitating about that. But have you ever wondered that some of those shoes could be as good as new after being repaired?

I used to go around the dhoby ghaut area a lot last year. (My dad’s road tax company is there.) Along PoMo, the newly named building that was once Paradiz Centre, you would find lots of mini size restaurants and a bubble tea shop. Just bring yourself further and you will notice the small tent just along the road. That’s him. The uncle who fixes shoes.

Although it’s overshadowed by the newspaper stand just before it, I believe you would steal more than a glance at what the uncle is doing, probably when he’s working. In his mid sixties, he’s sitting on a low chair with many many plastic bags around him. I wonder what treasure is inside huh? He has this little tent build with those blue waterproof materials and a giant umbrella to go with those. A couple of chairs which I believe it’s for people to rest their feet while they get their shoes done.

More and more of these traditional shoe makers are disappearing. I believed I have seen more when I’m young. Yes, there are shoe making shops in malls that mostly relied on machines to fix shoes. Not much of skills required as compared to the traditional way of doing it. It isn’t even fun to watch from afar! It’s just like those other shops with freshly painted walls and bright lights. Nothing new.

I don’t know why I like it there so much, but I believe it will be undergoing cosmetic surgery in a few years time so drop by that area when you’re free. (Walk towards SOTA from Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station) Just to make it an adventure, there’s a kachang puteh man just around too. He’s featured in straits times a few years back and you could see the newspaper cutting pasted in front of his cart. Pick some chick peas or sugared nuts and walk around the building behind it. Really, it’s around the same age as Sim Lim square I believe. :D

See Yanjun
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