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Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Doorways, balconies and corridors in condos and HDB flats

Whether you are in an HDB or an affluent condo with four rooms and plentiful built-in wardrobes, you will see in corridors a constant entertainment and amazement. Wardrobes of shoes. Bicycles. Balls. Pairs of china elephants guarding against theft. Small shrines to Chinese ancestors with the remains of joss sticks. Small plants and large plants.

It's feast or famine. People who grow one plant have a garden centre around the door. A miniature jungle surrounds the door frame, hanging from ropes, a cluster of plant pots, wall mounted half moon containers, a dinner service of plant pots, a kitchen garden invading the steps, growing over the balcony like hanging gardens obscuring or providing the view.

Looking out of the living room onto the corridor of an HDB flat. You can see the plant on the left and a small diamond shaped hanging attached by a hook to the horizontal slat of the ventilation grille secondary outer door. 

I have even seen a collection of umbrellas hung from the horizontal slats, I presume not as decoration but to avoid cluttering the tiny flat and convenient fro grabbing when you get to the door and think, I should take my umbrella.


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

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