The first time I stayed in HDB flat was in 1965.
A cluster of several housing blocks are built with public facilities as if it is a group. In Chinese we call these blocks of flat as a group-of-house (组屋). Some Chinese-speaking foreigners misunderstood and took it as rental-house (租屋). Majority of these flats were bought and owned by the residents. Some of the flats are for rent and residents have to pay the rent each month.

Previously we stayed in a shop house. That was a two-storey terrace house. There were a few families staying in the same house. We stayed at the front portion on the ground floor. That was our shop and we had a bedroom behind the shop. The landlord stayed at the back portion of the ground floor. There were common kitchen, bathroom and toilet behind the landlord's bedroom.

When I first moved to the HDB flat in Queenstown, I took a long time to get used to staying in HDB flat. Although we had a unit of dwelling place by our own, but we closed the door and faced the walls when we were home. It was very different than staying in the old shop house where the doors were open and neighbours saw each other every now and then. Staying in HDB flat, I used to stand at the common corridor after dinner and look at the block opposite, the hawker centre.

The flat in Queenstown where we stayed was a 2-room-flat. There was a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom with toilet.

About seven years later, I bought a 3-room-flat at Holland Village. There were two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet. During those days, a block of flats were for about ten floors.

I moved again to Teban Gardens in 1986. That was an apartment block. There were three bedrooms, a living room with balcony, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom with toilet at the kitchen, a bathroom with toilet in one of the bedroom and a storeroom.

The bedroom was quite spacious. Many people told me that the bedrooms of the new-built flat were very small. I believe the height of the ceiling, the size of the room we stay would affect our character. Although we are short of lands, but we should consider that we would develop with 'abnormal' character gradually. We might need more psychological therapists. Did the architects think about it?

Queenstown - the first

HDB estate I stayed

Teban Gardens

HDB flats in	Bedok South
HDB flats in	Toa Payoh

When the Government tried to provide housing for the people in 1960s, blocks of flat were built as soon as possible. There were facilities provided for people within their neighbourhoods. In the recently, there were upgrading programmes to enhance the facilities.

Shelter between	the blocks
A group of guests	in our living room