Tiong Bahru

Twenty low blocks curved after the lines of a ship still stand. Balconies stretch across every floor and the stairs turn inside a drum, and since these are homes, the landings are no invitation to climb on. No gates, so the estate is simply walked through.

The wet market below is already busy by seven in the morning. The hawker floor above peaks at lunch, and a few of the known stalls run out during the morning and shut. Claiming a seat first and ordering after is the order of things here.

Three walls in the estate carry paintings of the old neighbourhood. Caged songbirds, a wedding table and the inside of a shop are what they show, and each is what actually stood on that spot. Parked cars mean the whole wall is never visible at once.

A shelter survives intact under one of the blocks. Built before the war and barely used in it, it served as a store before being opened again. Inside is narrow and unlit, so entry goes in set groups with a guide. Without booking, the door stays locked.

The Monkey King is the deity in this one. A character out of a novel is worshipped here, so the figure in the shrine has a familiar face, and the temple takes its name straight from his title. It is low and set among flats, which makes it easy to pass.

A dragon of tiled concrete sits in a sandpit. Many estates got one in the 1970s and only a handful keep the sand, which is why people come to photograph this one.

Songbird contests were held under this awning. The habit of hanging cages on poles each morning and sitting to listen has all but gone, and what remains on the spot is the coffee shop. The mural nearby paints that scene.

The district's name means new graves. A Chinese burial ground stood on this site, and when it was cleared in the 1920s for housing, only the name stayed. One plaque now records the fact.

A bakery, a bookshop and cafes sit inside one block. Mornings bring a queue for bread and afternoons leave people standing outside waiting for a table, and the street is short enough to walk in five minutes.

The back lanes come closer to this estate's face than the front balconies do. Spiral stairs, washing, potted plants and air-con units stack up floor by floor, and a cat is usually on one of the landings. Residents use these lanes, so it is better kept quiet.

A nine-hectare NParks park ringing an old hilltop reservoir behind Outram Park MRT. The path around the water is deeply shaded, so it is walkable even at midday. You can walk over from the estate; the traffic noise drops once you climb the steps.

A Chinese temple founded at Tanjong Pagar in 1830 and later moved to its present site on Kim Tian Road. With the Monkey God temple, it ranks among the neighbourhood's oldest shrines. It sits among housing blocks, so its ornate roof is what you spot first.