Going on a holiday is like this in-built way for us Singaporeans to decompress. We work hard and then look forward to spending a well-earned rest in Japan, South Korea or whatever destination fills our fancy. So when I got the job of hosting the new CNA travel show A Street Like This, it was a dream come true.
I was working but also travelling to places I had always wanted to visit: Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Pakistan and India. But it came with a really odd caveat – I wasn’t actually going around exploring these entire countries and territories but only specific streets. Yes, it sounds absurd: You travel hundreds and thousands of miles, book flight tickets and accommodation, do your scheduling and then spend your holiday walking along just one street? But filming the show and actually walking these unique streets rid me of that delusion.
It wasn’t absurd at all. In fact, it was eye-opening and multi-faceted in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Let me explain.
Streets are like this unique ecosystem within itself. It has the culture of its country and its food and vibe and all that, yes, but it’s really its own thing. Every street I visited stood out in wild and unique ways.
They all have their own history, quirky backstories, their own aura. Take Bangkok’s Charoenkrung Road, for example. To those of us who have been to Thailand’s capital city, we might expect more of the same in this lesser-known street but Charoenkrung makes you rethink your assumptions once you.