Bus Ride Sights: Marine Parade-Bedok

It is kind of interesting, but I have a surprisingly large number of pictures for what is actually a relatively short bus ride. 

Guess Chonkycam decided to work a bit overtime today. 

Maybe she was charmed by the daytime light, which for today was exceptionally good. 

The bus ride began from the bus stop opposite Parkway Parade. 

Here the bus first went along Marine Parade Road, going past the first junction that separates Marine Parade Central and Joo Chiat Road. Here the blocks of 72/74 always stand out- not so much for their corridors- but for their brightness of sea blue. 

The bus went onto the next stretch, going past the 4-room flat point blocks of 72 and 71, then what will be the new Marine Parade Community Library.

The junction of Still Road comes up after, diagonally opposite which is Tao Nan School. I am glad to have gotten a rather good shot of the school. It isn't every day that the bus stops in a spot at a traffic light where I can. 

Further on came Marine Crescent, and Blk 47. At another season of life, this block would have been just another block that the bus passed by, no significance whatsoever. But there is a 24 hour laundromat at the void deck of this block, where, in this season, we have been doing 20kg worth of laundry. 

The bus now made a right into Marine Crescent, going past the main gate of Tao Nan School, then a left past the blocks of 34 and 45, and turning onto Marine Terrace. 

I don't have much pictures of the blocks here. 

I also don't know which block stands at where.

But the bus made a right out onto Marine Parade Road, where from the window I got a view of what I think is Block 57, with an exit of Marine Terrace MRT Station in front. 

Here the bus went on, going past CHIJ Katong Convent and Victoria College before approaching Neptune Court. Up till now I had not noticed that this particular HUDC had an exterior painted of earthy red brick and bright off-white yellow, contrasting sharply with the light blue and white condominium of Mandarin Gardens just in front. 

Another school came up ahead- the Victoria School this time- which I took no pictures- and then the bus went past the other blue and white painted HUDC property of Laguna Park. 

I had come to this condominium many years ago, so I have a somewhat vague memory of how their apartments look like. 

I can't say if those memories are pleasant. 

I can only say that they existed sometime in my life, and that is not going to change. 

Back then I had not known that Laguna Park sat right next to the waterway canal leading up to East Coast Park, or that one of the blocks here houses the Bedok Lighthouse- the only working lighthouse serving the Eastern waters this side of the island. 

But I know now. 

Google Maps tells me. 

Google Maps also tells me that this junction marks the easternmost end of Marine Parade Road. 

From here on, the bus departs the Marine Parade side of territory and enters into the Bedok heartland. 

Before that, however, there is Bayshore, with her walls painted a shade of creamy off-white yellow and her windows a dark tint of black. 

On Bedok South Avenue 1, the bus passed by the condominiums of Laguna Green, then Eastern Lagoon I, and Casafina. 

At first feel, the presence of these condos don't seem much, but it is somewhere around here that the atmosphere between Marine Parade and East Coast changes where it slowly guides you into the distinctive rustic, kampong-like feels of Bedok, Tanah Merah and Changi beyond. 

The feel of Tanah Merah and Changi doesn't actually begin from this spot here, but the hints are there, and the hints begin to come off strong. 

From here, after trundling down almost the whole length of Bedok South Avenue 1, the bus made a left onto Bedok South Road, going past a host of industrial factories housing the Japanese companies of NCS, Fujitec, Yokogawa, and Panasonic. 

The bus ride ended not too long after here. 

Right in front of the Panasonic factory stood the huge complex of Bedok Mall, with her apartments rising above her. The bus first went up a small stretch of Bedok North Avenue 1, then made a right, straight into the Bus interchange. 

More ChaletYums

We have been having a couple of lovely meals at home in recent weeks that I think I ought to write about now, rather than to wait, wait, wait, and then forget to write about it until months later. 

These meals are good.

All of them. 

They might be simple, yes, but they represent gratefulness and thankfulness and a quiet prayer of thank you for Faithfulness and Manna provided every day. 

The first meal here is one that I will remember for some time to come. 

I don't mean it to be a bad meal, mind. 

Pad Krapow for $6.10 is not, and cannot, be a bad thing. 

Not when there is substantial rice, not when the minced pieces of pork are well fried with just the right blend of spice and holy basil leaves, and the fried egg is done so beautifully that the yolk simply runs all over the rice when you break it with your spoon. 

By all counts, it was a blessed box.

But two tired adults with appetites will find a single box insufficient- and that is where we were today. 

Let's just say it was one of those days where the wallet and calculator needed to work overtime and mind, those days were tiring and not so kind.

I'm pretty sure I cooked myself a bowl of noodles after this was finished.

But I didn't take a picture. 

The pictures of ChaletYums this time include some new dishes and new foods that we have made. 

Like this bowl of porridge that I have now come to appreciate and love. 

It was quite unexpected, really. 

I had not thought that minced chicken porridge cooked in the Little Black Grill could actually be this good. The texture was a bit like mui fan, but with oyster sauce, fish sauce, spinach, some other sauce and without the gravy. 

The addition of frozen spinach in the porridge made a whole lot of difference. 

Not just visually, taste-wise as well. 

Same too for the handful of frozen mushrooms which we add into our plates of beef fried rice. 

This is another dish that in recent weeks I have come to genuinely appreciate and love. 

There is something satisfying and delicious about the fragrance of beef fat tallow when it gets mixed together with rice. The fragrance, very much like grilled meat, is filling, comforting yet clean all at the same time, with a warmth that is actually quite hard to describe. 

To put it simply, I love how the beef slice is crisp and the rice grains smooth and oily all wrapped up in the oil of the warmed-up fat. 

Every bite is delightful, made better by the crunch of organic pumpkin seeds that add texture, plus that very slight hint of burnt burnt taste that goes into the rice, creating even more variation to the already rich and fragrant meal. 

Besides the beef fried rice, another new addition to the meals these days are the organic chicken nuggets ordered frozen from Redmart. 

These are so good, I tell you.

I am the kind who doesn't mind a chicken nugget when I can get a good one, so having these in the oven really made me smile. There is something charming about seeing a childhood snack arranged so prettily on a plate with the jars of mayonnaise and truffle paste waiting by the side. 

Come to think about it, I wonder if there are variations of McDonalds' sweet and sour sauce that one can have. 

Will plum sauce taste just as good, I wonder?

We have had our chicken nuggets all on their own. 

But we have had them with leftover Hong Kong Noodles as well.

Of course, there can be no ChaletYum meal in the house that does not include instant noodles. 

This one I think is Indomie with loads of chili oil, no seasoning, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds- it makes a difference- and a dash of pepper. 

Bus Ride Sights: Parkway-PIE

There are surprisingly a large number of pictures for this one bus journey this particular afternoon. 

All along I had thought that I'd already snapped more than enough; that this bus route from Parkway Parade to Toa Payoh had brought me enough pictures, enough memories.

But, apparently, different times bring different sights.

And so here we are, beginning with the sight of Cote D'Azur and Silversea condominiums that (admittedly) have one of the best East Coast seaside views this side of East Coast Road.

A roundabout, then Amber Road comes up next, followed by a short stretch of what I think is Mountbatten Road. 

Today I managed to capture the view where Mountbatten Road meets Tanjong Katong Road. It is a rare sight. Not always does the bus stop long enough for me to snap a nice, neat picture showing the road on both sides, and the glimpse of the plant nursery down at the right hand corner. 

The bus continued down Tanjong Katong Road after this junction. Chonkycam stuck very much to her usual spots all along this road, first beginning with the shop houses at the junction of Wilkinson Road, then the bus stop in front of the Meat Collective store, then the vet clinic at the junction, then Chelsea Lodge. 

The Supernova restaurant and bar came right after that, then the row of shop houses which included a Japanese dining place and a yoga studio. Bharath Supermarket followed after, then it was the junction between Heng Long Cooked Food and Ponggol Nasi Lemak. 

I'm glad I managed to get quite a good shot of the nasi lemak store today. 

It's not always that I get to grab such a great angle. 

More stores along Tanjong Katong Road followed, then the distinctive pink exterior of what is Chien Chi Tow today, The petrol station came up next, then a seafood restaurant, then the junction where Tanjong Katong meets Dunman Road. 

Here the bus made a left, trundling down Dunman Road, then Old Airport Road. 

First up came the Under Construction Grand Dunman condominium followed by the maisonette flats that overlook the MRT station opposite the Old Airport Road Food Center. 

The blocks from the OG Dakota Estate still stand there, by the way. Empty and vacant they might be now- everyone has moved away- but the structure still holds and the sight of it makes us think of how Singapore used to be in another season, another time. 

From here on after the bus continued on, going past the junction of Nicoll Highway where today I got a most lovely view of the Dome National Stadium. The bus now turned left onto Geylang Road then Lorong 1 Geylang towards the Kallang MRT. 

A bit more construction there was here at the HDB side of Lorong 1 Geylang, then a left the bus made onto Upper Boon Keng Road. 

Kallang River- with her calm bluish-green waters- seemed exceptionally serene today. Were it not for the state land on her banks, I might have thought it were a park where families could picnic, fly kites, and maybe even fish. 

Seeing the calm surface also made me wonder how she used to look like at one time when- it is said- there were small boats plying up and down. 

From here the bus went on, going onto Boon Keng Road until the Kallang Junction traffic light.

A couple of office buildings in the industrial estate came on right after- Google Maps doesn't tell me their names- and then it was Bendeemer Road, with the new flats of Boon Keng on one side. It is hard to imagine what this plot of land used to be before all this came in and took over. 

For the longest time it felt like this was just an empty plot of land (before which there were shophouses), and then one day urban development came in and these flats appeared. 

Perhaps that makes it significant that there are some landmarks which don't go away.

On the opposite side of the road stood the new flats of Towner with the khaki and cream colored structure of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital standing steadily behind. It is one thing to remove a piece of history entirely. It is another thing to enhance it as much as one can, to let it be relevant to a changing world. 

Here the bus made a right, going past the Central Sikh Gurdwara (which I didn't manage to take a picture), then the flats that I always think of in relation to a bakery, a bit of the Whampoa River, followed by the junction of St. Georges Road. 

The Tong Tek Buddhist Temple and the Elim Church (as we often call it) came up next, after which it were another section of the Kallang River on the Serangoon Road side. 

The waters here today looked just as serene as it were on the Boon Keng side. Less bluish, more greenish, but calm and serene all the same. 

Perhaps one day I should do a bit of a bike ride or a wander along this river. It is one of the most interesting rivers in our country, actually, beginning from the waterways of Bishan Park in the heartland of Singapore, and continuing all the way down past Toa Payoh, then into Potong Pasir, then here on the Serangoon side, before drifting down to Kallang, and the open sea southwards beyond. 

From where we are today it is often hard to imagine the zone of Kallang and Geylang Lorong 1 to be that of Bishan Park- the impressions are just too different- but there they are, a continuous waterway down that speaks more of Singapore's heritage and industry than we usually think. 

The building I noticed most had to be the one that once used to be an Aerated Water Factory. At least that is what I think it once was. Today it is repurposed to be a playschool, but the structure- so typical of factories sometime in the 50s- still looks the same. 

A motorcycle repair place came up almost immediately- I wonder if there is a significance, or if it has always been there- then it was Moonstone Lane.

I'm afraid I know nothing about this area. 

Other than the Serangoon Broadway Photography Studio and a Bee Cheng Hiang which seems to have been there for a very long time, this is one area that I have never visited, never come to at all, and, to date, don't have much of an opportunity to.

Then again, who knows, maybe one day...? 

The bus now turned onto the PIE highway heading towards Toa Payoh. 

And Chonkycam decided she would go back to her case here.