A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a night ride of the likes which I'd not done since a long time before. A bit of a risk it was, I have to admit, first of which it being the season of the Circuit Breaker (where generally everyone was advised to stay indoors), and the second of which was that the hour was really, really late.
For a sense of how late it was, let's just say that I was at a 24 hour supermarket in Bedok at midnight- and that was the start of my journey on Daffy.
From there I headed into Bedok South Road (I didn't awnt to climb that Opera Estate hill) then turned out onto East Coast Road. From there I went down past Siglap then turned into Frankel Avenue (because I was always curious about this sprawling residential estate) before turning out back on Changi Road.
Down Changi Road I went, past Eunos, then past the Haig Road Food Centre and into Guillemard Road. Down this road I went- there was a fire station and a police station along it now- then came onto a junction.
Here I should have made a right.
Had I done so I'd have been somewhere along Sims Avenue and Geylang Road.
Instead I went straight- and promptly found myself on Nicoll Highway, which, of course, meant no U-turn, and no turning back. For a moment I did consider turning into the Stadium, but then thought better of it and decided to go ahead instead.
Nearing Suntec City I turned left into a park- of which I don't know it's official name but everyone calls it the Formula One Pit park- and went along the route towards the Formula One Pit Building and the Singapore Flyer.
Turning out I found myself at the junction of Marina Bay Sands and one of the boulevards in the Marina Bay area, so ahead I went, passing by the Floating Platform, Mandarin Oriental and the Esplanade, then made a left onto the Jubilee Bridge.
Over it I biked. Midway I made a stop (totally not doable on normal days!) to take the picture of MBS. This is a sight that I don't think I'd see again anytime soon, and so, one for the memories. Finding myself outside the Fullerton Bay Hotel after that, I went ahead into the district of Shenton Way and the Downtown Financial District. The place was really quiet, I must add, and I don't mean the kind of quiet that comes with offices being shut for the night, but the kind of quiet that comes with offices being shut for a long time.
Having come this far I had to make a decision whether I ought to continue straight towards Keppel, Vivocity and Kampong Bahru, or to make a turn into Upper Cross Street and Chinatown.
I turned towards Chinatown.
Because it was nearing 2am and I wanted to get back eastside.
The route on Upper Cross Street took me past Lau Pa Sat, the temporary Telok Ayer hawker center and Club Street before I reached South Bridge Road. Along the way I made a detour into Amoy Street and Telok Ayer Street- it isn't often that I get to cycle into these streets at night, much less when they are this silent.
I reached Eu Tong Sen Street not too long after, and then it was a straight route back down from there. On the spur of the moment I decided to make a stop at the State Courts building. For some reason I wanted to get a sense of it in the quiet of the night. This place had, after all, been pretty much a part of me for the last couple of years, and I thought it necessary to just stop and see the building(s) for what they were. Also, I felt it necessary to say a quiet prayer of thanks for grace, mercies and redemption.
I didn't hang around there too long, of course, very silly to loiter outside the State Courts, and went back out onto Eu Tong Sen Street. From there it was a straight road down, passing by the Central Fire Station, the hotel at Victoria Street, Bugis, Lavender, the factories near Kallang MRT, then Sims Avenue.
Into Geylang I then cycled- the fruits stalls remained open (the durian sellers were clad with masks over their faces)- stopping only somewhere near the Aljunied MRT Station to finish the packet of Kurma fresh milk that I'd bought, then it was into the eastside zone right after. (The route gets really straightforward once you hit Geylang)
Strangely though I'd actually cycled faster than I thought, and because the time had not come for me to return yet, I slow-biked my way through the little park.
And chanced upon this furry little friend.