Not often is it that I get to do those kind of strolls that have no restriction of time, no destination, and no goal. But once in a while I awaken the hippie spirit that tends to lie dormant within me, and off I go to a place that I decide I shall be.
I'd planned to visit the childhood home of a close friend of mine. He used to live near the expressway, he'd said, so from the estate of Geylang Bahru (yes, the one I'd been to not too long before) I made my way towards the direction of the Pan Island Expressway, passing by a McDonalds outlet and a 24 hour NTUC along the way.
Across the bridge I went, up to the very floor where he said he used to stay, snapped a couple of pictures, then made my way back down.
Instead of returning via the route that I'd come from, I decided I'd forge ahead, so out from this neighborhood I went, crossed the road, and promptly found myself amongst housing blocks of architectural design distinctly familiar to me. (I'd worked amongst blocks of similar design for a couple of years)
There were probably eight or ten blocks altogether, each standing sturdy and tall side by side intercepted with nicely planted trees, shops, sheltered walkways, playgrounds, benches and paved paths in between, but here's the funny thing: I don't know the estate's exact name.
Yes, the estate may be collectively known as MacPherson, generalized as MacPherson even, but in fact it is made up of smaller housing estates that somehow had their borders extended further and further over time.
Three generations of housing blocks in this estate alone there seem to be- 60s, 70s and 80s- and all of them are so connected to each other that one area blends seamlessly into the other.
I know of someone who lived in Balam Road during the late 60s. I know of someone who lived along the expressway during the 80s. I know of someone who taught at the school nearby whose students came from the surrounding neighborhoods of Circuit, Mattar, Balam and MacPherson.
Where exactly those roads are, I admit I dont' know- I didn't bother to check- but safe to say that they lie within close proximity of each other, they're surrounding the (well known) market and hawker center, and are within walking distance of the river, which, by the way, whilst looking nice and neat like a canal today, possesses the currents of a fast-moving river.
I should know- I crossed the river right after a bout of heavy rain- and I would have loved to stop and admire the sight of fallen leaves floating atop the rippling waters, but I'd already lingered too long at one of the blocks and it was nearing time for me to leave.