Bus Ride Sights: Rochor to Woodlands

I boarded this bus on impulse. 

Actually, no, it wasn't on impulse. 

I'd seen this bus at this particular bus stop on Rochor Road (outside Fu Lu Shou Complex) for a very long time. 

But today I didn't feel like going home early. 

Neither did I want to hang out in the shopping mall. 

So when Bus 960 braked at the bus stop at the very moment just as I was coming down the building's steps, I went on. 

The destination I knew was Woodlands.

I also knew that the bus would be traveling on Rochor Road, Rochor Canal Road, and Bukit Timah Road- beginning first with the bus stop opposite Race Course Road close to the MacKenzie Road side. 

From there it would go straight down, going past KK Women and Children Hospital (opposite) all the way until it reached Newton Food Center, Scotts Road and the junction of the Newton Circus/Newton Flyover. 

Somewhere here- near the Good Shepherd Loft, Church of the Latter Day Saints and Balmoral Plaza- I decided to take a picture. 

They're not pretty pictures. 

You can't really see the outline of the leaves on the banana tree outside the Good Shepherd Left.

Neither can you really see the letters of the shops on the awnings lining Balmoral Plaza. 

It's so blur. 

But I didn't destroy the picture. 

Because Balmoral Plaza means something to me. 

There once used to have a Waffletown with great fried chicken wings and cute little waffles but I don't think is there anymore. 

From here the bus continues along Bukit Timah Road until Stevens MRT Station, then makes a turn under the Wayang Satu Flyover into Whitley Road before turning onto the PIE. 

I don't have many pictures of the PIE. 

This is the only one I have. 

A bit of a pity that the rest didn't turn out well. 

Especially since this part of the route was remarkably scenic, almost relaxing, with mostly trees, and nary a concrete building in sight. 

Traveling along the PIE, and the BKE, always makes me feel like I'm leaving the bustle of the city and going up into the countryside. 

I don't mean that the northern estates are ulu. 

I just mean that they- being so close to the Central Catchment Area- seem to have a slightly different vibe. 

You can feel it if you happen to be at certain parts of Bukit Panjang, Bukit Batok and Choa Chu Kang..

I find it rather nice. 

Maybe I'm someone who appreciates both the quiet of the water and the silence of the land.

Sure, it's a little distracted by the blocks of flats, the charming shops, the well-lit pavements and the concrete of the LRT, but the vibe lingers,- all the way even as the bus meanders through Petir Road, Jelebu Road before  going onto the stretch we call Woodlands Road. 

Those of us living in the north will be familiar with Woodlands Road. 

It is- after all- probably the only other road besides Thomson Road that brings you down to the city via Dunearn Road and Thomson Road. 

I, however, am only partly familiar.

So everything that I saw out the window this particular day was intriguing to me. 

Like, I didn't know this side of Woodlands Road had so much empty space. 

And (having not ridden my bike there for so long) I'd completely forgotten that it was in fact so near the Yew Tee Village, the Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate, and Kranji Road. 

But it was.

The bus rolled on. 

There was a part where it passed by the Kranji Turf Club (on the right)

And there was a part where after crossing the Mandai River, the road became Woodlands Avenue 3. 

I'm not sure what they have over here, but there was the entrance to Micron (semiconductor) facility, there were industrial buildings in the distance, and I saw what I think might have been part of an old railway. 

To be honest I wish I knew whether this was part of an old single-track railway. 

It wouldn't surprise me if there used to be one. 

We are, after all, not very far away from Kranji (where an old military railway used to be) and we are in the vicinity of Sembawang Air Base, Sembawang Naval Base, as well as several military camps. 

But there's very little I know of Woodlands- Marsiling  even- and i suppose what I wish to know can only be read through at another time