I'm pretty sure the bus I took from somewhere along Orchard Road on this particular afternoon was 36.
What I was doing this side of town, however, I don't remember.
Maybe I was coming from Tanglin Mall.
Or maybe I had taken the bus from the Orchard Boulevard side and let it loop one round.
Bus 36, after all, has one of those interesting routes that take you direct from Changi International Airport through Suntec City, Raffles City and the whole Orchard Road on both sides.
Where other buses continue their way towards the West (Clementi and Jurong East), 36 makes a right near Camden Medical Center, goes down the slope, and turns right back towards Orchard Road.
Enroute it passes by Tanglin Shopping Center and this building that old timers know to have housed a duty free shopping center one time before.
From there, the bus then goes past Orange Grove Road, Orchard Hotel and this building known as Delfi Orchard- which, surprisingly, even though I have passed it many a time, I have never gone.
Can't say the same for the (now cleaned up) Orchard Towers across the little road.
No, I never went there for the pubs or the clubs- I don't dance or drink- but there was a point in time where, besides McDonalds and Coffee Bean at Forum The Shopping Mall- the old-school cafes in Orchard Towers, together with the kebab kiosk- were the only places serving up very-late-night meals.
I don't know how many nights I went there for a bowl of spicy tom yum soup, a plate of oily but satisfying Phad Thai, or green curry beef.
There were always groups of patrons and prettily-dressed staff hanging outside the building.
But surprisingly none (or few) of them crossed over next door to stand by the shrubs on the Palais Renaissance side.
Nor, of course, outside the fence and gate of the Royal Thai Embassy as well.
After Delfi Orchard and (the much cleaned up) Orchard Towers, the bus makes its way past Palais Renaissance, and the Royal Thai Embassy before coming to the traffic stop at the junction of Shaw.
Many people consider this to be the official entrance of Orchard Road.
And no wonder too- there's so much to be seen here.
My side of the bus today had the views of Shaw Lido, and across on Scotts Road, the buildings of Scotts Square, Tangs Department Store and Marriott Tang Plaza in her signature architectural pagoda.
On the opposite or Orchard, however, there is the iconic Wheelock Place with her glass paneled cone, and the impossible to miss The bus continues going straight down, however, and soon we pass the shopping malls of Lucky Plaza and Paragon before coming to the next stop that marks where Pullman Hotel is today.
This particular junction has been one of the most crowded ones for a long time.
These days it seems even busier.
Either there're more pedestrian traffic (hello Apple Store) or there're more cars heading into the tunnel of the Central Expressway.
There have been a couple of significant changes in this area over the years.
Where once this building used to be Crown Prince Hotel with a Swensen's on the ground floor is now Pullman Hotels after a management change two times over.
And now there's an Ascott peeking out on the other side.
It didn't use to be there.
Not, at least, during the time when I trudged up and down the hill on my way to work at the Arts Center up there.
Things change, like they always do.
And we've more or less come to accept it.
The shopping street of Orchard Road is not a place that sticks around for the sake of heritage.
She evolves with the decades.
Like this building here which during the early 2000s was known to every youth and young adult as The Heeren but twenty years on now has become furniture, electronics and lifestyle store Courts Nojima.
I should visit this store more often.
It's not like there's nothing there to see. :)
Perhaps I move on a little too fast and a little too quick.
Just like this bus which went ahead past Centerpoint, Orchard Plaza and Concorde Hotel before coming to a stop at the junction of Concorde and Cavanagh Road.
The trees here might not seem much to a casual passerby but I always look out for this one.
Especially for the glittery baubles that hang from its huge branches during Christmas time.
From here the bus went past Plaza Singapura and Cathay before finally crossing Bencoolen Street and entering into the zone we call the Downtown Core.
Here, too, buildings have evolved.
What once used to be Plaza By The Park a long time ago is now Lazada, and even though her bluish glass-paneled exterior has transformed into a solemn-looking black colored one, at least there's still some sort of a food court on the ground floor there.
I'm glad they removed that figurine of a gigantic hanging monkey.
Scared the s*** out of me every single time.
Onwards the bus went, going past the (still) boarded up Singapore Arts Museum, past the Income House on Queen Street, and the older wing of Carlton Hotel.
Not far from there, just past the next junction the bus came to a stop outside Raffles Hotel before continuing her way towards the area today known as South Beach.
Some of us remember this place as the NCOs Club, exclusive only to those who had access to enter there.
That's changed, of course, what with the heritage buildings now tenanted out to pubs and restaurants, and Marriott South Beach taking host over several floors in one of the towers there.
I'm glad they retained the red brick of the building.
It makes her stand out, very much like a landmark that indicates you've left the space of Heritage Downtown Core, and entering the newer Suntec City/Marina Bay one.
Other than this- the huge screen overlooking the WWII Memorial Park- I didn't take that many pictures within here..
But I did take a picture of the motorcycles parked outside one of the towers.
And afterwards, as the bus trundled on into the glowing sunset, I took a couple more pictures of the road leading up to Sheares Bridge, and the scenic view out my window on the expressway.
