Eunos Housing Estate

Eunos Housing Estate- right on the border of Eunos MRT station on the East-West MRT line- has to be one of the most interesting public housing estates this side of town.

It's not the most obvious thing- especially when you see it from Still Road or Sims Avenue- but Eunos has to be one of the most exclusive, and enclosed housing estates from that era in HDB's chronicle of time. 

The exact name of the era, I don't know.

But whilst the blocks all seem to look the same, the estate here doesn't sprawl out the same way like Tampines, Bedok, Yishun, Clementi and even Jurong East do. 

Eunos is remarkably enclosed. 

It's so tight that from any single point of the blocks you can literally look across to the outer edges of the estate on the other side.

There're few roads in Eunos- I think maybe just three or four- very different from the other estates with their long Avenues and curing Lorongs. 

How many roads exactly this neighborhood has, I didnt count. 

I didn't get to count.

It was already late afternoon by the time I'd approached the estate from the MRT on the Sims Avenue side. 

And then as it turned out I ended up spending too much time in the first housing block that I went to. 

Entering Eunos from the Sims Avenue side was a wise thing to do. 

The station exterior has one of the most cultural-looking roofs on the island and even though I don't know whether it is because of its proximity to Geylang Serai or its heritage presence, it's a charming sight. 

It's also conveniently connected to the bus interchange. 

What interested me about this estate was not just her nearness to her surroundings but also just how much space inside her estate she actually had. 

Eunos is not far from Paya Lebar. 

I didn't realize it until I went to a corridor in one of her blocks, and saw this. 

On one side was Haig Complex (last time make passport to West Malaysia there), KINEX and the housing blocks of Haig Road. 

On the other side were the light industrial estates of Paya Lebar and the blocks of Ubi in the distance. 

It was interesting to see just how much space there was in between. 

Not only that, from one particular point on the long block was a straight, clear route through all the way to PLQ with no obstruction other than a stretch of trees beneath. 

Admittedly I found myself wondering why. 

What's more, this corridor was so windy I wondered just how far I would be able to see if it were a bright, clear, blue-sky day.

Maybe I might be able to see up to Aljunied, perhaps even Paya Lebar.

If this side of the housing estate interested me, the other side interested me even further. 

The view was breathtaking.

You don't notice it when you're on the train heading east or west.

Neither do you notice it when you're on the bus.

But from an upper floor of a block facing Jalan Eunos, this was the view. 

I was genuinely surprised. 

Never would I have thought that you could look all the way down east from the upper floors of a Eunos housing estate block.

But it was there. 

This was not merely a view that stretched into Kembangan across Jln Eunos. 

Neither was this a view that stretched across Still Road towards Telok Kurau. 

From where I stood I could see all the way towards Chai Chee, Bedok even.

I could also see all the way past the houses of East Coast Road towards the neatly spaced out housing blocks of Marine Parade  estate, and the condominiums along the coast. 

It was intriguing. 

There in the distance I could see the point blocks of Laguna Park and Bayshore. 

And even though I couldn't see any planes despite doing my best squint, I'm pretty sure that on a clear, fine day there I'd be able to catch the sight of commercial planes on their flight path out from Changi Airport too. 

Of course, an estate is not merely about the views she proffers, but also the amenities that lie within and around her. 

Eunos is not lacking for her practical amenities.

Sure, she may not have a cinema or sports stadium or swimming pool. Neither does she have a lot of interim parks here and there. 

But she has two rows of grocery shops, hair salons, necessity shops, bakeries, fruit stalls and a small express supermarket. 

She also has a full sized hawker center. 

Which unfortunately that day I didn't get to drop in for a meal, but I think they specialize in Malay--Muslim cuisine, they have a very nice chye tow kuay stall there, and I think I saw a popular noodle stall there too.