This was a long bus ride which I took somewhere in the latter part of last year.
If I remember rightly, it was probably around October, near the time of my birthday, because long bus rides are my thing, and going on two long bus rides (this being the second) were what I wanted to do.
Getting here to Sembawang had taken us a long bus ride all the way from Kallang, and it were after wandering about Sun Plaza a little bit that we decided it were time to head back.
We weren't sure if we should take the train to Jurong East then switch to the East-West line, or if we should take a bus all the way back down until we reached familiar ground.
The bus won.
Because Bus 117 had a rather intriguing route which I wanted to try.
So up we went, turning out first from Sembawang Bus Interchange then past Sun Plaza, and past the MRT before entering an area I'd like to call the Canberra zone.
No mean intent, really, because this entire zone which the bus went along had stops along Canberra Street, Canberra Walk, Canberra Crescent, Canberra Link.
Which of these pictures belonged to which, I can't tell- I'm not familiar with this area at all- but the sunset seemed especially peaceful, and I loved how the (wet) canal glistened beautifully in the orange glow of the setting.
They say that the north and the west hits different when it comes to the way light shines, and I have to agree.
It isn't just how the light illuminates the housing blocks of the Yishun neighborhood or the Yishun Sports Hall (with its distinctive row of tall coconut trees) or even the blocks along Yishun Avenue 1.
It's the peace and the quiet which permeates through the area, especially when the bus passes by the place we call Yishun Dam which overlooks the Lower Seletar Reservoir.
Is it the stillness that attracts me?
Or may it be the calm of the waters?
Perhaps it's the latter.
Whichever it might be, I found myself in a bit of contemplative mood where I felt strangely refreshed just gazing over the waters of the reservoir to the waters beyond.
I wanted to drift away.
I really did.
But then the bus went along her way, and soon I found myself in the area of Seletar Airport, once Seletar Air Base.
You know, I'm now kind of wondering whether it is only the waters of the reservoir and the sea that grants vibes of peace.
Might it be also heritage and the history?
Or the presence of timelessness as if there's something that still yearns to be said, and yet hasn't been said at all?
I soon realized that the serenity wasn't necessarily only at the waters of the Lower Seletar Reservoir, but the airport too.
At another time this place might have been busy, but it was quiet this evening, and it was pleasant, I tell you, to see airport hangars up close, and buildings with the names of well-known airplane manufacturers mounted all in front.
There was a vintage plane on display somewhere.
As much as I liked seeing these buildings and the hangars all laid out so neatly, it were the sight of the airfields which charmed me.
As if the years had never passed, as if they still were.
What was it that here used to have, or here used to be?
What was it that once existed before our population grew and the estates of Sengkang and Punggol and Hougang took over?
There're hardly any stories I know.
Doesn't stop me wondering though,
Like this waterway that today forms part of the Lorong Halus area but was it ever part of the Serangoon River?
Did it have any boat traffic?
How many boats did there use to have, and where after that did they go?
The area has transformed into a very calm and serene landscape now.
Maybe a former boatman might take one look at this waterway and regale us blur ones of the days gone by.
And maybe one day there'll be stories told of Kangkar and Hougang and Punggol and what this place a long time ago used to be.