Selfies of 2024, 2025

Would you believe it that I have not posted a single article of me and my selfies for the whole entirety of this year and last? 

That for the year of 2024 and (now ending) 2025 I have not written a single piece compiling all the selfies that I took during the course of the year? 

Goodness.

I cannot believe it myself.

That has never happened before. 

But, better late than never, I suppose (since it's already happened).

So, here goes. 

What makes this series of pictures interesting that whilst I can remember at where I took some of them, there are those that I don't seem to remember. 

Its like, I can recall myself taking the first selfie at MBS, the second selfie at the Coffee Bean on Sentosa Island near the Beach Station, the third selfie on the staircase of Steppyhouse near the patio upstairs, I cannot, for the life of me, remember where I was when I snapped the picture of me in the white hoodie jacket. 

One of the nicer pictures to boot, some more. 

Fortunately my memory isn't that bad, thank God. 

There's a shot of me in my pink T-shirt with a window (and hints of greenery) in the background. From the picture it looks like I'm comfortable. What you don't know, however, is how many angles I attempted before getting this perfect one. This picture too doesn't show me sitting on the carpeted floor of the hotel room in BKK, concealed behind the sheer curtain shade so that I don't get any odd shadows falling on me. 

Why so determined to get the picture, you ask. 

I'd just bought a new liquid foundation from Eve & Boy. 

Meetings and occasions are perfect reasons to take selfies, by the way, and although I don't always find myself in the frame of mind to do it, here in the year of 2024, there are at least two.  

There's the one in my grey top. 

There's also the one in my red top. 

The grey top was taken at Centrepoint in Orchard Road an hour or so before going up to Clementi where my colleague was doing a press interview. 

The red top, on the other hand, was taken at a Starbucks in BKK's Ploenchit Center where I was meeting an Englishman who had been made Thailand his decades-long home. 

There are other pretty pictures from 2024 too. 

I don't know where I took the one with me in my big Pratunam T-shirt. It might have been shot in BKK. It might also have been shot at the Dalkomm Coffee outlet in Marina Square where I'd gone for a late afternoon snack with a friend. 

I also don't know where I took the orange tinted me in my pink T-shirt. From the looks of it, with the flowers at the back, it might have been the lobby of Conrad Centennial Hotel in Marina Bay where I sometimes went for a sit and make a phone call. 

These are some of the pictures I have vague memories of.

But some pretty pictures I can recollect very well.

Like the one of me in my white doggy T-shirt looking so beautifully at the camera. 

I had been at the lobby of Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway where sunlight is 360, the tint (depending on the clouds) is occasionally soft, and where you can take pictures in one of the most naturally-lit places around town. 

After this comes the selfies of 2025, up to today November, that is. 

Someone commented recently that I seem to look a tad fiercer this year. 

Guess what, seeing these now, I have to agree.

We're already in November- and whilst I hold on to hope things will get better very, very soon- in some ways, 2025 could have been happier. 

That being said, I am the sort who will take pictures as and when life happens, whatever life might be.

To me it doesn't matter whether or not I smile. 

It does matter that I tried; that I gave it a shot, and I hope it will all be well. 

So right on top- at the beginning of this year, actually- there's a picture of me in a big lilac-colored waffle T-shirt which I took sitting at MOS Burger in NEX Shopping Mall, and given that outfit, given that day, I was probably feeling tired, drained, and waiting to go for dinner. 

After that, somewhere further down, there's another picture of me, this time in a green hiking camo T-shirt bought from Decathlon just after finishing a morning phone call out on the patio. 

Other pictures have me wearing one of my new favorite T-shirts bought from Pratunam last year wearing a earring that I evidently wanted to show in the picture, and of me wearing a grey top. 

I don't remember where I was when I wore the Pratunam T-shirt. It might have been Vivocity. It might have been elsewhere. 

But the one of me in the grey top I know I had snapped at the Starbucks in Bugis+ an hour or two before bringing a bag of lavender-scented face mists up to an entertainment karaoke place on the 7th floor as part of a collaboration between our company, and theirs. 

That made for one of the business selfies to be had this year, with the other seeing me in a dove-blue linen suit (also bought from Pratunam) quickly taking a picture whilst seated at a coffee place in Thomson Plaza just moments before the prospect client came. 

I'm glad for some of these pictures, really.

They remind me how beautiful I am, how beautiful I can be. 

Just so long as the light is good, doesn't matter whether I'm seated somewhere, or on a bus, like one of the pictures that has my skin looking surprisingly soft and my orange glitter eyeshadow perfectly blended and put on. 

Don't laugh. 

It's not always that we get surprised by how we look. 

Especially mine is sometimes a hit and miss and I don't always look this way. 

But I try- even if the hair's not obedient, and even if I haven5't gotten enough sleep as a result of a flu-bugged cough that kept me the whole night awake. 

I'm at a special place- a steak place down at Capitol Theater- and I want to make sure I have a selfie to remember myself there. 

Perhaps that's what life is. 

Taking pictures of ourselves at all moments, whether we be at home, whether we be on a bus, at a restaurant, at a Starbucks, or at another Starbucks with the wind blowing our hair right across our face. 

The Food of Thomson

Couple of months ago I found myself with a host of repeated opportunities to head up to Central Singapore for a series of business meetings. 

I'm thankful for the opportunities. 

I'm also thankful for the meals that I have had there. 

It's dope to be able to say that I've eaten at this place and that place up in the Thomson enclave, but from Google Maps and the looks of it, there's still a lot more I have yet to try.

Perhaps one day I might be able to say that I've had a whole fish steamed with light soy sauce and ginger, and chap cai png favorites, at renowned Teochew porridge stall Heng Long.

Perhaps one day I might be able to say I tried a nice brunch plate at Baker's Brew, or a bowl of fishball noodles at Ming Fa Fishball Noodles. 

I might even be able to say that I had Mookata at Thomson's Siam Square Mookata, followed by ice cream at popular homegrown ice-cream brand Udders. 

There're still more restaurants and cafes on the other side of the road. 

I just haven't paid attention to what they are, yet. 

At the moment I've tried just three places- all of which have their own charm, and which are interesting on their own.

One of the places I've been to- at least twice- is Soi 19 Wanton Noodles. 

Which, you would think I'd be there for their wanton noodles or at least their wanton soup, but no, what I have had- what we have had- a couple of times- is their basil pork rice, and their curry noodles. 

I'm not the type who likes too much excitement in my food but from time to time (especially after brain power) I like to have a wee bit of stimulation, and so, curry noodles it has been. 

The basil pork is a big portion, I've been told, and even though not as spicy as most assume it to be, is full of flavor, and is prepared in such a way that it tastes best when eaten with rice. 

It tastes differently when eaten on its own.

Perhaps there really is something about eating food the way the food is meant to be. 

It's like how I like the creamy, smooth texture of the curry in the claypot of noodles but I like how the bean curd tau pok soaks up the curry better. They're very generous with the tau pok pieces too. In fact, so many pieces are there that I think they have more of these than any other ingredient. 

There're the noodles, of course, and the deep-fried breaded piece of pork fillet that's buried beneath the heap of everything else. 

The fillet is remarkably huge, by the way, soaking up so much of the curry that every bite becomes a textured combination wrapping the crunch of the batter, the chew of the meat, and the creamy, spicy flavor of the thick curry all at one go. 

If I've eaten here a couple of times, a part of me wishes that I too had been able to eat at The Roti Prata House a similar number of times. 

A bit of a pity that I've only been able to eat here twice.

The first time we sat outside, alfresco, and ordered a glass of lychee soda that turned out to be a glass of soda water mixed with canned lychee syrup plus a single piece of canned lychee fruit. 

I'm not complaining.

I knew what I was paying the $2.80 for. 

It had been a hot afternoon and I was thirsty. 

Only thing is that I didn't get to take a picture of the food the first time we ate there. 

But I took pictures the second time, where my colleague and I shared a murtabak, and had a prata plaster each. 

The murtabak was a little bit different from what I had eaten before. 

Not that it was bad, not anything of the sort, just that whilst the crepe had both the crisp and the crunch, and it wasn't as greasy as I first thought it might be, it did have wee bit less taste than what I had imagined. 

Same too, for the prata plaster. 

The egg was good and the crepe was crispy and crunchy but seemed to have slightly lesser taste than I thought it would. 

In the future when I go there I want to try the kuay teow goreng or the nasi goreng. 

When I was there the last time there were several diners having their evening meal, and I found myself attracted by the heap of rice on their plates, as the rich reddish mountain of noodles on their plate. 

It might be a while, though. 

We've in recent days found a new cafe in Thomson Plaza itself, and the dining experience so far has been pretty good. 

An interesting name the cafe has- I think it's called The Grumpy Bear.

The dishes on the menu might seem like commonplace cafe fare- steaks, salad, pasta, poultry, fish, drinks and dessert, but they do theirs rather well. Aesthetic garnish, pleasant to the eyes and to the palate, we've eaten there twice, and both times have been just as good. 

First time I chose to have a pasta. 

I don't have a picture but I know I had pasta with pesto sauce. 

Very simple, very ordinary, but oy, I like pesto. 

And because I don't get to have pasta very often, the meal became extra special. 

Second time I went there I decided on a chicken chop with salted egg sauce.

Actually I don't know what the menu name of this dish is. 

But it doesn't matter. 

I just know I got very, very surprised by the size of the chop when the plate arrived on the table. I hadn't expected it to be this huge. 

I also know I was very glad to have it, and made sure I cut it up as carefully as I could, savoring each well-breaded, deep-fried piece whilst keeping close track of time. 

A Morning @ Bedok

You know, so rare it is that I'm here at Bedok Central on an early weekday morning that I have to take pictures. 

To many people this area might seem regular, common, a route that they take every day. 

To me, however, there's something unique, and special, about being here on a morning, a weekday, this early. 

Perhaps it might be that the crowds haven't come in yet. 

Perhaps it might be that the early morning wave has disappeared to their offices and factories and places of work, and here I am, between the first wave and the second wave, gazing gratefully out at a space that, in an hour or two, be filled with homemakers, senior citizens, food delivery riders, and general population making their way here to Bedok Central for whatever it is they hope, and plan to do.

Don't laugh, but over the years I've come to genuinely like this place.

Not only is there the element of space between the shops of one block and the other, there is also the plethora of bubble tea shops, bakeries, coffee shops, supermarkets and the library. 

So, some of us might think bubble tea shops unimportant, and maybe they're not as essential as a coffee shop or a clinic, but they bring an element of color and cheer and it's always a pleasant sight to see posters advertising their newest concoction of brand new drinks. 

Same goes too for the bakeries. 

I was surprised by the number of 'hood bakeries there were in this place. 

(After Breadtalk) most town centers now only have about one or two. 

Here, however, there were at least four, with two seemingly the most popular, and the other with their own following of fans- homemakers, elderly and the working crowd alike. 

Bread, and buns are probably a much loved snack this part of the neighborhood. Maybe it because there're a good number of elderly all whom love the ease of favorite fillings already inside their breads. Maybe it also because of the presence of factories in close proximity nearby. It has been said that shift workers on graveyard hours like to snack on delicious smooth-skinned shiny buns with various fillings during their break. 

I wish I had gotten a few packets of these buns. 

They had the most interesting fillings. 

If the popular ones were red bean and kaya and curry and tuna and sardine and cream, in recent times there were buns with more unusual breads and fillings like taro, pumpkin and even more varieties of cream. 

So popular are the bakeries here at Bedok Central that you cannot go past a particular block without seeing one. 

Not only might there be one or two in one block, even at the bus interchange- on both ends- whether you be going towards the back, or at the front heading out- there's one on each side. 

The highlight of Bedok Central, however, has to be the supermarkets. 

Seldom is it, I tell you, that town centers have not just one, but three supermarkets all within a 5 minute walking distance of each other. It would be no surprise to find two supermarkets close by (we locals like our groceries) but here there're three. 

In the mall there is Fairprice Finest.

Outside, in the town center itself, a short walk away from where I'm seated here on this early morning, is the regular NTUC (2-storeys) and behind, on my left side, after the hawker center, is Sheng Siong, also a 2-storeyed affair, all of which have literally all the groceries you can need, and find.

Best, the NTUC, and the Sheng Siong both, are 24 hour. 

Maybe for the graveyard shift worker, maybe for the hungry one coming here to wait before heading to the airport, I don't know, but a well-stocked supermarket open day and night is a magnificent draw to everyone else too. 

Coming here to Bedok the first thing that strikes me is the wideness of space they have. It's not difficult for people to move about, whether they be outside under the open air, or under the five foot walkway that is often filled with people making their way in all directions to and fro. It's like, you can decide to squeeze, you can decide otherwise. 

The routes are generally straightforward, no cross-traffic, no needing to swerve and siam this person or that person. 

Amongst the shops there're a good number of hair salons, clinics and heartland shops that sell household barang barang and simple clothes and stuff that you don't usually look for but occasionally will need. 

I always look out for the medical hall at the corner- their signboard is yellow, they carry a huge host of skincare and toiletries, and the fragrant scent of boiling-over herbal tea eggs always gets to me. 

On the opposite side, in direct contrast to the medical hall, is the fruit shop which attracts buyers with their gorgeous price and heart-thumping techno. Their variety of fruits are not to be missed out, so it seems, and at any time one gets to see customers choosing boxes of grapes, rambutans, mangoes, oranges, pears, even kiwis and durian. 

But perhaps the anchor of Bedok Central (to me) is the library. 

I tend to gravitate there whenever I'm in the area, even if I happen not to have time, even if I happen not to be able to drop in for a read or a borrow. 

I actually get pensive when I don't get to visit the library. 

Of course, that doesn't mean it's the same anchor for everyone.

To someone it might be the hawker center near the main road opposite the bus interchange, well known for breakfast foods, lunch and dinner.

To someone else however, it might be the other hawker center that also serves as a wet market and is closer to Bedok North Road. 

I've so far only written about one side of Bedok Central. 

There are, in fact other sides, like on the other end, where there is an Arnold's, famous for its signature fried chicken, coleslaw and mashed potato.

I guess Bedok Central means different things to different people. 

Very soon I will be missing this place, but hopefully there might be opportunities for more occasions, happier occasions, and maybe even more times, to come those days. 

Lunch @ Hainan Second Street

Some time ago, a friend introduced me to the food of this eating place in Bedok Mall called Hainan Second Street.

Uneducated me at first thought it was (something like) another Hainanese place that I, on several occasions, had patronized when I happened to be near the Lavender area, but no, the vibe- completely different. 

Let's just say that if one place felt more touristy, more formal- as some might call it-the other one felt more casual, more comfortable, more homely. 

Hainan Second Street felt like the downstairs coffee shop the family trooped to for dinner should the chef of the family decided to close kitchen that day. 

It might have been the ambience, the furniture, the staff (all of whom spoke Hainanese, by the way) or maybe just the atmosphere in general, but the Cantonese me didn't feel uncomfortable one bit at all, and happily looked through the menu.

There're a fair bit of dishes to be had here at Hainan Second Street.

Popular ones include the Hainanese Chicken Rice, the Paper Cut Curry Rice, the Curry Noodles and the Classics.

My friend went for one of the classics- the Sweet and Sour Pork Chop, which, for some reason I don't have a picture of, but is a signature dish in and amongst Hainanese food places. There's a bit of a story to it, I know, maybe it has something to do with the fact that many Hainanese used to work as chefs and cooks for the British and the Europeans (or so the story goes) and so they know how to make a good breaded pork chop. 

Me, on the other hand, decided to go for the Curry Chicken Chop, which, when it came, got me incredibly surprised by the ocean of curry the dish was swimming around in. 

I don't think I have ever had that huge a amount of curry when at coffee shops or food courts I order chap chye png. 

What I liked most about this dish wasn't just the very well breaded chicken chop, but also the lettuce vegetables, the two pieces of black fungus, and the single piece of pork belly that at first I couldn't tell, hidden as it was under the curry-soaked heap of rice. 

The curry had more curry powder than chili, which I liked, and was creamier, sweeter than I thought it would be. 

How is it that a simple plate of rice, vegetables, and two kinds of meat can turn into something so heartwarming, I don't know, but it was just so comforting, so lovely to dig one's spoon into. 

You might have thought we would have more than enough, but we weren't to go off without trying at least a piece of their signature toasts, so a crisp two-piece toast with butter and kaya we decided to have. 

The butter was thick, making it a great complement to the toast already layered with a thick, creamy splat of fragrant, pandan-infused kaya making each bite taste both salty and sweet. 

Let's just say it was kind of fun trying to balance the brick of butter on top of the toast without it sliding around. 

What made this bread lovelier was the cup of hot milk tea that we'd ordered together with it. 

it's funny; in my head toast and curry rice don't always seem like a balanced combination- like is the kaya on the bread considered dessert, but then there's the salty butter and the bread itself, so it's technically also considered a main? 

But all that doesn't matter once you have the toast. 

Everything just naturally falls into place. 

And thats' when you realize you could, in fact, have had a toast set, even a French toast one, or with eggs, and made a main out of it. 

But that's how it went for lunch this afternoon at Bedok Mall. 

I spent a bit of time observing the plates of the slightly senior diners around me. Some of them had ordered just the toast and drinks. Others, however, had chicken rice and beef noodles in front of them. A few tables away, a group of four were happily relishing the steamboat set, slowly sipping their soup whilst the vegetables and meats bubbled around in the steamboat pot. 

I pretty much like the food here at Hainan Second Street.

Think I'll come here for the curry rice again next time. 

Or maybe the chye poh hor fun. 

I like hor fun, I don't mind chye poh, and it's a distinctive combination that I don't think I have had before. 

All The Food From Soi47

My favorite go-to Thai restaurant Soi 47 has closed down.

Literally.

Gone.

All around the island. 

No more. 

Am I devastated?

No.

Am I quietly sad, quietly disappointed? 

Yes. 

Soi 47 has had a very special presence in my life since the first time I had her food at Temple Street. I don't know how it is we found the restaurant right near the corner of Temple Street and South Bridge Road, but she offered a wide selection of favorite Thai street food at gorgeous downtown prices, and the food was authentically good.

So lovely this restaurant was for us that we patronized them a good long while, relishing in their green curry beef, green curry chicken, fried spring rolls, Pad Thai, and their variety of soups, including the spicy tom yum and the spicy but mellower coconut milk cream soup tom kha. 

It was a joy to eat there during the season of Chinese New Year

Which year, in particular, now I can't quite remember, but I think it were the Year of the Ox because I had bought a most adorable stuffed toy ox from one of the bazaar stalls nearby and brought it to lunch with me. 

What's funny is that I might not remember the year, but I certainly do remember us having- on account of the occasion- a bowl of their fish maw soup, and a platter of their steamed fish in soy sauce. 

When the outlet at Temple Street closed down, we began frequenting the outlet at Clarke Quay. There too are memories that I have with this particular outlet here. Many a time it has just been between my friend and I, but I have, too, met up with others at this one outlet, where, if I'm not wrong, we ordered a steamed fish, a plate of fried chicken, spring rolls, a plate of vegetables, and some other dishes that I now cannot remember. 

Between my friend and I, much of our meals centered around the omelets (fried Thai style), the fried chicken skin, the roast pork, and the Pad Thai. 

I can't find a picture of the Pad Thai even though I'm pretty sure I must have taken one. 

It wasn't just the Clarke Quay outlet we went to.

There was the Soi 47 at Orchard Central, a very sunny airconditioned place on one of the upper floors and where I think we have had lots of Moo Ping, green curry beef, tom kha, and other dishes. 

Think this was the first place I had Pad See Ew, or what they call as Beef Kuay Teow Fried.  

I haven't forgotten the delight I felt the first time I had it.

Was it the texture of the noodle? 

Was it the taste, or the way it was fried?

I can't remember now. 

But Pad See Ew remains one of my favorite dishes, and I try to have it whenever I can, whether here, or in Thailand. 

Perhaps what makes Soi 47 isn't merely the meals that we have had there, but also the memories that come associated with it. 

My friend's father said their noodles (I think it were Pad Thai, or maybe Pad See Ew) were one of the best he'd ever had. My friend had bought them from the outlet at St. George's, near Lavender. His father liked them so much that he texted his son to bring back the same noodles when he next came to visit at the nursing home. Sadly, only just a day before visiting day, my friend's father died. The old man never got to eat again the beef fried kuay teow that he'd tried for the first time, and said he liked. 

If it were already, as it was, sad, there are, thankfully, happier moments that come along with extended memories. 

An elderly lady I know stays at a nursing home in Toa Payoh. What's interesting is that- out of all the gorgeous locations they could have had in the Toa Payoh estate- Soi 47 would choose to be at a block just a short 3 minute walk away on Lorong 6.

So that's where a good number of weekend meals went. 

I'm pretty sure over here altogether I had at least a plate of Pad See Ew, a plate of Pad Thai, several bowls of green curry beef, tom yum soup, tom kha soup, lots of Moo Ping, a few plates of pandan chicken, several plates of fried spring rolls, a few platters of steamed fish, and, yes, I won't be forgetting the bowl of Red Ruby dessert that the staff offered us one time- in exchange of a Google review. 

A little pensive here, but I will miss the presence of Soi47. 

It don't matter whether she transforms as another brand. 

It is the name of Soi47 that holds importance to me.

So many memories. 

Sad that she won't be around anymore, but hey, Soi47, whatever s*** it might have been keeping things as they were, thanks for the time, thanks for the memories, thanks for the food. 

You kept the presence of Thailand close to my heart during the very long season when I wasn't yet able to visit there. 

The Gummy Craze

A while ago I went absolutely bonkers over gummy sweets.

Not just the trending Haribo brand gummy sweets but gummy sweets from every and any other brand that carried them.

It got to a stage where I started walking down the sweet aisle just to look at them sweets even though, let me say, I hadn't walked down that particular aisle in years. 

There're a couple brands of gummy sweets that are OG here in the country. One brand comes from Australia- I forget the name but it's got white packaging and the sweets are made from natural ingredients. A long time ago I bought their sour worms cos I needed the sharp, tart chew. 

Then there's another brand. This one I think comes from Australia, or it could be elsewhere- very noticeable the packaging- bright yellow and green- and the sweets are probably sourburst or starburst, or something. 

On the more affordable side there's Yupi, which holds a somewhat special memory to me as it were the sweet I used to have a lot during the year I was 18. The school I attended sold these at the bookshop and (along with plum sweets) I always made sure to buy a Yupi burger or two. 

Over the years i stopped eating these gummy sweets, going instead on a random tour of whatever caught my eye. 

But this year I started paying attention to OG German brand Haribo. 

First it were the gummy bears that drew my eye.

After that came the gummy grapes.

Then of course there were the worms. 

Still I hesitated.

When I finally did cave in, it was to a brand from China that I chose. 

Two flavors there were, one flavor I think was strawberry, the other flavor banana. The banana tasted nicer, but still, not the chew, nor the taste that I liked. 

So it was to Haribo I went, choosing two bags of gummy sweets from Cold Storage that happened to be on offer. 

I don't have a picture of the gummy grapes and the gummy star collection of sweets that I bought.

Don't ask me why.

Instead I have a picture of this- a packet of sour bites from Chupa Chups that I bought on impulse from the Sheng Siong store at Chinatown on the Chin Swee Road side. 

They were good- sugar coated soury rectangular bites that made me keep going for piece after piece after piece.

But the picture looked thicker, more 3D, than it were inside the bag. 

Can't say I didn't like it though. 

No doubt the sweet had a wee little bit of the pale, plasticky kind of aftertaste, but it wasn't bad, the sugar crystals distracted you from it, and I'd say it be better to pop in a few of these at one go instead of eating them one by one. 

I've found new gummy sweets in recent days, no less, may I say, from Japanese lifestyle store MUJI. 

Maybe I'll go give them a try.

Or maybe I'll just cave in and go get those worms from Haribo that I've been eyeballing on the NTUC shelf for some time. 

Bus Ride Sights: Parkway Parade-Toa Payoh

I got a lot of pictures from this one bus ride, and guess what, oy, I cannot be happier. 

Perhaps I hadn't anticipated that'd be that many. 

It is, after all, not so big deal of a ride traveling from the East Coast to the Central part of the island. 

Or so I thought. 

Until I got all these pictures, looked at them hard, and realized just how changed the scenes looked, how the view outside the bus window switched from the trees to the heritage streets to more heritage streets and estates before turning into where the water leads to the city.

We took the bus from the bus stop right outside Marine Parade Central. 

Down the road it went, making a first turn at the roundabout leading from Marine Parade Road to Amber Road and Haig Road.

You might not think it much, but this roundabout has been here a long time, it marks a sort of passer-by entrance to a residential condo, and it leads to some of the quieter residential streets along the coast. 

I'm particularly fascinated by this roundabout. 

There're not many on this side of the island. 

Or if there be, I don't know.

Down Amber Road this Bus 31 went, going past a couple of condominiums, then right up to the junction of Mountbatten Road and Haig Road. 

Here at this junction, diagonally opposite from where I was, stood strata mall Katong Shopping Center. A prime location it is, honestly, sitting firm at the junction of Amber, Haig, Mountbatten and East Coast Road. 

At one point in time this shopping center would have been quite the charm, and there are those amongst us who would certainly remember doing some of their regular shopping here. There might have been seamstresses. There might have been hair salons and beauty parlors. There might also have been boutiques offering imported RTW fashions from the regions of Hong Kong, Europe and elsewhere. Perhaps there might even have been shoe stores. 

This place in recent years has become known for employment agencies and printing shops, but I think there's still something about its charm and vibe, and which, until the day it reinvents itself in some way or another, will continue to hold its vibe. 

From here, the bus turned left, going straight down Mountbatten Road until the junction of Tanjong Katong Road. 

I'm not sure the real significance of this road, but here is where one leads to streets like Goodman and some interesting homes on the stretch. 

I think of this street as one of low-lying condominiums nestled amongst large canopied trees.

What makes this area interesting is, of course, the junction, where on one side you have a plant nursery, and on the other side, a Singtel communications building next to a small (hutted-style) Post Office. 

From here, the bus turned right, going onto Tanjong Katong Road itself. 

First the bus passed by what used to be a school but is now a condo under construction. 

Further on the bus passed by the building that I think is called Suites @ Katong, and which I think of mostly in terms of the coffee cafe called 6 Letter Coffee. Of course, along the way one passes by a whole range of shop houses, and some popular eateries including Heng Long Teochew Porridge Cooked Food, and Punggol Nasi Lemak. 

Not forgetting cult favorite Nan Xiang Chicken Rice at the junction of one of the little roads next to the Caltex station before coming to the junction.

Here bus turned onto Old Airport Road, first passing by the flats of Jln Dua, then the Old Airport Road Food Center. 

There's something about this area that appeals to me.

I don't know if it were the presence of the nearby Geylang River, if it were the space that comes with it being close to the old airport, or if it were just what it is, a neighborhood with flats that probably had one of the best views this side of the country (in the late 60s or 70s) close to the former Guillemard Camp. 

There're changes now, of course, but the charm- and food- of Old Airport Road remains the same. 

After that the bus turned into Mountbatten Road, then another left into what I think is Geylang Road, going past the row of shop houses that hold restaurants like G7 Frog Porridge and Live Seafood, Nong Khai Beer House, and Man Dang Dang (which we used to go). 

Into Lorong 1 Geylang the bus turned afterwards, then right into the estate that's classified under Boon Keng Estate.

I've always taken notice of this estate. 

Whilst I might not know much about it, like I didn't even know it was considered under Boon Keng and not another estate, I've noticed it for its newly built tall blocks, all of which seem to be prime for their own reasons, what with it being near an MRT station, coffee shops, and supermarkets. 

What surprises me is that I didn't know Lorong 1 Geylang stretched all the way from the Geylang Road side near the old Kallang Airport past the MRT until Upper Boon Keng Road. 

But it does.

Here the bus turned left, making its way down Boon Keng Road past the Kallang River and I saw this landmark yellow and blue painted building on the right. I think it's a sort of distributor place, but to this day I have no idea.

To be clear, I'm not sure what offices and industries this area has, but Google Maps tells me there's a Schneider Electric on the left and Four Star Mattress & Furniture Singapore on the right. 

It's definitely an industrial type of area this part of Boon Keng Road. 

Straight onwards the bus went, first passing by another stretch of factory buildings, all of which I too have no idea what they are, and I don't recognize, save maybe for storage facility Extra Space Boon Keng- where today on this bus ride, I don't have a picture. 

Past Kallang Bahru the bus went now, again, going past factory buildings and office buildings that I know not which is which, but there was one glass-windowed building that I think was from Mapletree. 

I'm not familiar with Kallang Bahru. 

Maybe I did cycle through once, but that was a long time ago, and it was in passing from one side of Serangoon Road to another. 

Perhaps there might be a day where I'll get to know this area better. 

There is, after all, something about this area, about this place that even after all these years, continues to be fascinating. 

it's not just that there're these buildings and these industrial and infrastructure. 

It's the presence of space, the presence of coconut trees, the presence of something that once used to be there but no one can place it- that vibe- enhanced, maybe, by the empty pockets of field space that make you wonder what the area once used to be. 

Across Bendeemer Road the bus now went, going past notable landmark 69 Boon Keng Road now well-known social enterprise Dignity Kitchen, then several HDB blocks of the Boon Keng estate, then finally the junction of Boon Keng Road and Serangoon Road. 

Here the bus made a right, going past the Central Sikh Gurdwara, then more HDB blocks on both right and left, all of which I have hardly any inkling, save for one of the blocks on the right holding the outlet of McDonalds Bendeemer. 

A part of me wishes I knew this area of Bendeemer better.

It's like I know there's a bus stop that's like a hub bringing one either eastwards via MacPherson, Central via Toa Payoh, or Northeast via Potong Pasir, and I know the road beside this beautiful landmark here Towner Road leads to the housing estates of Towner and McNair.

But I know nothing else. 

Same way too I know hardly anything about the streets of Whampoa W and Whampoa E, which this afternoon the bus went past whilst on Serangoon Road. 

In fact I didn't even know there was a waterway called the Whampoa River, but there was one. 

But there it was, along which stood a condominium called Eight, or something, following which there was a row of shop houses- the kind that you usually won't pay attention to unless you're driving past them- then Blk 49 Whampoa which to me is an interesting block in and of itself for the very fact that it has been repainted, but still stands proudly alone. 

I don't have many pictures after this. 

The bus was turning onto the PIE, and a short while later I knew I would be getting down. 

But I managed to take a shot of this brick structure, which, whilst having seen it for many a year traveling down Serangoon Road, I've no idea what it is, Google Maps won't tell me, and it is in a spot where I think it's hard to walk here and take what might be a (sensitive) picture.