I can't recall just exactly where we were headed to this one particular afternoon.
My guess is that we were heading to Serangoon Central.
But we just might as well have been heading to Toa Payoh.
Dear me, I can't quite remember.
Maybe I ought to take out Chonkycam from the start of the journey next time, and only keep her back when I'm a bus stop or two away from my destination.
I won't forget where I was intending to head to, this way.
Chonkycam did come out at a rather early part of the bus journey.
Not just at the bus stop where I waited for the bus, but on the Jalan Awang side where this afternoon I decided to take a picture of the rental bicycles all parked so neatly by the side, and the little interim park behind the stairs of the overhead bridge.
I thought the parked bicycles looked rather charming, all so shiny under the hot afternoon sun.
I also thought the park looked so fresh on the eyes, though I have only sat there but once- to take a phone call- with the sounds of traffic in the background buzzing by.
Walking across the overhead bridge, I, of course, had to take a picture of Jalan Eunos, looking towards Still Road and East Coast Road. It's a scene that I always like to look at whenever I cross this bridge. There's something therapeutic about looking at the cars that traverse to and fro as they make their way from the East Coast/Marine Parade side of the country up towards Airport Road, Paya Lebar, and what is (technically) Northeast and Central of Singapore.
One too, does not walk along this bridge armed with a camera and not take pictures of the housing blocks.
Not when they're so colorful, so yes, I also had to take a picture of the HDB block with the colorful red, green, yellow and orange paint underneath their kitchen windows.
Then of course, because I already had a picture of Jalan Eunos on one side towards Marine Parade, I had to take a picture of the other side, looking towards Eunos Link and Hougang Avenue 3 this time.
What's so interesting about this stretch is that I had no idea just what a major thoroughfare this stretch of road was until I began chilling over here in the east. Then, and only then, did I realize that humongous amount of traffic that went up and down, weekday, weekend, day, night, same.
There's always some truck trundling down.
Same with the lorries and vans and motorcycles and cars big and small.
I don't think I've ever seen that many vans on this one stretch at one time before.
Being close to Kaki Bukit, Paya Lebar, and Ubi Industrial Estates with Defu further down, I guess that might be one reason why.
Interesting that the industrial estates all end somewhere around the East-West MRT line.
There're none after the MRT (save maybe for Bedok's Panasonic on Bedok South Road, and Xilin Avenue on the east side).
I don't think there're any beyond the MRT line on the Aljunied side or the Kallang side.
At least I don't think so.
Whilst waiting for the bus, I decided to take a picture of the scenic, quiet, park-like scene at the back of the bus stop as well. Rare is it, anyway, that this part of the 'hood is empty- more often than not, there's always someone either sitting on the bench for a solitary breather, or walking along these two trees heading to the shops, to the bus stop, the overhead bridge, or home.
The bus went down Eunos Link this afternoon, first coming to the junction that marks the turn into the PIE, then crossing the traffic light into the estate of Ubi.
The first thing I noticed about this picture wasn't that of the housing blocks but the beautiful, sunny-looking, cheerful flowers planted by the roadside.
I've been so used to spots of red ixora bushes here and there that I've forgotten how abundant roadside shrubs can actually be.
Such sunshine to the place these flowers added that I couldn't take my eyes off them.
Not even when the bus moved.
But onwards the bus had to go, passing by an overhead bridge bicycles and wheelchair-friendly, then an empty plot of land that leads to the shops, and supermarket of Ubi.
I don't know this area very well.
In fact I used to only think of this place as a residential estate (a friend lived here) but I've since found out that not only do they have a good variety of shops, they have a good number of coffee shops, with some of the best stalls for chap cai png and roasted meat rice.
There's not a stall here that doesn't offer chap cai png in its abundance, variety, and color. Not one time, I hear, has there ever been a stall where the trays were few, the food quantity scant, and unappetizing to the eye.
Neither, I hear, has there been a roasted meat stall here that didn't have its chonk of roasted pork, roasted duck, char siew, or roasted chicken on full display for hungry customers to order.
What's funny is that I used not to know why.
That is, until I realized that Ubi essentially sits at the junction of three industrial estates, with Kaki Bukit opposite Eunos Link, Kampong Ubi Industrial Estate heading west, and the industrial buildings over on Paya Lebar Road.
The bus today passed by one part of the residential estate, then the blocks of the Kampong Ubi Industrial Estate.
Would've been lovely had I been able to see what industries they were in the units inside, but I was more interested in capturing nice pictures like that of the empty bus stop and a random coffee shop, also empty at that time.
Some unit fronts had their shutters down, so I suppose it were a sort of office space where everyone went in and out through the back door.
The bus turned out onto Paya Lebar Road after that, near the junction of the Geylang Police Station, then down Paya Lebar Road it went.
Also an industrial estate this side of town is, but different from the JTC types, these buildings are privately owned, and so come with a host of different paint colors and different names.
Before that, however, there's a residential estate that's relatively new (compared to the Circuit Road area which this road leads side) and which has a supermarket where I once bought a drink from.
The Leong Huat Building, distinctive with its orange paint and interesting building design comes up next, followed not too long after by the Kapo Factory with its signature red, pink and white.
I've always wondered what companies and industries there are inside.
From here the bus kept on down, passing by an enclave of shop houses that I don't know very well save for a dim sum place that I had eaten at once. It's interesting what these shop houses have, though. One might find a shop selling practical household goods. Or a decades-old bread shop selling bread baked from its ovens behind.
There're a couple of eateries here, amongst which there is, I think, a mookata place- very popular on the weekends- and the Kay Lee Roast Meat/ Roast Duck OG shop that I think began its business here.
There's a coffee shop famous for its curry fish head claypot style.
There're also a few spas offering massages or two.
Onwards the bus crossed, past the junction of Bartley Road East this time, and into the zone heading towards Serangoon Central we went.
