I seem to have more pictures of this one particular bus ride that I took today.
That's something to be glad about.
Especially since this afternoon I managed to hit the golden hour and so found myself into glorious sunset light by the time the bus hit town.
Sunset this part of town does look different compared to glaring noontime sun.
Except that you won't quite know it (yet) when you're on the bus from Haig Road Market and Food Center.
Chonkycam came out around that time.
By right she should have come out earlier but I was busy settling down and it were only when the bus approached the Market with her National Day decor and her Singapore flags flying in the wind that I realized I better snap a picture.
Moments count.
Timings also count.
Especially since I don't know if I'll be back on this particular route, or this particular area, during National Day season next year.
This afternoon I didn't take pictures of the Geylang shophouses until after the junction of Aljunied Road.
Don't ask me why.
Maybe because I'd felt I'd taken these ones many times before and better it be that I grab pictures of new ones.
Or that I didn't really want to take pictures of them all until I felt the oomph.
So it was that the next picture I got of the Geylang neighborhood was that of the Eastern Aerated Water Company Ltd building with her gray facade. This company's long gone now, of course, but the building still remains and belongs, I should say, to a part of the country's history.
To be honest I should like to know what the operations of this company in this building were when they were still here. The production of aerated bottled drinks in this location started around 1951 and continued straight until the 80s, so no surprise if it was a strategic move.
What kind of drinks did they have, who did they sell them to, who bought the most from them?
What was this stretch of Geylang like back in 1951, even?
All these shophouses that I'm seeing out the bus window, were they there?
There's not much to be delved from, however.
And the bus moved on.
A still closed KTV lounge followed after, then a coffee shop offering Indian-Muslim food (to the likes of mee goreng, nasi goreng, kuay teow goreng, prata and murtabak). After that came on a provision shop and a pawnshop, then a street that leads to a couple of condominiums on the tail side.
Another coffee shop offering Indian-Muslim food comes up next- this one has Nasi Kandar- and then further on, an Adult Toys shop (which, culturally speaking, on Geylang is not a surprising sight to see).
A Thai restaurant comes up after (apparently legit, it seems) then you near the row of shophouses right near the intersection of Sims Way.
After this, you're more or less into the Kallang area where the bus first comes to a stop at where I think the Gay World Amusement Park a long time ago once used to be but is now a construction site for new, upcoming housing board flats and new homes. Across the Kallang River you go next, crossing over what I think is the Merdeka Bridge and the PCN running beneath it, then the bus stop right outside Sri Manmatha Karuneshvarar Temple.
Here the bus turned left into Crawford Street, went along it (a very scenic view of the water and wide canopied trees, I have to say) then onto North Bridge Road. Here one gets greeted by the one-room flats of North Bridge Road, then, slightly further on, the section that used to be the through path for anyone going to Beach Road.
I don't really know how to describe this area.
It's a small field, a bit of a pedestrian path, and then what used to be a Police Post at the back.
Further on one comes to the sight of a multi-storey carpark of what I think is Textile Center.
The bus crossed Jalan Sultan after that. There's a bit of Madrasah Alsagoff Arab School in the picture next to the row of shophouses where the white lorry is.
The bus then enters into the Kampong Glam Arab Quarter of North Bridge Road.
Here the bus trundled down, going past a row of shophouses that housed indie shops, including what I think is a costume rental shop. Unlike Geylang where signboards get mounted on the front, here the fronts are clean, signboards all beneath the roof of the five foot way.
Here the bus went past Aliwal Street, followed by, likely, a couple of cafes, then a co-living space in one of the shophouses.
Here the bus passed the junction of Kandahar Street, then going on towards well-known perfume store Jamal Kazura Aromatics. They have a few locations, I understand, but this be their main one, and this be one of them.
A short distance away from this store was Sultan Mosque, and can I say the shining dome looked gloriously beautiful in the late afternoon, early evening sun?
The bus went on, passing by Arab Street, then what is now a very active construction site of Ophir Road.
Frankly I don't know just what it is they're doing on this working, traffic-heavy road. Is it the North-South Corridor? Is it another road? It doesn't look like they're digging under very much, so I doubt it be a tunnel or something of the sort.
Nevertheless, Arab Street and Ophir Road make for one of the busiest stretches this side of town, and the traffic just continues further on until you pass by Parkview Square and Rochor Road.
This section too has witnessed a bit of change.
Where a long time ago there used to be just an empty plot of land and a remnant of colonial administration, now there's a mixed use development called Midtown-something.
What makes this building stand out, honestly, is the facade of milk chocolate brown.
I had not thought a mixed use development like this would choose such an earthy color, but mind, it does look elegant, and it does stand out.
Along North Bridge Road the bus went on, now passing by Bugis Cube with her family-friendly KTV spots, her Mala Xiang Guo outlets and her BBQ hotpot spots. Co-working place SPACES came not too long after that, after passing by Middle Road, and Purvis Street, of course,
The familiar sight of Raffles Hotel came up right after.
I'm glad to have taken the picture of the hotel's facade this side of the property. Official photographs tend to show the other side- the front entrance with the circular granite-stone filled driveway. Few, however, show the shoppes side of Raffles Hotel, which, to me, showcase as much of the beautiful architecture as it does on the main side.
The one thing I like about the property of Raffles Hotel are the palm fronds and the trees.
They're literally like Botanic Gardens brought to the center of town.
And the size of those leaves are awe-inspiring.
From here the bus headed on, passing by Raffles City Shopping Center, then along came the distinctive steeple of St. Andrew's Cathedral.
Rare is it I think that one finds a cathedral of such architecture placed amidst present-day structures of a shopping mall, a 70s-style structure of an office building Adelphi, 70s mixed office-retail shopping center Peninsula Plaza opposite, and huge tropical greenery.
But, welcome to Singapore, an island so small that elements past and present get wrapped cohesively into a single picture, a single image, a single moment.
I like this picture.
I think it speaks of the country's colonized past, yet embraces the Garden City notion, plus the revamp of the neighborhood around where Adelphi (whilst being known for legal firms) is also known for specialized showrooms offering quality, elegant-looking audio and visual hardware.
There wasn't much that I took after the bus passed by Adelphi.
Chinatown was only a short hop away.
But I wasn't going to get down without taking a picture of the scene along South Bridge Road, especially the financial skyline.
So here we are, the skyscrapers of major banks fronting the Singapore River- we're talking UOB, Bank of China, Maybank, Standard Chartered and OCBC- with the shophouses (now mostly restaurants) lining Boat Quay in the forefront.
Of course, there are also the shophouses of Circular Road right behind, and after that, you're more or less within the Chinatown zone of South Bridge Road, with Chinese characters on the front of those buildings calligraphy style.