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.
