I think we had gone to Springleaf at Jalan Tua Kong for a meal.
Hence the existence of this bus ride.
What's funny is that I have no idea where exactly we were heading to, where exactly we were going.
Were we going to Bugis? Were we going to Chinatown?
I don't know.
I can't remember.
And this bus ride has been so long ago that I don't even know which bus we were on.
All I know is that I took a heck lot of pictures that afternoon- way too many for what I would normally take during a regular bus ride- and that they begin from the bus stop on New Upper Changi Road right opposite Decathlon Bedok at the place we call Chai Chee.
Something that charmed me about the ride this afternoon was the light.
The light here at Upper Changi was gorgeous.
So was the early afternoon light all along Changi Road, where the bus trundled down past Opera Estate and all- on the left- towards the junction where Kembangan Road meets Frankel Avenue.
The bus passed by the canal and the PCN afterwards, then it were the entire row of shop houses on the right by the roads of Lorong Melayu, Lorong Marzuki and Lorong Marican.
To this day I don't know for sure what businesses it is that all these shop houses hold.
For some reason I haven't paid much attention.
All I know is that there are some hardware shops, some motor repair shops, a couple of paint shops, and a few other firms here and there.
The one thing I do recognize on this stretch, however, is this structure with its distinctive blue Chinese roof.
It is a little strange how familiar the sight of it now looks to me.
I didn't think I would remember it.
But I do- even if I have no idea what building it is or to whom it belongs to.
I just know I always used to see it when going out for chicken rice at the Kim San Leng coffee shop opposite this road.
More shops and firm in them shophouses followed after that, and then the bus arrived at the junction where Changi Road meets Jalan Eunos and Still Road.
A distinctive feature of this junction here is the mosque Masjid Darul Aman. You see it when you're coming down Changi Road. You also see it when you're at Still Road and Jalan Eunos.
This afternoon the bus I was on went down, going past one of the smaller housing estates- I don't know its name-, then what I think is a soccer field (of a VWO), then the Millage building- with apartments and all- and the Geylang Serai Market and Food Center right next door.
The bus stopped at the traffic light directly in front of Joo Chiat Road, where right above my head was this distinctive structure.
Seeing it now I wish I knew what it actually was meant to represent.
But I probably wasn't paying much attention when the decor was constructed, and so in all honesty I have no idea.
Still, I was glad.
It isn't every day that I get to see this particular structure.
More often than not the bus beats the traffic light, zooming underneath it to the bus stop of Haig Road Market beyond.
The bus now went past the tree-lined carpark right outside the former Tanjong Katong Complex.
Then, past the offices of PLQ (SMRT? Bayer?) till the junction where the road meets Paya Lebar Road and Guillemard Road.
From here on it were the whole stretch of the area we call Geylang, or Geylang Road.
The most number of pictures of this one bus ride come from this stretch.
What was it that made me work Chonkycam nonstop, I don't really know.
It might have been that the light was good.
It might also have been that the shop houses, under the beautiful warm sunshine, looked so colorful.
I am not familiar with the enclave Singaporeans call Geylang.
Thing about this place is that I don't recognize which shop house belongs to where.
I have no idea which shop house lies on which lorong, and, given the length of the stretch, I don't have much of a distinctive landmark to really remember either.
What I am able to say is that I know the first shophouse begins, of course, at the junction of Paya Lebar Road, Changi Road, and Geylang Road.
After that, however, all I know of the place becomes varied, and random.
It's not that I don't recognize the shops or the shop houses.
It is more like I don't know which is where and where is what.
It is like I could possibly recognize a coffee shop that specializes in beef kuay teow, or a coffee shop that has a variety of stalls offering chicken rice, duck rice, zichar all, but I don't know which lorong it sits on, nor which section of the Geylang enclave it is.
That being said, to date I haven't really paid enough attention to the shops this side of the road.
The only major landmark I do recognize on this stretch is the mosque.
Offhand I may not know the name (I apologize) but Google Maps tells me it is the Masjid Khadijah, and a very, very distinctive shade of canary yellow, and chendol green, is she.
Unfortunately, I barely recognize any of the shops or businesses after the bus passes the mosque.
Neither do I recognize the shop houses, even if some of them seem to have been beautifully restored with careful detail, and bright colors on the exterior walls and shuttered windows.
Sometimes life is such that we don't pay attention to these facets of architecture, the story behind it, or the very fact that it exists.
It's a pity.
One really ought to notice these things more and not shove them under the premise of what we think we know.
The next landmark I managed to recognize as the bus made its way down was this junction where Aljunied Road meets Geylang Road.
How long this New Cathay Hotel has been here, I don't know, but from the looks of it, seeing the design of the building, certainly not the newest on this stretch is she.
I recognized a little bit more of the buildings and the corresponding places after this junction.
This Victoria Food Court I have seen many times before.
Not that I have had a chance to eat there nor have I seen material on what stalls there are, however, it sits right next to a seafood restaurant- and that- with its unique zinc roofed style right here close to town- I definitely recognize.
After this came a couple of other shops- some offering mobile phones, others supermarkets, and some of random household things that we never know we need until we need.
Coming up next was the building with a Bee Cheng Hiang outlet on one side, a Sheng Siong supermarket outlet on the other.
A shop house hosting a diner that sold (pretty famous) claypot frog leg porridge was right after.
More shop houses followed on after that- there was a hotpot restaurant, and another, (soup) beef noodles, if I'm not wrong.
Not too far ahead there was a dessert place- I know, as I'd eaten there before- then the bus came up to the junction of Sims Way- I've always recognized it by the Shell station- after which the road led down to Kallang, the Merdeka Bridge and then into Lavender and downtown.
