I'm not really sure where exactly on this particular afternoon we were going.
If I'm not wrong I think we were going to Toa Payoh, where, from this bus stop on New Upper Changi Road opposite the Decathlon of Chai Chee, we got on Bus 28 which would take us straight all the way down.
From this bus stop, the bus headed up the hill going towards Kembangan and Eunos, but first stopping at the junction that separates Siglap Road on the left and Chai Chee Drive on the right.
The light today wasn't too bad, so I took pictures, first of the train tunnel that stretches under the hill between Bedok and Kembangan, and then, after, right on top of the hill itself.
From here the bus went down, first passing by a stretch of houses whose location I will always find unusual.
At some point in time this road must have been one of the quieter ones with little traffic passing by.
But then one day Bedok housing estate came up, Chai Chee housing estate came up, the country east wards grew more and more developed, and these houses found themselves in the middle of cross vehicular traffic front and back.
Where one day this place on top of the hill overlooking Jalan Senang and all might have been scenic and quiet, now there was a constant stream of traffic at all hours of day and night. If, at one time, there were only cars, bicycles, the occasional bus, and the occasional lorry passing by, now there were cars, buses, trucks, lorries, and motorcycles zooming past their walls and windows either heading east wards to Changi, or downtown via Eunos, and Geylang.
I sometimes wonder how much of the traffic noise within their walls they can hear.
The bus now came to a stop at the junction of Jalan Kembangan on one side- the right, and Frankel Avenue on the left.
After this it was the stretch of Changi Road where the bus passed by a couple of shop houses, most of which housed a variety of stores, including cafes, diners, eating houses, pet stores, and hardware services.
You know, I've sat many a bus that has passed by this route but to this day I have no idea just which store is exactly on where.
At some junctions of Lorong Melayu and Lorong Marzuki there are eateries and cafes. Between Changi Road and Lorong Melayu, I think there is a cafe that serves up very good coffee and some croissants that I've heard are totally worth the money.
Along this route there are a couple of diners offering Malay-Muslim food, all of which are pretty good and suitable for a person who just wants a casual bite, a plate of kuay teow goreng, or a glass of Milo Dino.
One of the most significant spots on this stretch has to be Taiwanese porridge place Gu Zao Ren.
The picture's not here- I missed snapping it as the bus sped past, but it is- if I'm not wrong, on the left hand side somewhere amongst this stretch of yellow-painted buildings close to the white tent.
It is strange how I have had not much of an opportunity to eat there despite being not too far from the place over the last few years, but that's life.
They serve very good, very delicious chicken wings, I have to say.
After this stretch the bus came to a stop at the junction of Jalan Eunos and Still Road where the Masjid Darul Aman mosque sits diagonally opposite.
The bus now went on, going down Changi Road, first passing by a condominium estate, the public housing estate next to it, then the Kampong Ubi Community Center, the Millage building, and then the Geylang Serai Market and Food Center.
Perhaps the nicest thing about this stretch of road this time were the sight of all these beautiful decorations for Hari Raya Puasa that strung across overhead.
The festival comes but once a year, and a joy it is to be a part of its beauty, even if I be on a bus that is trundling straight down.
Street decorations stretch all the way far down, actually, beginning from the junction of Still Road until the junction of Guillemard Road past the Haig Road Market & Food Center, and City Plaza on the left.
I didn't manage to snap pictures of those- I was on the right side of the bus- but at the same time, it is quite lovely to catch sight of these huge canopied (Angsana?) trees, and the distinctive yellow lorry below.
