I have a surprising large number of pictures for what is, technically, not a very long ride.
Maybe, the bus going on Guillemard Road makes a whole lot of difference.
More things to see, more pictures to take, more things to remember.
What's funny is that I don't seem to recall which bus it was that I took on this afternoon.
Might have been 196, might have been 197.
But what I am pretty sure about is that my bus ride began from the bus stop outside Marine Parade Central, heading towards the roundabout close to Amber and going up on Amber towards Tanjong Katong.
This part is a straightforward route.
Bus goes down Marine Parade Road, makes a turn, goes up Amber Road, turns left onto Mountbatten Road, and then switches lanes to go right onto Tanjong Katong Road.
The route all along here is, really, mostly condominiums.
Condos at the roundabout, condos on Amber, more condos on Mountbatten Road, and then, the traffic light.
The scenery transforms to shop houses after that.
Save for Chelsea Lodge, I don't think there is much of a condo lining this side of Tanjong Katong Road. Nearly the entire stretch is of shop houses, which, by the way, I didn't take much today.
Only two or three, randomly, including one of leaves on a tree outside one shop house. (I don't know which one)
It wasn't long before the bus reached the junction I call the Bao Zhi Tang junction because of the TCM Massage Therapy place that sits close to the traffic light there.
From here the bus went straight ahead past Dunman Road into the other side of Tanjong Katong Road.
First it passed by single storey houses that once looked out over what might have been a quiet road with little traffic, but has now become a major thoroughfare with buses, cars, motorbikes and all manner of vehicles trundling down.
After these houses, there were a few more condos, a four-storey walk-up apartment with both space and vintage nostalgia of its own, and then it was the Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace on Gray Lane.
A few more walk-up apartments followed after, and then the bus turned onto Guillemard Road at the back of City Plaza.
I managed to get a picture of the Esta Ruby condominium today.
Which is lovely- I don't always get to have one.
Sometimes one quietly wonders why a military camp of sufficient history had to go. How long ago it had been- this camp- I don't know, but to the very least I know it had been there since nearly 40 years ago in the mid 70s when some enlistees for National Service reported here instead of CMPB.
But that's life, I guess.
Things come, things go.
Sometimes they stay, sometimes they go.
From here now, the bus went past Geylang River,-a waterway right next to Kong Hwa School. Then the public housing blocks of Cassia Link came up next, and finally, the building that still houses the Singapore Badminton Stadium.
Somewhere around here too is the building known for being a 24 hour spa.
There used to be a K-BBQ restaurant here many years ago.
But now, no more.
I don't know where the Ju Shin Jung BBQ restaurant has gone.
I don't know if it is still even on our shores.
A couple of walk-up apartments came up after that, then it was the Chen Li Presbyterian Church, and the Singapore Judo Federation building almost immediately after.
After Guillemard Road, the bus now made a right turn going onto Sims Way- the road that I always say goes past Lorong 4 Geylang and which borders the Kallang Stadium area.
Today I managed to get a clear shot of the Kallang Stadium's famed domed roof- again a rare opportunity- and it wasn't long before the bus made a left, turning into Geylang Road.
Here the bus went past what would soon be a new housing estate- I'm not sure what the name is- and then a bright space of green on what once used to be part of the Old Kallang Airport.
Today the place is mostly quiet, almost untouched, but come weekends and the space of green gets filled up by people who gather for picnics sitting on mats over the grass.
At some of the wider spots I've seen people have a game of soccer or a game of cricket with their friends on the sidelines cheering them on.
Kallang River with her lovely green waters came up right after, and the bus soon turned into Crawford Street where the quiet part of Marina Barrage Park lies.
To be honest I have no idea what the actual name of this park is. All this while I have always referred to it as the quiet part of Marina Barrage, where, instead of the more popular and more famous side with the flying kites, the bicycles, the Gardens, and the water pumps, here the feel of an old fishing village still remains, especially in the evening when the sun begins to set and the skies here turn a pleasant twilight dusky blue.
There are a few structures here that I never know what they are but they look like they belong to the public works department.
And they look like they have been there a long time.
From Crawford Street here, the bus turned right into North Bridge Road.
First thing that came up were the blocks of one-room rental flats, followed by a niche residential housing estate, a multi-storey carpark further up, then the side of what I think is the Textile Center on Jalan Sultan.
By the way, this strata shopping center here on Jalan Sultan is one of those properties that locals born and bred hear of it, know of it and probably have gone past it. But it is also one of those shopping centers that you won't usually go in unless there's something inside the center that you want to do. Maybe there's a place you want to patronize. Maybe there's a store you want to go to. Maybe there's a cafe or a restaurant you wish to eat at. Or maybe a church service you want to attend.
Today the bus went past the road of Jalan Sultan and across to the other side of North Bridge Road where the enclave of Kampong Glam lies.
It is a distinctive junction, by the way, with shop houses on two sides of North Bridge Road, the corner of a shopping center on one side, and a semi-circled void deck of shops on the fourth.
What makes this junction particularly interesting is the presence of the Madrasah Alsagoff Arab School a couple of steps away from the traffic light. The school doesn't sit at the junction. That's marked by the coffee shop housing Nan Hwa Chang Fish Head Steamboat. The entrance of the school itself is a few steps down on the Jalan Sultan side.
At the back of the school, however, is Aliwal Street, which the bus today also went past.
After that, however come the entire length of shop houses holding a variety of businesses, including a Fish & Chip shop, a music records store, a hostel, a banana leaf restaurant, a couple of spas, even a ramen shop at the corner.
Sultan Mosque came up right after.
It's impossible to miss this iconic place of worship in the Kampong Glam Malay Heritage District. From the distance, the gold dome catches your eye as it glints beautifully under the sun's glow. Closer, the fence alone catches your attention not to mention the architecture of the mosque itself.
Perhaps what makes this particularly unique is the presence of energy, life and fun around its compound.
No doubt, like all places of worship, the mosque herself deems, and demands reverence and respect, but outside the gates, just beyond the place of worship, on the surrounding streets in the enclave, that's where the annual Ramadan bazaar, the shops, the stores, cafes and restaurants are.
That combination alone is worth a visit, if not for religious understanding, then for a glimpse of Middle Eastern, and Malay culture.
The bus came up to the junction of Ophir Road almost immediately, and there was Park View Square- colloquially known as Gotham City- up ahead, with the glass-covered skyscraper of DUO coming into view.
