Back on the roads - 122
Today started with a quick breakfast and a health checkup. All is good so I set off once again from New Bridge Road Bus Terminal, a quick walk from the Student Health Centre. I went on the 122, just as I did yesterday, to finish the first half of the route, the part which loops around Commonwealth Drive.
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| Tiong Bahru Estate (122) |
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| Turning into Queensway, near Commonwealth estate (122) |
99 Turns - 200, 201
From the moment I got on my first bus, I had a rough sketch of what I was going to do today. After I got off at Commonwealth MRT Station, I crossed over to the other side and took a bus on Route 145, just a short distance, to Buona Vista Bus Terminal. (actually Holland Drive as no boarding or alighting is allowed inside)
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| Holland Drive, starting bus stop for many routes originating from Buona Vista |
I haven't actually been to Holland Drive before, but it seems quite quaint with its old low-rise HDB flats and busy Hawker Centre (actually across the road from where the picture above was taken). Though I wished I could stay for a bit longer, my bus came immediately after the one in the picture left.
I got on the bus operating on Trunk Service 200, which serves the infamous stretch of South Buona Vista Road known as the '99 Turns' on its way from Buona Vista Terminal to Kent Ridge Terminal.
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| There are even a few bus stops along this stretch! (200) |
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| The road does eventually straighten out (200) |
Service 200 does actually loop at Kent Ridge Terminal as a single trip continues back to Buona Vista, but since my guidelines don't require me to do one entire trip to and from Kent Ridge, I got off and took in the environment surrounding the uniquely discrete Kent Ridge Bus Terminal.
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| Kent Ridge Bus Terminal |
After the dizzying trip around the '99 Turns', I straightened things out with a trip on Trunk Service 201, a popular route passing through West Coast and Clementi before circling around the towering flats at Teban and Pandan Gardens, near Jurong East, where I got off.
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| Teban Gardens Estate (201) |
To Jurong East and Back - 143, 143M, 334
After lunch, I got on Feeder 334, originating from Jurong East and serving residents of Jurong West Street 42 before looping back, always with a heavy load of commuters, even during a Saturday noon.
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| Jurong East Ave 1 (334) |
The original intent I had was to do the rest of the Jurong East Feeders (333, 335), but since when I got back to the Bus Interchange both had already left with the next buses coming at least 10 minutes later, my impatient self hopped aboard the next bus on Trunk Service 143. The route passes through West Coast, HarbourFront, Chinatown and the shopping district of Orchard Road, stretching from Jurong East to Toa Payoh. (though throughout most of my trip I was mumbling with my faulty earpieces)
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| Garden Bridge, Chinatown (143) |
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| Ngee Ann City, Orchard Turn (143) |
The Fringe - 141, 232
Reaching Toa Payoh Bus Interchange (which is the first air-conditioned bus interchange in Singapore), I got on Feeder Service 232, serving commuters in Toa Payoh North and East, looping around Lorong 7 Toa Payoh.
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| Flats in Toa Payoh North (232) |
Getting back to the Interchange, I doodled around for a few minutes and decided that it was time to head back into the City Centre, it was approaching dinner time and the sky was becoming more and more overcast.
Trunk Service 141 was my next calling as I witnessed the winds starting to blow more strongly. Travelling from Toa Payoh to Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal, it mainly serves the lesser-known estate of Pek Kio, located between Novena and Farrer Park. Some roads in this area also named after regions of England (Norfolk, Gloucester, Dorset etc)
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| Cloudy skies over Norfolk Road (141) |
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| ...and over Kallang Road (141) |
Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal, just opposite of Kallang MRT Station, is in many ways a throwback to what Singapore's bus termini used to look like. The terminus was born out of a carpark that bus operators decided to also use and is the only one of its kind left. (there also used to be a similar bus terminal at Commonwealth Avenue, near the aforementioned Buona Vista Bus Terminal)
It is also worth noting that there is no alighting berth here, just a grass patch at which there is a yellow box drawn on the tarmac.
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| Buses at Kallang MRT |
After getting a drink at Kallang MRT, I proceeded to Bugis to have dinner, but not before discovering these mysterious-looking white abandoned gates.
Clear Memories - 121
Taking Service 12 to Bugis (because I still didn't trust the MRT), I had a wander around Bugis Junction during which I in no way got lost and had dinner at the FoodJunction at Level 3.
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| Pedestrian crossing at Bugis Junction |
After having my meal, I got on Service 12 again. This time, I headed back to where this trip started, at New Bridge Road Bus Terminal, to do one more route for today, Trunk Service 121. Normally I would be on my way back by that time (around 7 p.m.), but I just had to do one last round for today, because this route means much more to me.
Being a local around these parts, taking a trip of Service 121 brings back many memories - of my early childhood and more. From New Bridge Road Terminal, it goes through Outram Park, up Zion Road, and left onto Ganges Avenue, near where my family and I used to live and where I started Kindergarten.
I always take the chance to reminisce about early childhood memories while taking this bus service, which is why I always take this bus after school. Being an Outram Secondary School student, I would walk down from Chin Swee Road most days, and would always take the 121. The thing is, many of my classmates also live along the route, which extends through Tiong Bahru and into Telok Blangah. Even more memories of my Secondary School life are recalled as I take the bus. Combined with the rain which drizzled around the time, it is the type of emotion that could give anyone goosebumps.
Service 121 will mean quite a lot to me for many years to come, and shall definitely be my favourite bus route for the time being. Especially now that my secondary education has (hopefully) come to an end, the experiences that I had as a secondary school student, be it just goofing around with who I called 'friends' or being in love for the first time, will always be worthy of remembrance.
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