Trip 6: Sunday Specials

The Woodlands - 856, 926, 961C

   Once again, I started at Lorong 1 Geylang, this time, on a Sunday to catch the Sunday route of Trunk Service 961 (961C). Service 961's route runs from Lorong 1 Geylang all the way to Woodlands via Beach Road, Chinatown, Queensway and Upper Bukit Timah. 

Though called 961C/961#, route displays and bus stop poles still display 961.

   What sets 961C apart from 961 is that it loops around Marina Centre and serves attractions such as Suntec City and the Singapore Flyer.

Entering Marina Centre, the normal route of 961 would make a right turn at this junction.

Chinatown (961C)

Kranji MRT Station (961C)

   After around a two hour trip up the Upper Bukit Timah corridor, I arrived at Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange, which will serve the North of Singapore for the next few years as the original Interchange is renovated as part of the construction of the Thomson-East Coast MRT Line.

   After having my usual lunch, of course, I rode a loop on the special Trunk Service 926.

   Service 926 runs from Woodlands and the Singapore Zoo in Mandai and only operates on weekends. It has a flat fare of $1.90, as opposed to the regular distance fares on other Trunk Services.

Entering Mandai Lake Road, seen also the other 2 bus routes serving the zoo, 138 and 927. (926)

A road sign you won't see anywhere else in Singapore (926)

Scenery along the way (926)

   Getting back to Woodlands from the Zoo, I took a full trip on Trunk Service 856 between Woodlands and Yishun, another route I like to take between the estates when I don't really want to take the MRT.

Exiting Woodlands Town Centre (856)

   The route goes up to Woodlands Train Checkpoint from Marsiling MRT, where it receives most of its demand, and also serves Senoko and Sembawang.

Bus Stop at Woodlands Train Checkpoint (856)

Admiralty Road West (856)

Sembawang Road (856)

Going Marine - 16, 853C

   From Yishun, I ticked off another Sunday service, Trunk Service 853C runs from Yishun all the way to Upper East Coast, while the weekday and Saturday version terminates at Lorong 1 Geylang. The route traverses the roads of Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon, Geylang, Tanjong Katong and Marine Parade.

Grey clouds over Yishun (853C)

The route goes through Geylang Bahru (853C)

Bridge over the Kallang River (853C)

A typical shophouse in Tanjong Katong (853C)

   Passing through Marine Parade, the roads are majorly realigned as per construction works on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

   Arriving at the Upper East Coast Bus Terminal, a minor bus terminal around the outskirts of Bedok, I took Service 25 a short distance out to Bedok MRT and Town Centre.

Exiting Upper East Coast Terminal

   Since it was already the late afternoon, I decided to end the day's trip with a full journey on Trunk Service 16, from Bedok to Bukit Merah, passing through the realigned roads of Marine Parade, Joo Chiat, Orchard Road and Tiong Bahru.

Sun setting over Bedok South (16)

The old Kallang Airport Control Tower (16)

Arriving back at Tiong Bahru (16)

Recap of trip:

Routes done - 16, 853C, 856, 926, 961C

Progress - 35.5/371 (9.57 %)

Trip 4: Not so long ago...

Powered by Natural Gas - 175

   Back at Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal for today, I started with Trunk Service 175, a service that deploys several Volvo B10BLE Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses. There are only 12 of these buses in Singapore, they were acquired in 2002 for a trial on Compressed Natural Gas-powered vehicles, and were very environmentally-friendly for the time due to its low exhaust emissions,

Volvo B10BLE reversing out, with distinct natural gas tanks on its roof.

Interior

   These buses are not wheelchair-accessible due to their lack of a wheelchair-ramp, despite having step-free entry. Hence, they are likely to be phased out before 2020. It is always great to ride these non-standard bus models once in a while, as a break from the buses I'm always used to taking.

   Route 175 runs from Lorong 1 Geylang through to Clementi, passing through Bugis, Orchard Road, Depot Road, Pasir Panjang and West Coast.

Outside Clementi MRT Station (175)

 Clementi Feeders - 282, 284, 285

Clementi Bus Interchange

   Upon getting off 175 after reaching Clementi, as well as having lunch, I took the unique Feeder 284, unique because it is the shortest daily operating bus service in Singapore. (excluding 902, which only operates on weekday peak hours)

Clementi Avenue 4 End (284)

   Out of Clementi Interchange, the route takes the bus north along Clementi Avenue 4. After reaching its end near Sungei Ulu Pandan, the bus u-turns and makes it straight back to the Interchange, serving a grand total of 3 bus stops and travelling just 1.7 km.

   After barely 15 minutes of travel time on Feeder 284, I took loops of the other two Clementi Town Feeders, 282 and 285.

Clementi West Street 2 (282)

   Feeder 282 mainly serves Clementi West Estate, situated along West Coast Road, looping at Clementi West Street 2.

West Coast Road, served by both 282 and 285.

   Feeder 285 travels the other direction on West Coast Road, looping at Pandan Loop, an industrial estate, despite not being classified as an Industrial Service.

Pandan Industrial Estate (285)

Old but gold - 107, 165

   Finishing the Clementi Feeders, I arrived back at Clementi Interchange wanting to venture outwards. Luckily, a bus deployed on Trunk Service 165 arrived. The bus was an older one, a Volvo B10M Mark IV. 

   These buses were the dominant types on the Singapore roads no more than a decade ago. Now only a fraction remain, all to be retired by Christmas, deployed mainly on routes 151 and 175. Some of them also service routes out of Clementi, such as 165.

   The bus ran through Holland Road, Upper Thomson and Ang Mo Kio on its way from Clementi to Hougang Central. By this point, it also started to rain.

Riding out of Clementi Interchange (165)

Upper Thomson Road (165)

   Hougang Central Bus Interchange, as it turns out, is also a hotspot for these older, non-wheelchair-accessible buses. There were also similar Volvo B10M buses on routes 112 as well as the aforementioned 151.

   Besides these single-deck buses, there are also a few older double-decker buses. Most of them are low-floor and are hence have step-free entry, but are not wheelchair-accessible due to a lack of a ramp. Much like the Volvo B10BLE from earlier.

   To get back to the city, I took Trunk Service 107, aboard a Dennis Trident, one of the older double-deckers. The bus travelled to the City Centre via Upper Serangoon Road and through Kallang Bahru and Beach Road, terminating at Shenton Way Bus Terminal.

Departing Hougang Central (107)

Approaching Beach Road (107)

In the CBD, near Lau Pa Sat (107)

   Using the 106, I made the short trip to Marina Centre to catch another bus home. I recalled how different the buses were a decade ago when the public buses lacked standing areas and actually had steps, they even have distinct sounds. Though the towns they drive through didn't change much, the buses themselves did. 

   Nowadays, almost all buses are wheelchair-accessible and are step-free. With any type of progress and growth, however, some things have to be left behind. Including the comfortable bouncy seats of the old buses and the experiences they carry.

Recap of trip:

Routes done - 107, 165, 175, 282, 284, 285

Progress - 23/371 (6.20 %)

Trip 2: Twists and Turns

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.

Tiong Bahru Estate (122)

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)

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.

There are even a few bus stops along this stretch! (200)

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.

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.

Teban Gardens Estate (201)

To Jurong East and Back - 143, 143M, 334

   From Pandan Gardens, I took Trunk Service 143M (a supplementary service of 143) into Jurong East. I had a walk around the Westgate Shopping Mall (where I had lunch) and donated 50 cents to the National Kidney Foundation (for which I got a pack of tissue and 30 minutes of self-esteem).

   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.

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)

Garden Bridge, Chinatown (143)

Ngee Ann City, Orchard Turn (143)

The Fringe - 141, 232

    As you may be able to infer, I quite like taking Feeder Services, it acts as a window into the true extent of the Singaporean heartlands, away from the commercial centres most non-locals visit.

   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.

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)

Cloudy skies over Norfolk Road (141)

...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.

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.

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.

Recap of trip:

Routes done - 121, 122 (half), 141, 143, 143M (half), 200, 201 (half), 232, 334

Progress - 16/371 (4.31 %)