Trip 8: Places of Old

Right off the Bat - 93, 123M

   I started today right away, taking the rest of Trunk Service 123M from my local bus-stop down to HarbourFront Interchange from where I left off last time out.

The route detours via Bukit Purmei Avenue on its way through to HarbourFront.

   I had my breakfast at the adjacent Seah Im Food Centre. I saw a Volvo B10M bus deployed on Trunk Service 93. Making the best of this chance opportunity (since all of them will be retired by Christmas), I took the bus all the way through to Eunos Bus Interchange.

Service 93 passes through Queensway, Lornie and Braddell on its way to Eunos.

I also caught this Air Force Plane on approach to Paya Lebar Airbase.

Wandering in Bedok - 60, 69, 225

   Eunos Bus Interchange, designed in the same style as the MRT Station next to it, has few bus services for its size. One of them in Trunk Service 60 which is a short route between Eunos and Bedok passing through Bedok Reservoir, looping at the bus interchange.

The route passes through Bedok Reservoir and Bedok North estates.

   Arriving in the quite crowded Bedok Bus Interchange, I went into Bedok Mall and walked around for a while, thinking about where to go next. I decided to take Feeder Service 225 first, specifically 225G, a short bi-directional feeder route that serves the flats around the narrow Bedok North Street 3. 

   Despite being short in terms of distance, the route gets regular double-deckers due to high commuter traffic.

   After Feeder 225, I took a Volvo B10TL on Trunk Service 69, another short service like Trunk 60 which runs from Bedok to Tampines through Tampines West.

The scene at Tampines Bus Interchange

The Village - 29, 109

   At Tampines Bus Interchange, I had my lunch of Economical Bee Hoon before continuing on my trip. I decided to take Trunk Service 29 to Changi Village via Upper Changi since I haven't properly explored that area other than the Bus Terminal.

The old roads in Changi that Service 29 plies.

(Loyang Way and Upper Changi Road North)

   Changi Village itself has a rustic nature that can't be seen anywhere else in Singapore, with the large hawker centre (that made me regret eating lunch too early) and low-rise HDB flats with shops on the ground floor. 

   Beyond the chalet and the hawker village, there is also a delightful coastal boardwalk near Changi Beach and the Ferry Terminal.

   Anyways, after a quick walk around the village, I had the chance to ride another Volvo B10M, this time assigned to Trunk Service 109 from Changi Village to Serangoon.

109 passes through Pasir Ris, Sengkang, Hougang and Yio Chu Kang.

Rainy Rounds - 56, 315

   I arrived at Serangoon Bus Interchange sometime in the late afternoon. I walked a few rounds around the NEX shopping centre to get some ideas. 

   I got on Feeder Service 315, which serves Serangoon Gardens and Serangoon North housing estates. Interestingly, the nearest town centre to Serangoon North in actually Hougang, but Feeder 315 still gets a good amount of commuters travelling to Serangoon Gardens and Serangoon Interchange.

Winding around Serangoon North

317 is the other Feeder Service serving Serangoon Interchange

Shophouses in Serangoon Gardens

   After the round on Feeder 315, I took the MRT a short distance to Bishan and took Trunk Service 56 down to Marina Centre to get closer to home since it was turning into the Evening. 

   Service 56 plies Toa Payoh, Novena and Middle Road, ending at Marina Centre Bus Terminal near the Marina Square Shopping Mall

The windows were ripe with condensation after the showers in the late afternoon.

To Commonwealth - 195

The area around Marina Centre Bus Terminal

   To finish off the day, after having traversed through old housing estates from the heartlands of Eunos and Bishan to the quaint Changi Village, I took a trip on Trunk Service 195, one of my local services, half of the entire trip to Commonwealth MRT Station. 

The sun sat as the bus passed through Tiong Bahru and Telok Blangah

Recap of trip:

Routes done - 29, 56, 60, 69, 93, 109, 123M (half), 195 (half), 225, 315

Progress - 51.5/363 (14.19 %)

Trip 5: Bendies

The land of bendies - 800, 851

   From Bukit Merah Interchange, I started today with a double-decker ride on Trunk Service 851 towards Yishun, passing through Tiong Bahru, Chinatown and Ang Mo Kio, with much to see along the way.

Tiong Bahru Road, with two B10Ms on both sides. (851)

Marymount Road, near Sin Ming (851)

Another MAN A95 double-decker on Service 851, near Yio Chu Kang.

Yishun Town Centre (851)

   After an hour and sometime later, I arrived at Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange, temporary until the Integrated Transport Hub at North Park Residences opens in 2019.

   Yishun, much like Woodlands and Choa Chu Kang, used to be dominated by bendy buses, predominantly the Mercedes O405G. Nowadays, double-deckers are more prefered due to their smaller physical footprint and hence, ease of handling. Nonetheless, there are still many bendies in operation, including the newer, wheelchair-accessible MAN A24 buses. 

Mercedes O405G Hispano Habit bendy bus, parked at the old Yishun Bus Interchange (taken in Jan 2015)

Bendies at the Temporary Interchange (taken in March 2015)

   I hitched a ride on one of these buses on Feeder Service 800, looping around at Sembawang Road and Yishun Street 71 before returning to the bus interchange.

Interior

Serangoon Showers - 82, 103

   After the trip on the bendy, I went to the nearby Northpoint Shopping Centre to have lunch. When I came back, I was lucky enough to catch another Volvo B10M Mark IV, similar to the one deployed on Service 165 the other time.

   This time, it was deployed on Trunk Service 103, and I took it all the way from Yishun to Serangoon, passing through Seletar Airport, Jalan Kayu and Yio Chu Kang Road. As the bus sped down Yio Chu Kang Road with the windows fogging up as it started raining, it created a soothing and nostalgic atmosphere, reminiscent of when these buses dominated the Singaporean roads.

   The rain poured the heaviest when I reached Serangoon Bus Interchange. I walked to the bus stop adjacent the shopping centre to catch my next bus. Despite the shelter's best efforts, keeping me completely dry proved to be a tough ask. Thankfully, the rain started to calm down after then.

Buses approaching the bus stop

   From the bus stop, I took the half trip of Trunk Service 82, which starts from Punggol, goes through Sengkang and Hougang before looping around at Serangoon Central and returning. I took the return trip.

Raindrops in Punggol (82)

The Heartlands - 83, 86, 261

   Arriving in Punggol, I had a quick walk around the shopping centre (as I always do), before I took Trunk Service 83 a short distance away to Sengkang, passing through Punggol Field and Compassvale. This route I always use to travel from the two estates when I don't feel like taking the MRT one stop.

Leaving Punggol Interchange (83)

   With nothing much to do at Sengkang Bus Interchange, I hopped onboard yet another double-decker bus on Trunk Service 86 to Ang Mo Kio, passing through Rivervale, Jalan Kayu and Yio Chu Kang.

Leaving Sengkang Interchange (86)

Tampines Expressway sector (86)

Approaching Ang Mo Kio Interchange, MRT opposite (86)

   Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange, in contrast to Sengkang, was much more spacious with many more amenities in the immediate vicinity and is Singapore's 3rd air-conditioned bus interchange. Ang Mo Kio has quite a number of feeder bus services given the size of the estate (5).

Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange

 

   I took one of them today, Feeder Service 261. The route takes the bus down Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, doing a quick turnaround at Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 1, before returning. It was quite a pleasant journey, barring a point where the front left mirror of the bus knocked over a road sign.

 

Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, with AMK Industrial Park 1 on the right. (261)

Bendies again - 169

   For my last route of today's trip, it was back to bendies. Trunk Service 169 gets its healthy load of commuters during weekday peak hours. As such, most buses deployed on 169 are high-capacity buses. Most of them are double-deckers, as with modern practice, but I took a bendy, winding its way through Upper Thomson and Yishun, before picking up workers near Senoko Industrial Estate and ending at Woodlands.

Leaving Ang Mo Kio (169)

   To return home from Woodlands, I first took a double-decker on Service 960, but there will still be a charm that bendy buses will always have over double-deckers.

   Yes, you might not get the 360-degree view from the upper-deck of a double-decker, but there is still an adventurous feel to sitting in the back carriage of a bendy bus. Being so far from the front and seeing the articulator and the front carriage wobble and bend as the bus manoeuvres around bends is an experience that you can never get from any other kind of bus ride.

   All this is sad knowing that after the retirement of the Mercedes O405Gs, there will only be so few bendies left, but much like the old Volvo B10Ms, all we can do is cherish the experiences we have with them as they fade into history.

Bending... (169)

Recap of trip:

Routes done - 82 (half), 83, 86, 103, 169, 261, 800, 851

Progress - 30.5/371 (8.22 %)