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Squeezed in an overseas trip last weekend! It was an iGallop trip to JB, but the main objective was to take the KTM train from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, which will officially close in 4 weeks.
On the day before the trip, I went to the station to queue for tickets. Short-haul train tickets can only be bought 24 hours before. And oh my, the queue was LONG and the service was typically slow. The morning schedule, which was intended, was fully booked by the time I reached the counter. Thankfully, the afternoon schedule was still available. S$13 for Singapore -> JB.
Admittedly, S$13 is considered steep, by any standards. A bus journey that takes 30 minutes, only costs S$2.40. However, being able to embark on this special and historical journey, was more than valuable.
I totally enjoyed the entire journey. With camera on standby throughout the trip, I was ready to press the 'record' button anytime. I took countless videos, which have yet to be compiled at the moment. The sights that I saw, were uniquely non-Singapore. Afterall, the railway tracks, including a few metres left and right, are owned by Malaysia, until the end of June. The track is genuinely a green corridor, and there is no wonder why green activists had been calling for the authorities to preserve it. On this, I'm still pretty skeptical about, even with the pseudo-changes that the gahmen seems to be engaging on now.
Anyway, I really can't emphasise further how much of a sight it was. A side of Singapore that would be gone, forever:
-I saw kampong houses at some stretches, which qualified as 'slums' more than the modern flats in Hougang and Potong Pasir.
-I saw long stretches of tall, long grasses that would not be found in built up neighbourhood.
-The train travelled on the railway bridges that overlooked Dunearn Road and Upper Bukit Timah, which was from a pretty different perspective.
-I saw our train crossing 5 different stretches of road, where cars and traffic had to stop for us.
-I saw nostalgic photographers standing at certain stretches of the track, trying to catch some last shots of the passing train.
-I saw ourselves passing through some HDB blocks that were quite near, and caught some residents looking out.
-I saw an MRT passing above us, when our KTM train was travelling on ground level below it.
-More importantly, I witnessed history.
I was thankful I made this trip, and cherished every moment.
I took some videos and will post them up after having combined them. Hopefully soon.
人生是黑白的.
12:22 AM <3
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Squeezed in an overseas trip last weekend! It was an iGallop trip to JB, but the main objective was to take the KTM train from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, which will officially close in 4 weeks.