Destination Ang Mo Kio

The bus route was exactly the same, but the journey different.  While he was still a recruit on his Basic Military Training, Jeremiah used to take Bus Service 159 between Nee Soon Camp and Ang Mo Kio Central.  It was a pleasant but roller-coaster ride back then.  Pleasant because Jeremiah never really had to wait long for the bus, which was seldom packed. Pleasant because the traffic was smooth and there were lots of greenery along the way.  Roller-coaster because the happiness felt at every book-out morphed into xianness that intensifies as the bus nears Nee Soon Camp on the return trip.

Last weekend, many many years after his Basic Military Training, Jeremiah took Bus Service 159 home again after his IPPT at Khatib Camp.  That journey home was a microcosm of current-day Singapore and a mirror of the changes that have taken place in Singapore over the past few years. 

Leaving the camp at about 5:30 pm, Jeremiah waited for about 25 minutes for the bus to arrive.  Back in the days when Singapore did not have a world-class transport system, Jeremiah did not have have to wait for more than 15 minutes for the bus, even late at night when the bus service was running on a reduced frequency.  Halfway through the journey this time round, the bus became packed with foreign workers, the cacophony of their loud voices shattering the tranquillity.  Several new buildings could be seen along the way, taking the place of what was then green fields and forests. Whether the changes are good or bad Jeremiah would leave to another day, but the bus journey was certainly no longer as pleasant as it used to be.  Nonetheless, Jeremiah was as glad as previously when he reached home.  After all, home is where the heart is, regardless of how arduous the odyssey may be.