28.73km
27/07/24
💁💁💁💁
★★★★☆
The route takes us through the Eastern portion of the North South Line, visiting every station starting from Sembawang all the way to Marina South Pier. Since it was a very hot day, however, we stopped at Orchard instead. Close enough. Throughout the walk, we visited many places along the way, including Sun Plaza, Bukit Canberra, HomeTeamNS Khatib, Yishun Stadium, Lower Seletar Reservoir Park, Lentor, BAMK Park (Bubble Playground + McDonald's), Bishan Loft, Toa Payoh Block 107/109, HDB Hub, Balestier Road, Novena Squares, and finally Orchard Road.
Bought drinks at Khatib MRT 7-11, refilled water at Yishun Stadium's water cooler, bought ice cream at BAMK McDonald's, ate at Junction 8 Food Junction, refilled water at a VERY SLOW water cooler in Bishan Loft, bought drinks at a random shophouse in Balestier.
I was alone for the first hour of the journey from Sembawang to Khatib. Sun Plaza was pretty mid, with the insides looking so white and generic. Afterwards, I managed to visit Bukit Canberra for the first time, and I must say I quite liked it. Very fancy hawker centre and swimming pool, with that hexagonal look. Yishun Stadium was also fine, but it took me a while to find the water cooler (it was inside the sports hall). I've passed by Lower Seletar Reservoir Park a few times now, and each time, I quite liked the view, as is expected from our reservoirs. Due to the construction of the North South Corridor, many parts of the journey were very difficult to navigate. The first would be the long section between Khatib and Yio Chu Kang. This section largely follows alongside the MRT track, one of the few places where it remains on the ground. But further along the track, we were forced to divert into the Lentor estate. With tall barriers on one side and landed property on the other side, there was not much to see other than peoples' houses. The section between Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio was much better, as we followed the cycling path right underneath the MRT line. It's quite a unique vibe, with multiple exercise stations, and quite a number of people hanging out. After Ang Mo Kio, we headed into the Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park, heading straight for the Bubble Playground (which was featured in the 2023 NDP Song). Took a picture and continued on to the McDonald's followed by Bishan and Junction 8. Due to National Day vibes, there was a huge flag hanging outside of Bishan North Shopping Centre, so that was pretty good and unexpected to see. After lunch at Junction 8, we visited a Bishan resident, who was wearing a tank top like an uncle. Went in to refill water. We then made the arduous and confusing journey to Toa Payoh, through its industrial estate in the North. No choice, that's the shortest path into Toa Payoh. I'm not sure if you know about this, but there is a housing estate (Blk 107/109) right outside Braddell MRT that often hangs lots of flags, along with a giant banner signifying Singapore's current age. Pretty cool, and I totally forgot about that when I was planning the walk. Western Toa Payoh is full of super tall residential buildings, in contrast with the older, original Toa Payoh HDB blocks. Southern Toa Payoh leans towards the low-tier side, with the only good part being the design of the interchange (it's circular btw). HDB Hub's atrium was fine, but the rest of the mall didn't quite meet expectations. There also used to be a park to the south of Toa Payoh, but due to construction, it was impassable, which meant we had to take a different way into Balestier. At this point, the sun was scorching, so the shophouses in the Balestier area proved to be quite useful as shelter. We also took refuge in the Novena Squares, preparing for the last portion of our journey. In Novena, also due to the construction, it was pretty confusing to navigate, with traffic lights pointing in all directions. But nothing compares to the ultimate failure of Newton's roundabout. So confusing, so difficult to get around. With Novena, I understand, as it's all under construction. But Newton? Haiyaaaa lamentable.
The North South Corridor construction was a major hindrance, causing the route to be both longer than planned, and less attractive visually. But it's still worth a go, as it's a relatively safe walk with lots of places to buy refreshments and to sit down and eat. Just make sure you have enough water, as the journey is quite long.
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