Since the car is with the Missus in Melaka for the weekend, I've been doing my Man of the People thing and using public transport. Since the bus and MRT systems in this Far Place are very good - comparable to the excellent public transport system that used to exist in the democratic socialist republic of Sheffield in the far-off seventies - this has been a generally pleasurable experience. I've journeyed to Serangoon Road and Marine Parade over the last two days and thoroughly enjoyed gazing out on various parts of the city and its suburbs in an unhurried, distinctly contemplative manner. (I decided not to take any books with me so I could focus entirely on the visuals.)
Mind you, I wouldn't go so far as to claim the experience wasn't without disturbance. It was slightly unnerving to realise I could no longer recognise areas with which I was once familiar, due to all the new building and changes of businesses. And the sheer size and forbidding anonymity of some of the grander structures was mildly intimidating if you allowed yourself to look long enough. Fortunately it was easy to look away and there was still enough to observe on a human scale to suggest the city has not yet turned itself into a set for the kind of dystopian movie Hollywood makes to convince itself it has some kind of conscience.
As a rule of thumb, the smaller and shabbier the structure, the more it appealed. I suppose this has something to do with scale. As RT observed in one of his greatest songs, A Heart Needs a Home - but not necessarily a big one.
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