The Field Marshal

Bukit Merah... the town lost in time Yesterday, Mydaemon and I made a trip to Bukit Merah central as we wanted to made a trip to the Bukit Merah Community Library as well as shop at the NTUC there. It must have been 10 or more years since I last set foot in Bukit Merah, the last time being a transit bus trip there to the nearby CMPB. For the clueless, CMPB stands for Central Manpower Base of the SAF's. Anyway, being the first trip there for both of us, we were expecting a nice interesting town centre since we are likely to shop there once awhile to stock up on groceries etc. That's all wishful thinking now I guess. Setting foot in the Bukit Merah bus interchange, the first thing I noticed was the number of buses. There are so few that I can literally count with my fingers, on one hand you. Thankfully, we are not dependent on the bus system here. As we moved from the bus interchange to the overhead bridge connecting to the central proper, the only word I can use to describe the place is decrepit. The bridge is dirty, sorely in need of a fresh coat of paint and exuded a gloomy feel for both Mydaemon and I. We actually concluded that if a robbery is going to take place, this is the perfect place, going by the feel it gives to pedestrains. Really a weird place. Past that, we were hoping, idealists that we are, for some interesting shops in the central. Down the steps of the bridge we went. Setting our eyes on Bukit Merah central, I only have one word, technically two, for it... Ghost-town. The place feels drained and flat. Lacking a buzz or life which most town centres have, Bukit Merah feels like Bilbo Baggins, "like butter too thinly spread," if you remember the line in LOTR. The only life was some loud music blaring from speakers as some aunties lince danced while old ah peks gawked. Even that odd-mix failed to liven up the place. Having eaten in many hawker centres in my life, I have to say that Bukit Merah's hawker centre is one of the most lifeless place one can find on a Sunday evening. The place was, like the rest of Bukit Merah central, dark, tired, lifeless... Eeek.... As we let all this sink in, we plodded along in the hope of finding some salvation at the library. That can't be that bad. I am sure NLB would conform to the design common to all the other libraries. Afterall, we read that Bukit Merah's library was renovated and reopened only last year. There's yet hope. What a relief it was when we set our eyes on the library. Like the rest of the town, the library's entrace was funny in some sense. But the inside was 'normal'. Sanity prevailed in the ivory tower. I was just glad to once again enter a realm where things felt real and normal. The library is a two-storied building. The good stuff is all on the second floor. I got myself 3 books. Two on cooking. One asian and the other mediterannean. The third is a guide on Italy. Got it was I am doing research on the country to visit for my honeymoon. Italy sure looks like a wonderful place for a holiday. Not to mention that fact that I would like to visit the Vatican city while there. Books aside, we had one last adventure before heading home. The adventure is none other than having dinner at the KFC there. To most, eating in a KFC is just a normal meal. But have you eaten at a KFC where there's a sign that says "restaurant" above the entrace? Yeah, don't think I have seen one like that since KFC served with plates, knives and forks. The trip to Bukit Merah was really a blast from the past. Ain't exactly looking forward to another trip there since there's nothing much to see anyway. By the way, the NTUC there is 'normal' though.