Memories of Coronation Rd

Today, I visited the NUS Museum and on my way there by bus, I passed by Coronation Road. While on the bus, the thought of blogging about Coronation Road came to my mind.

Even though I do not live anywhere near Coronation Rd, Singapore, for at least a few years of my life, this was the road that I would often walk along.

Coronation Road was one of the roads that I would have to walk along very often during the days when I was a Secondary School student. There is of course no prize for guessing which Secondary School I had studied in.

As I write about Coronation Rd, I am reminded that as a teenager, friendship and the yearning to belong had both been factors that eventually shaped the routes that I would take to return home after school.

To return home, if I were to use Coronation Road, I had to walk a much longer distance to get to the bus-stop that had the bus-services that would take me home. Nevertheless, there were many times that I would consciously choose Coronation Road simply because that was the only route that a few of my friends could take in order to get to the bus-stop where there would be buses to take them home. Anyway, the good thing was that if I were to use Coronation Road, I would be able to have the pleasure to take either bus-service 74 or 852, which would get me home in about 30 minutes if traffic was good.

On the other hand, I could also walk along Farrer Road to get to another bus-stop to take bus-service 165 home. The walking distance to the bus-stop would be shorter if I were to choose to use Farrer Road rather than Coronation Road. However, bus-service 165 would take a slightly longer travelling time to get me home. Of course, I would choose to walk along Farrer Road at times simply because I have friends who prefer to take Farrer Road.

When I was returning home on my own, I figured that I would just let my mood and the strength of my leg muscles be the deciding factors.



Anyway, Coronation Road would usually be one of the routes to take if I were to need lunch during school holidays. The thing was that the school canteen did not sell any food during school holidays. Some of the reasons for me to be in school during school holidays back then were: Extra-Curricular Activities, extra holiday lessons (though these were more rare) and to work on my art project. Coronation Road would lead me to Coronation Plaza and also a row of shophouses that still sells chicken rice and stir-fried dishes.



To be honest, it is not Coronation Road that I remember. If you were to ask me, I can't even remember how many private housing were located along that stretch of Coronation Road that I had to walk back then. I can't even recall how they had looked like. What I remember were some of the conversations, the laughter shared and the spirit of bonding amongst friends when I walked along Coronation Road during those years of my life. Perhaps those conversations and interactions had provided the necessary opportunities for an introvert like myself to learn to interact with others. I was comparatively more open with interacting with others when I was a Secondary School student than when I was a Primary School student.

At the same time, there were times when I had walked along Coronation Road alone by myself, feeling lost and uncertain what future would hold for me. Honestly, at that age, I could not see what the future would be like for me a decade later.

By the way, the Shell petrol station that used to sit at Coronation Plaza is now no longer operating. I wonder what would replace the Shell petrol station eventually?

Whatever it is, the sentimental me could not help but recall a few of the good old memories every time I happen to travel past Coronation Road while travelling along Dunearn Rd on the bus. Maybe I am in the mood for nostalgia.