Much appreciation to google maps - which I really should have consulted when streetdirectory.com was down. But noooooo........Okay people, feast your eyes on this map and the beautifully long, snaking line. That's the distance I walked in 45 minutes today.
Now, you may ask, what on earth was ger doing in Woodlands? Having a joy walk at 3pm in in the afternoon under the blazing afternoon sun? Am I crazy?
For reasons I don't feel like disclosing, my destination today was Woodgrove Secondary School, which you will see is at the junction of Woodlands Avenue 6 and Avenue 1. Since I didn't have a clue where it was, I consulted the school's website, which stated that visitors could take buses 900 and 901 to get there. What it didn't state, was that if you take 900, you better know the shortcut through the HDB blocks. And of course, the correct stop to get off at so that you can start your shortcut route.
Of course.. I didn't know that. So when I realised that 900 had made a loop and was on its merry way back to the Interchange, remembering that the website said that it took roughly 15 minutes to get there by bus, I got off at approximately the red dot you see on that map.
Which, of course, on hindsight, was a terribly bad decision.
So I followed the signboard down Avenue 5 which pointed the way to avenue 6 (oh you deceiving arrow ahead!), and then I made a left turn, because as far as I could see, there was nothing but a load of grass on the right. Bad, bad decision.
When I saw the MRT line in the distance and noted this sign that said "... sembawang" I knew something was terribly wrong, and that was at 3.25pm. So I threw in the towel and called the one (of two) person I knew would be sitting in front of a laptop with an internet connection, whose name starts with a K and ends with an N who kindly enlightened me of the sad, sad fact that the school was at the junction between avenues 6 and 1, which lead me to the sickening conclusion that I had made a wrong turn and went down the wrong side of avenue 6.
And of course, of all avenues to make a mistake on, it had to be on what must be the longest and most ulu freaking avenue in woodlands. No cabs. Pure leg power.
So I reached my destination at 3.45pm, did whatever I had to and bailed out. No cabs, so I took the ONLY bus (901) available at the busstop back to the interchange, hopped into a cab at 4.05pm and reached cfa at 4.35pm, 35minutes late.
Go me.
