The bustling metro becomes a quiet, almost deserted place. Except for the few who go out to exercise, or dash to the nearby supermarket, the city is basically at a standstill, with few visible signs of activity. Oh yes, micro logistics, deliveries of all kinds of food and goods are still going on, perhaps thriving. But on the surface you see a very subdued environment, where previously it was filled with people walking so fast, they could not stand still on escalators but had to walk up or down, where MRTs were filled to the brim with people trying to maximize their time. Here are scenes in the days prior to the Circuit Breaker announcement, and also during the CB.
Marina Bay Shoppes were still open before the Circuit Breaker announcement, but people were few. It had never been this empty before.
Very few people were walking The Shoppes, which in a way was quite nice - no unruly or “uncultured” crowds (haha), but it was eerily quiet.
Even outside The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, it was strangely devoid of people.
This busy section between Bras Basah and Dhoby Ghaut was missing the many students and tourists walking this route. Sadly, some of the places closed down, and it didn’t look temporary.
The East Coast Lagoon Food Village during the early CB days, still had shops open. Seats are marked on where you could sit and where you couldn’t. In the later part of the CB, you could only buy food to take out and eating at common areas was no longer allowed.
Another scene of the East Coast Lagood Food Village along the East Coast Park, devoid of merry eaters.
The East Coast Park’s popular spots, always filled with people, and which had a good number even at midnight of the ghost month and ghost nights (yes, I’ve cycled there many times during those dates) - were basically empty.
The East Coast Park with no merry making people.
No swimmers at the East Coast Park.
And empty street scenes are now quite common, with few cars plying the roads.
It’s all strange and unfamiliar, yet oddly pleasant to see and experience.
Everyone is looking ahead to regain normalcy. Yet these scenes of empty places bring a peculiar nostalgia of my younger days, in and around Metro Manila, where places we went to including popular spots and beaches were more empty, people were fewer, roads seemed wider and everything just felt more spacious and free, days I can identify with.
Comments
Post a Comment