The Changi bus ticket is upside down like their buses were in monsoon drains
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Between 1966 and '68, my wife and I lived in a hiring in Katong...it was a flat in Rose Garden. We used to take the Changi bus up to the beach at Bedok Junction at the weekends, because it was the cheapest and easiest way to get there. When the bus arrived at the stop, it was every man and woman for themselves. The Singaporeans of that time had no sense of forming an orderly queue. They all made for the entrance at the same time and pushed and shoved to elbow their way on board. Eventually, we learned to do the same. Then it was a bone-shaker ride, while trying to avoid the monstrous roaches roaming through the rubbish on the floor. Going to and from my section at Changi each day, I was able to take a pickup taxi, which was a lot better....you made new friends every mile!
We liked the Coq D'Or in Katong for a nice intimate dinner night out....air-flown Australian fillet steaks served sizzling on a hot cast iron platter. Have never tasted such good steaks since then.
I visited there some 20 years later, and yes Katong was a quite a way inland. Also, it has been drastically cleaned up (monsoon drains all covered over) and is now an elite high-end residential area. Bedok Junction is also inland...no more beach there either!