Some of my favourite shots from Chinatown, Singapore
The Last Kampung (Village) in Singapore
It’s a refreshing change of scenery, to say the least, but the story behind the Lorong Buangkok Kampung is the most admirable aspect of the village itself. The existence of this village in today’s Singapore is a testament of a family’s steadfast principles and ideals, despite our rapidly changing society. I’m thankful that we’re still able to see and walk around a village in our own backyard (no, I won’t jump on a chance to live there. I’m too much of a sucker for creature comforts, and even though I’ve loved the low density, the access to the blue sky, and the grass, I know that I’d be crying internally had the weather turned for the worse during the tour) because it’s never for sure that this village will remain in the (near?) future.
We learnt that this village is actually the private property of the Sng family, and it is not protected nor gazetted by the Singapore government. When a building, or a landmark is gazetted by the government, it will be preserved as-is, like the museums or the shophouses in Chinatown. Whereas this village is still pretty much an evolving community, with traces of modernity creeping in to all facets of life (they have village wifi, some houses are even equipped with gym equipment and aircon too), although most residents have retained the simple, sustainable ways of life and the old school charms.
(Okay disclaimer, I’m romanticising a little. I mean, how simple can the lives of business owners and professionals in today’s Singapore be? It’s a life riddled with stress. Okay maybe I’m projecting but ugh it’s definitely a different kind of struggle from the challenges back in the day).
The electricity grid lines against the blue sky and greeneries did something to me - despite the juxtaposition with the public housing in the background. Subconsciously I knew that the power grid is all underground in Singapore, but when our tour guide pointed it out, I was like “OH RIGHT”. I didn’t find them weird either, because they’re common in Indonesia, where I grew up. But yeah I guess this adds to the charm of the village, something that I’d say… like, adding character to the photos? The reason why electricity distribution is still done above ground here is due to the land being a private property, something about them not being able to dig underground, and is also the reason why houses in the village couldn’t be built more than two-storey high because the land won’t be able to accommodate the foundation.
There’s plenty of information packed in the two-hour tour, I think our guide did an amazing job of telling the story of the Sng family and village resettlements in Singapore so I shall not spoil too much here 😂. If you are based in Singapore, and interested in the tour - they’re running these until the end of August (not sure if this is actually available all-year-round, but it’s definitely more publicised in August as part of the community open houses, in conjunction with National Day celebration). You can check out https://mycommunityfestival.sg/ for more deets.
This is ma-aaa-aaaahh la la la la vie en rose
June 2022 - J’s mid-year school holidays
In pairs - even if it’s just with your reflections
Getting used to the Leica <3 though sometimes I get really mad at myself for generating a mountain of content that’s seemingly destined to be just another byte to the dust. Likewise, I sort of bought my ipad and keyboard set thinking I’d be working on my photos and narrating them more often here haha.
These were from a random Sunday brunch with my sisters in a floral cafe in the East Coast.
I do wonder till when can I tag their photos in a separate category like this. J turns 8 this year, she’ll be a teenager in a blink of an eye. Haha.
Singapore
New York
2022, taken with Leica M10-R, 35mm summicron.
The not-so-tiny-anymore tiny one screamed “Unfair! Unfair!” When she saw her sister jumped on to the swing, but she immediately asked to be brought down once she was up and swaying. But auntie had to take photo first. Hence the face.
