Life on Less-Travelled Path in Traditional Village … Singapore

This narrow dirt path is one of the major “streets” into the last traditional village in Singapore, Kampong Lorong Buangkok.

_{[Right-Click Here to Enlarge Photo]}

A simple life in a quaint village

This small “kampong” (that’s “village,” in Malay) was built just over 50 years ago, when Singapore was still largely undeveloped. As the rest of Singapore grew and modernized over subsequent decades, this quaint kampong remained largely untouched. It reminds us of a much simpler life …. and, in fact, even today, the kampong residents lead a much simpler life than anyone in the surrounding high-rise housing blocks.

In a very real sense, Kampong Lorong Buangkok provides a glimpse of a Malayan town of yore, before the automobile and high-rise buildings changed the face of the city – radically and permanently.

Residents, bugs, and other creatures living in harmony

I’d cycled past the kampong numerous times. When I told my friend about it, he suggested we go up there and explore it. While we were strolling along the narrow dirt lanes, a local woman invited us into her home, where she lived with her elderly parents. It was a simple but clean and comfortable home. _{[Right-Click Here to Enlarge Photo]} The windows had screens, but there were no panes of glass. And between the top of the walls and the roof, there was a 20-centimeter gap for ventilation, with neither screen nor glass. When my friend asked the woman if bugs and other creatures invaded their living space by crawling or flying through the opening, she essentially replied, “No, never.” _{(Image source)}

Corporate vultures circling

Of course, being in the heart of Singapore, the land under those quaint homes is worth millions of dollars, and development companies are circling like vultures. But the woman told us that the residents of this village were very comfortable there, and were intent on staying there.

And we can assume that the bugs and other creatures also wanted to stay in their comfortable green home in the “kampong.” A closer view – "Exploring the Last Kampong in Singapore: Kampong Lorong Buangkok" _{(right-click on title)}