VAN.

To start off ,  i shall let you guys know what i'm going to cover on my first post.

1. What district am i going to conduct my research on.
2. Why this district?
3. History of district chosen.
4. Transformation of district chosen.

That's right people ! Its Kampong Glam i am going to do my research on. Beautiful isn't it ? Why did i choose to do on Kampong Glam instead of popular district/attractions like Marina Bay or Singapore River ? I personally love love love, Malay culture. Their elegance and warmheartedness . This district is filled with plenty of heritage and culture of not only Singapore's Malay community, but also played a very big part in the building of what Singapore have today. 

At first, i was keen on doing on Marina Bay due to it being popular among the tourist and many Singaporeans as it shows how modern we are today, luxurious lifestyles and beautiful landscape. However, looking at Kampong Glam on the list of district made me reminisce on my primary school field trip which i believe many 90s kid would agree with me. So i decided that i shall give Kampong Glam a visit for my individual project as it stimulate more of my interest and  making it more than just a project as there are indeed many to learn than what i think i knew about this place. Things, places are changing .

Moving on, 

I mentioned earlier that Kampong Glam has very rich Malay heritage which can be learnt from Malay Heritage Centre which was built 160 years ago by Sultan Ali, the son of Sultan Hussein Shah.


Photo Source: "Malay Heritage Centre", Yours Singapore

In Malay context , " Kumpung" mean village or settlement while "Glam" is the name of a a gelam tree (Paperbark Tree) which grew in abundance in the area in early Singapore which was used to built ships.

Kampong Glam was a fishing village located at the mouth of Rochor river. It only become more populated and slowly became a prominence after the Sultan of Singapore, Sultan Hussein Shag and the Temenggong signed a treaty with the East India Trading Company in  1819.
In nineteen century, Kampong Glam was still under strong Malay-Arab influence. It is a place whereby people patronise for the Arab-Muslim traditional food delicacies and merchandise. During 1822 "Town Plan", Sir Stamford Raffles allocated the place to the Malays, Bugis and Arabs. Trade was then centered at Kampong Glam as well. However, it was not a safe era to live in compared to now. As, crime rates were high and there was poor justice. Hence, robberies, street bawls and stabbings was common.



Lastly,
Kampong Glam has transformed into a trendy place with keeping its heritage intact.
The district now is still lively as always from day till night. For instance, textile merchandise, perfumes and traditional games can be purchased at Arab street . The district now not only filled with traditional Arab-Muslim eateries, also have many upcoming of cafes in the district. When sun falls, Haji lane will come to life due to existing bars and bistros along with its beautiful graffiti art along its wall.

Not just that, one still come to Kampong Glam to immense themselves in Malay culture due Kampong Glam spirit (sharing and bonding) and keeping a hint of architecture and lifestyle of its early days. Which therefore attract people to repeat their visits here as they get to have modern lifestyle like technological advancement and cafe hopping trends within rich heritage of Kampong Glam  .

On my upcoming posts, i'm going to cover on famous eateries , attractions and other details of Kampong Glam district. So, stay tune for more and keep your kampong spirit on while i keep mine !