 Kampong Glam, Singapore
Kampong Glam is a Malay neighborhood to the east of downtown Singapore. The name means "eucalyptus village". Although you don't actually see a Malay village in the same sense as you would in the rural parts of Malaysia, you will still get a distinct feel of the Malay-ness of the neighborhood. The eucalyptus or gelam was used by the Malays here as an ointment as well as for waterproofing boats.
Kampong Glam at night with the Singapore skyline
Author: William Cho (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
Under the Raffles Plan, also known as the Jackson Plan of 1822, the Kampong Glam area was parcelled for ethnic Malays and Arabs. It was further split into three parts, the Bugis portion where Bugis Junction is located today; the Arab portion, around Arab Street; and the Sultan of Singapore, around the palace of the sultan, site of the Malay Heritage Centre today.
Kampong Glam was originally beside the sea, with boats could be parked right on the shore where Beach Road is now located. Subsequent land reclamations have extended the shoreline outwards from the original Kampong Glam area.
Malay Heritage Centre, Kampong Glam (12 Dec 2004)
© Timothy Tye using this photo
Getting there
You can take the Singapore MRT East West Line to the Bugis MRT Station or Lavender MRT Station and walk from there.
Location map of Kampong Glam
Click here to view the Google Map showing the location of Kampong Glam.
Arab Street, Singapore
Author: © Sengkang
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