Foreigners and locals are visiting Kampung Lorong Buangkok in droves to see Singapore's last rustic village
Huang Huifen Straits Times 5 Sep 10;
It is a lazy Saturday afternoon at a special spot near Hougang - what is believed to be Singapore's sole surviving rustic village, Kampung Lorong Buangkok.
Birds tweet while trees sway in the breeze. Away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the smell of fresh earth and the chirping of crickets are amplified in this quiet village of 28 households who live in wooden single-storey houses lining mud tracks.
'Click!' The stillness is broken by the sound of a camera shutter and the chatter of two photography enthusiasts.
Technicians Mohammed Yusri, 28, and Rashideen Zakaria, 24, are here to capture the last sight of Singapore's heritage before redevelopment engulfs it.
'It is like a hidden city. Where else can you find such kampungs unless you take a ferry to Pulau Ubin?' asks Mr Yusri.
Interest in the rural retreat increased when it emerged last year that the kampung, which has been around for five decades, is living on borrowed time.
Kampung Lorong Buangkok and its surrounds are slated under the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)'s Masterplan 1998 to be replaced by housing, schools and other neighbourhood facilities supported by a road network. Part of the land is also marked for development of a major road linking to Buangkok Drive.
Details have not yet been firmed up but it would involve developing the 1.22ha area - the equivalent of three football fields - that the kampung now sits on.
Since the redevelopment plans were highlighted in the foreign and local press last year, as many as 200 'tourists' a week have been popping by for a last taste of the rural life in decidedly urban Singapore.
While most residents do not mind sharing their community with outsiders, some complain that the visitors overstep the boundary and intrude into their privacy.
As Mr Yusri and his friend snap away at the homes, kampung resident Sharifa Rahmat walks past without batting an eye, having got used to the sight of photographers.
But the 43-year-old, who has been staying here for 40 years, tells LifeStyle: 'The visitors can photograph the house, but some photograph me without my consent while I'm doing laundry or sitting outside the porch. I will scold them and they usually just say sorry.'
Residents also complain that items such as bicycles placed outside homes have been stolen.
Golf trainer Noor Aisah, 20, who lives at her grandmother's house with her parents and two sisters, says she now avoids putting expensive things outside.
'We just have to be more careful. There is nothing we can do to prevent such things from happening,' she says.
Landlord Sng Mui Hong, 57 - who, together with three older siblings, inherited the land bought by her father, the late Mr Sng Teow Koon, in 1956 on a 999-year lease - estimates that there are about 100 to 200 visitors a week.
These include foreigners and come from all walks of life, including primary school children, retirees, artists and film crews in search of nostalgia.
Besides postings by bloggers about their visits to the area, extra publicity is coming from the URA's Rediscover Singapore website, which lists the Jalan Kayu Trail, a segment of which includes the kampung. The site also has facts and information about various districts (see other story).
The kampung as hot tourist destination does not stop there.
Since 2004, the Asia Paranormal Investigators society has been conducting fortnightly trips there as part of a four-hour Punggol tour, where visitors go to forgotten corners of Singapore at night.
But Ms Sng has no plans to capitalise on the interest: 'If I don't open the place, people can't come. The children will not know what kampung life is. The visitors can come, as long as they don't steal anything.'
She charges the kampung residents a monthly rental of between $6.50 and $30 for the land on which their houses are built.
Ms Sng, who is single, does not rule out selling the land - she is unsure if her nieces will take over it when she grows old. But that may be a moot point: Based on state laws, she has to sell the land to the Government if required.
The visitors are a concern for Mr Kevin Tan, president of non-governmental organisation, the Singapore Heritage Society.
'The fact that the residents choose to live away from the hustle and bustle of city life is that they do not want such attention. Why turn these people into a circus show?' he asks.
The society holds occasional heritage tours but they do not include the kampung.
Institute of Technical Education student Ahmad Asyraf, 17, is irked when visitors ask to go inside the home he shares with his parents and four siblings to take pictures. 'I'm shy and it intrudes into my privacy. Anyway, my house is not a real kampung. It is furnished like an HDB apartment.'
Indeed, while the exterior of the houses retains a rustic charm, inside they have running water and electricity. Cars and motorcycles are parked outside the spacious porches - a hint of connection to the outside world.
Still, there is good news for those who fear that the kampung's newfound popularity might prompt the Singapore Tourism Board and tour agencies to transform the place into a souvenir-touting tourist attraction: Both parties have no plans to do so.
CTC Travel's senior vice-president of marketing and public relations Alicia Seah says: 'There is currently no market for South-east Asian tourists, as such kampungs are a common sight back home. Unless it is earmarked as a heritage site, there will be no commercial interest for this kampung.'
But for younger people such as MrYusri, the trip helps him appreciate what he has now. 'I don't think I can survive in the kampung. I am too pampered. I feel so lucky to live in an HDB flat. At least there are no mosquitoes.'
