Monday, December 26, 2011

Old kampongs quiz (1)

Can you identify the kampongs in these photos? I certainly can’t. I know it’s tough, but GMY readers have always risen to the challenge in the past.

Photos number 1 and 2 were sent by Mike Robbins and Photos number 3, 4 and 5 by Robin Brewster. Of course if you could identify the people in the photos that would be even better; especially the kid in Photo number 1; LOL. I don’t know about you. But I always find it a joy to see the happy faces of kampongs kids; especially when the kampong is from Singapore.


By the way, if you have watched the documentary Lost Images featuring videos by Ivan Polunin, you will see similar scenes of kampong kids frolicking in the sea. Maybe it’s the same place.




20 comments:

peter said...

Somewhere, off Pasir Panjang Road; the last photo looks more likely. Correct?

Redstorm said...

Another possibility, it could be Lorong Fatimah where the present Woodlands checkpoint is not standing.

Lam Chun See said...

Sorry. I don't know the answer. But if you compare these houses with those in Lor Mandai Kechil in Woodlands, as found in Picas website; here, they do look quite similar. Hence I would say they are near Woodlands area.

BTW, I am not saying that the photos by Mike Robbins and Robin Brewster are of the same place. I just put them together in this article becos they looked similar. They could well be two different places.

Edwin said...

I think Photo #3 was the water kampong at Geylang Lorong 3.

fr said...

Picture 3 reminded me of a fishing village on an island off Phuket we visited many years ago.

Tim said...

Great photos!

I didn't spend much time in Kampongs. There were two near our house on Sian Tuan Avenue that I walked through occasionally. They held a fascination for me, but my parents didn't encourage me to go there ... quite the opposite.

Am I right in assuming that the Kampongs have all gone?

TC Lai said...

Chun See, I visited Kg Lor Fatimah often when I was a teenager living in Marsiling. Even had a bit of adventure in the river next to it. I remember the houses were like on a kelong, but rather rickety. Here: http://asingaporeanstorybox.blogspot.com/2011/12/woodlands-road.html

Lam Chun See said...

I think Photo no1 5 is probably near Sembawang Hills, Peirce Reservoir area since Robin Brewster also took the photos of the elephants at Seraya Crescent. Anyone know if there was a Malay kampong near to this area in the mid-1960s?

Lam Chun See said...

I realized that this quiz is much more difficult that I thought. Doing a search in Picas, it appears that there were many places in Spore that had houses like these. Besides the shores of main island and the nearby islands, but also along the rivers. Even up to the 1980's such houses could be found in Spore.

Kitchens London said...

I keep in mind the show came to our property in the 60’s. They delivered their camping tents on a huge clear prevent of area dark by Jalan Leban and Jalan Kuras, which is just across the street from Seraya Cres.

Brian and Tess said...

Nice photos and with reference to Chun See's comment on smiles on kids faces (and his own life experience of course) I keep coming back to the thought that quality of life does not necessarilly depend on quality of facilities.

Edward said...

Hi Chun See,
There were kampong houses along Old Upper Thomson Road, not far from Sembawang Hills Estate. The Malay guy who sold satays on his bicycle in our estate lived in one of the houses here. He carted two metal containers across the back seat of his bicycle, one for the hot charcoals to bbq the satays and the other for his uncooked satays. If you travel from the Seraya Crescent end of Old Upper Thomson Road, the house that he lived in is on the left hand side of the road, about a kilometer from here. I am not sure if there were other Malay families living on this side. The kampong houses on the right hand side of Old Upper Thomson Road were mainly inhabited by Chinese families. I do not think there were any houses near the reservoir. The kampong houses that I saw along the left hand side of this road were situated quite a distance from the waters of Peirce reservoir. I have hiked along the entire banks of Peirce in the late 60s and have not seen a single house nearby. So photo no. 1 is unlikely to be near Pierce Reservoir. But photo no. 5 could possibly be at or near Sembawang Hills Estate. The road in the background could be Old Upper Thomson Road.
Edward

Leaflet Distribution London said...

He carted two steel bins across the rear chair of his bike, one for the hot charcoals to bbq the satays and the other for his fresh satays.

Tim said...

Kampong Memory ....

Travelling along Thompson Road towards Sembawang, there was a kampong alongside the road. One day I remember it was flooded ... kids were wading around up to their waists in water. They were having a great time, but the adults didn't look so happy.

Education Consultants said...

I didn't spend much time in Kampongs. There were two near our house on Sian Tuan Avenue that I walked through occasionally. They held a fascination for me, but my parents didn't encourage me to go there ... quite the opposite.

Annette Fox said...

In picture 5, the hedge in the background is trimmed and well kept, and also there are white stone markers by the roadside. I lived along Upper Thomson Road and don't recall these features there. However, going north, at what used to be "5th milestone", there was a kampong on the right side of Thomson Road (with the edge of Pierce Reservoir on the left). I think the hedge is part of that reservoir grounds, and that stone bench at the entrance to the kampong.

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