F A I T H. W A N D E R E R: Kampong Lorong Buangkok

Who would ever know that in one little corner of Singapore hides a long lost gem- the last kampong in Singapore- Kampong Lorong Buangkok and to my surprise and delight, it is located near to my neighbourhood, with a direct bus. With my new friend and photographer, we walked and took the bus to Lorong Buangkok. Initially we thought we were lost as the place is so deeply hidden that it is easily missed by walkers or drivers. Thankfully, google maps saved the day and we finally arrived at the destination in one piece. Thank God for the wonderful weather as well, clearing the skies in the midst of this stormy season. To be honest, as I have never seen a kampong in my entire life before, the first thing my eyes saw since I was born was high rise HDB flats (it is Singapore afterall), I was taken aback. The houses were made of wood, roads rowdy, it reminded me a little of Myanmar (as I just returned from a mission trip there). However, the houses do not look dilapidated at all. In fact, they are brushed in nice paint of brown, beige or even bright colors of light blue and yellow. It was a lovely sight! We then wasted no time and started finding spots to do our photoshoot! In the midst of our shooting, there will be occassional cars coming through. Imagine cars parked in a Kampong. Such a rare sight isn't it but again, it is modern Singapore, I guess people do adapt as times change.

Apart from the physical attraction of the Kampong, what touches me are the hearts of the people there. They are mostly elderly and of Malay race but they are filled with warm hearts, smiling at us and apologising when they thought they had intruded our shoots. I even saw a small malay primary school boy returning home from school and I did not hestitate to say Hi and smile to him. He responded with a big smile and Hi as well. It made my day and made me think of the social situation in Singapore whereby people are deemed mostly unfriendly and cold but hey, there is this side of Singapore as well. :)

Moreover, the people there knew each other and were all so friendly with each other, chatting like old buddies, nothing like the neighbours in our HDB flats or condominiums even when we can take the lift up together in silence. I guess this is the kampong spirit that is gradually lost with economic growth and modern development. Overall, I really love this little trip and I will return there again, bringing my friends along as well. :)

If any of you wish to go there, here are the directions I took:

1. Take Mrt to Khatib Mrt Station
2. Take 854 at the bus stop outside the Mrt Station
3. Alight at the bus stop opposite block 965 (check the board at the bus stop to make sure you are taking the bus in the right direction :) )
4. You will see a huge construction site, walk towards it and walk all the way straight and you will see a park connector, turn right when you see it and then you are there :)

To end it off, here are some pictures of the shoot.