Travel Singapore : The Original Singapore Walking Tour - Sultan of Spice

10 Feb 2011 - Thurday

8.10 am
Getting ready to go out. Need food to fuel the day.

8.45 am
Reached Raffles Hospital and went into Banquet - the first Halal Food Court in Singapore - got my half boiled eggs and kaya butter toast with a big cup of tea. Tummy sighed relief. Am full and am ready to go!

9.20 am
Made my way to the meeting point, Exit B of Bugis MRT ; the exit near to Raffles Hospital. The meeting time : 09:30am. There were some other tourist waiting at meeting point. Some elderly couple, 5 single ladies and two single men were standing at the exit.Altogether the final count was 15 of us. Pauline the tourist guide had arrived and greeted us with her cheerful "Good Mornings".

09:35 am
All were requested to register our names and later on, a fee for the walking tour SGD 30nett per person were collected and a ticket was issued in return.

09:40 am
All ready to go! We walked towards Parkview Square and headed to Bali Lane. There was row of shophouses, 2 storey high. Understood from the tour that these shophouses were the first initial design. The shophouses in Chinatown (Bullock Cart)were the later version, 3 storey high.

The Gateway Building, designed by I. M Pei (famous Chinese American architect)

Do you notice that the design itself looks like the blade of a knife?


We were walking further into the neighbourhood of Kampong Glam and stopped briefly at Haji Lane.It used to be the transit resting point for Muslim and at that time, Muslim men performing their haj in Mecca.
Hence, the aptly named "HAJI LANE". In steamships these men went in and travelled for an approximately 2 weeks from Singapore for their pilgrimage, to the sacred land of Mecca.

INTERESTING FACT: KAMPONG GLAM literally means Village of Gelam Tree
GLAM is derived from the Malay word GELAM. Gelam tree is known scientifically as Melaleuca Cajuputi. This village used to house kampong houses on stilts. Its community comprised mostly fishermen as it was near to the coast line. Hence ahead of these lanes,in the main road - it is known as the Beach Road. In this village, there were endless of gelam trees in the village. It's bark was said to seemed the planks in fishing boats. Apart from that, the leaves were used to make oil which smells like a mixture of eucalyptus and tea tree oil with medical properties antiseptic and anti bacteria. Pauline passed that tiny bottle that contains this said oil. It was uplifting smell, it smelled like the eucalyptus garment wash that I used for my laundry. NICE!

Back to Haji Lane...

It was said that Malay craftmen were plying their craft and art in this area. But they were nowhere in sight as I could see numerious small boutiques. Where are they now? You may asked. Last heard that they deserted this place when the rent went up.

Later of the walk, we stopped at a batik/sarong shop in Bousorrah Street.

This is tepak sireh (a Malay traditional metal container for storing betel leaves used for chewing) and keris (a uniquely crafted dagger,knife with waves)

There was a demonstration on wearing the sarong (a drapped long skirtlike garment worn by the Malay community) We now know the many uses of sarong! It was used as a carrier bag, the baby crib, the head bandana and interestingly enough, it can be used as your own private washroom when you need to answer the nature call! The unique thing about sarong is that no zippers nor belts required! AMAZING!(Men with bulging waistline, this might be an alternative dressing, only when you are in Singapore!)

A brief shopping time at the shop after the demonstration and we were brought into a magnificent golden dome mosque - Sultan Mosque. Interesting enough, the base of the dome was circled with bottles and bottles of soya sauce!

As form of respect, prior advise were given to visitors on wearing appropriate attire such as long sleeves and long pants. However, due to the hot, humid and sunny weather in Singapore - this might be somehow difficult for some. Nevertheless,robes were provided by the mosque's reception. Personally, I find the architecture serene.

The next stop was at the perfume shop and it was my favourite stop.
Oh yes, sweet smell makes the world go round!

The perfumes range were endless and contain no alcohol. Concentrated as it us and some parfum echoed similarity in well known brands. Their prices were charming too!

Of late, I am into ROSES. I asked the shop owner of any concentrated ROSE perfume. He quipped,"YES!" He took a die cut perfume card and dipped it into one of the big bottles container. He passed that sample to me for a sniff and immediately, I went crazy with it! That's it! That concentrated ROSE smell was the one I've been looking for. Without hesitation, I told him." I want this! " So how much does it cost? A tiny 3ml cost SGD5nett and the bigger bottle of 6cm in height with roller-on of 10ml cost SGD 10nett.

It is almost 12noon. We departed from the perfume shop to ISTANA KAMPUNG GLAM (Kampung Glam Palace). It was being refurbished in mid 2000s' and conserved into Malay Heritage Centre. It is the place where it showcase the history, heritage and culture of local Malays.

Malay Heritage Centre ; prior conservation it used to be the royal residence.

We walked deep into the once a palace compound where Pauline shared her last bit stories of the palace and lineages of Sultans in Singapore.

The finale of the tour was unearthly as the last stop was at a royal cemetary. There wasn't any specific signage as we walked into the area. But as we gather closer to the tombs, located on higher ground as there were staircases leading us up to the resting place ; we saw two blue signages with salutation of royalty. Surprising enough, there was a presence of an elderly man who was up keeping the tombs as he was clearing all the fallen tree branches in that area.

The Gelam Tree in the compound of Malay Heritage Centre

All of us were dispersed as when Pauline bid her goodbyes. I bought a discount card for SGD 1nett. Card holder enjoyed SGD 3nett off on the subsequent walking tour, fair deal. Worth every penny.

Met up some new found transicient friends in the walking tour. We went for Malay lunch at Minang Restaurant, just the opposite of Sultan Mosque. The lunch was spicy and hot! Right after lunch, some of us went to Arab Street to shop for silk and batik. While some went back to Bussorah Street to haul some shawls.I had an excellent bargains on batik at 119 Arab Street. The tourist guide recommended us to stop by at POPPY 111 Arab Street if silk is in your shopping list. Along Arab Street, you see row of shophouses left and right - selling clothes in many type of material and prices.

New found friend and I went for the 2 p.m guided tour at the Malay Heritage Centre. Well, I found out the early settlers in Singapore were the Orang Laut - Sea Men. We found other things too:

There was a fire in Kampong Glam that ravaged the village which was depicted in a mural painting with its 2D fire,smoke and lights effects. The guide was sharing with us the spirit of gotong - royong. In the Malay language it means co-operating and helping each other in times of need. In the mural, we see other races that came to help the dire straits Malay community with buckets of water to ease the ravaging fires on the attap kampong houses. Gotong royong was amongst the people of Singapore.

The Singapore's national anthem - Majulah Singapura - it's musical notes/script/lyrics were displayed here. The composer was Mr. Zubir Said.

The begining of kampong (village) life, a replica of a attap kampong house on stilts is located on the 2nd floor. As we enter the house,(mind you - in olden days - no shoes allowed and you have to washed both of your feet prior going in) the living room is airy. Not a sight of sofas in the living room. It was a communal living as doors and windows are wide open, welcoming neighbours and anyone into the house. As you exit the house, it will lead you into the typical Malay family kitchen that comprises of stove using dry tea branches and charcoal, a cabinet that stores food. No fridge, dish washer machine and all that sort of modernity. As we exit the kampong house, we walked into the living room of public housing in late 1960s.

The height and healm of popular Malay actor such as Mr. P.Ramlee in late 1950s'. A film set of Bujang Lapuk ((The Over-aged Bachelors) was in displayed too.

There are some artworks exhibits of ancient sword - the KERIS. The blade are shaped in a wave. The dagger are made of wood and its carving are of finest craftmanship and intricate quality.

As I leave the Malay Heritage Centre,I personally felt that every nook and corner of this neighbourhood brings you back in time and away from the hustle and bustle of city live. Sort of like a light strol over the weekend, laid back and you stood there to appreciate its' surroundings. I really appreciate the history, the culture and the heritage of this community.

That's the spirit!


ps: I am not paid for this write up and I just wanted to share what's under the sun on my day; on 10th Feb 2011. I've signed up the walking tour using my own money.

pps: I will share with you the bargains that I found on Arab Street on lovely batik attires with a modern twist on my next blog!