We’ve talked about Kampung Buangkok previously, but I had a good reason to make a trip there.

I tagged along to witness a special collaboration between the Hwa Chong Institution and the National Heritage Board.

With a project team comprising members of the Hwa Chong Institution’s Media Tech Club and mentored by NHB, this collaboration will result in a special exhibition dedicated to Singapore’s last and sole surviving kampung; an online portal using Microsoft 360 software; and oral history recordings of a number of the kampung’s residents.

Members of HCI’s Media Tech Club with their teacher, Mr Lee

We were greeted by the village head, Mdm Meifeng, who brought us around the kampung.

Many of these homes would be familiar if you’ve read previous posts by our Friends of Yesterday.sg and contributors.

Mdm Meifeng invited us to her home and allowed us the privilege of taking photos.

Of great interest to everyone was her folder of photos and newspaper clippings about Kampung Buangkok, which was a gift to her by tourists who visited the kampung over the years and compiled their accounts.

Mdm Meifeng shared with us that there’s always been a total of 28 households in the kampung. While the younger generation tended to move out after marriage, they would come back for gatherings during festive seasons. Her own children however would visit weekly to help her with the chores. She also let on that her grandchildren would be joining her during the school holidays, and gardening was one of the activities that they enjoyed.

When asked about whether she felt that the increased media coverage of the kampung resulted in an invasion of privacy, she replied that the kampung was a living, breathing exhibition that should be shared with the younger generation. While she personally welcomed all visitors, some neighbours who were not keen on being photographed would tell visitors nicely.

Some of the visitors include artists, tourists and of course photographers. She said that the kampung has been host to Chinese, Malay and Indian film crews, and that it has appeared in Royston Tan‘s 12 Lotus and 881.

Mdm Meifeng also shared that groups of students liked to visit the kampung at 1 – 2 am in the hope of finding spooks. She would always tell them nicely that there aren’t any to be found.

Before introducing us to her neighbour, she told us that living in the kampung is invigorating. Which meant that she sleeps at one at night and wakes at five in the morning to do the chores.

Mdm Rozi’s home

Mdm Rozi’s home

Mdm Rozi kindly spoke us and allowed us to take photos of her home, while in the midst of busy preparations for Hari Raya Haji.

Mdm Rozi shared that she’s stayed in her kampong home built by her father for 40 of her 45 years. She moved to a flat for five years and found it boring so she decided to (in her own words) balik kampong.

She reminisced about the games she played when she was young, which include building little huts where kids would visit each others hut, fireworks, marbles, and masak-masak. She also recalled playing football with Woodbridge patients, as the hospital was situated closer to the kampong then.

Of the changes she’s seen, she recounted the nearby fish farm and creek, where they used to catch fish which was immediately served fresh at meals. Her family used to rear poultry and sell fresh produce. She currently does her marketing at Geylang once a week, and lamented the demise of the provision shop in the kampung.

When asked about what she loved about kampung life, she cited the space, fresh air and strong bond with her neighbours. She felt contented with what she had, with water and electricity always available, and the night breeze doing away with the need for air conditioning.

She added that her children aged 4 – 19 were not too keen on moving out of the kampung due to the irresistible combination of rustic living and modern day pleasures like computer games and cable TV.

One thing that she did not miss were the floods, which had a tendency to happen during Hari Raya Haji.

On the topic of kampung spirit, she felt that it comes naturally because they grew up together, hence the strong bonds and trust among each other. She pointed out the example of the neighbor next door who just went to Malaysia and entrusted them to watch over her house. When they were younger they used to gather everyday for meals, however they now try to make an effort to meet up weekly.

Before we left, she shared that she would be cooking up a feast for her friends who left the kampung, would would be visiting for Hari Raya.

I had great fun visiting this kampung, and it was a priceless experience being invited to view the dwellings of the residents up close. I’m sure the team from HCI’s Media Tech Club enjoyed the visit as much as I did, and I will be looking forward to their exhibition, where they will showcase their research, photos and videos as well as a 360 walkthrough of the kampung. Do watch out for that, as we’ll be breaking news of the exhibition as soon as its up and running.