Our Bedok Kampong House Singapore

As much as we romanticise those nostalgic kampong days, we cannot forget some of the smells that were part of daily life in our kampong house in Bedok Laut. One that stands out vividly is the putrid stench we endured in the early 1960s, when a landfill of garbage was poured into the Sungei Bedok tributary that flowed in front of our house, eventually covering it up. Beyond that, three recurring smells defined a memorable chapter of our growing-up years. There was the sharp scent of jeypine, used to sanitise the jamban (toilet) areas (we were on the bucket system then). There was also the familiar smell of mosquito coils burning at night, our constant defence against relentless mosquito attacks as we slept under our nets. And every Thursday evening, there was the weekly ritual instructed by our grandmother: the fragrant smoke of kemenyan incense, placed on a holder and carried into every room of the house. These smells, unpleasant or comforting, are inseparable from our kampong memo...

Here is a rare photo of Bedok corner (where Upper East Coast Road turns sharply to the left to Bedok Road) taken in September 1945. It was taken from a Royal Navy troop carrier on its way to Seletar with the photographer at the back of the carrier facing Bedok corner. This was just after the Japanese surrender of Singapore. Behind the cluster of coconut trees in the middle is Bedok Rest House. Our Bedok kampong house was 2 buildings behind the rest house (but we moved in only in November 1954). Bedok beach is on the right. We are grateful to Mr  Michael Hall  who shared this photo of his as well as the accompanying story.

Two years ago, we kicked off this page with a photo of our house from August 1955. Our friend, Dr Gilbert Tan, loved it so much he asked if he could paint his own take on it – an honour we deeply appreciated. On 27 July 2025 — he unveiled this stunning ink ‑ and ‑ wash piece, boldly painted in black on white. It ’ s such a powerful reinterpretation of a cherished memory. As Dr Tan shared with us: “I’m sure this house must have held wonderful memories for the Tan family. What a joy to imprint these memories in this painting.” Huge thanks to Dr Tan for sharing this beautiful artwork with us again!

Here is another photograph, taken circa 1957–1959, capturing the pre ‑ reclamation coastline along Upper East Coast Road. The view faces Bedok Corner, with a narrow municipal walkway and a line of mature coconut trees framing the left side. From what we read, the concrete seawall—visible here—was constructed by the former Public Works Department to stabilise the increasingly eroded shoreline, a problem already well ‑ recognised by the mid ‑ 1950s. A stepped accessway can also be seen toward the back of the photo. The paved path running parallel to the sea, shaded by trees (interesting to note a fallen coconut tree trunk into the sea) and punctuated with simple rest points like benches, completes this gentle scene of a coastline that has since vanished. Our thanks once again to Mr Yeo Hong Eng for generously sharing this photograph with us. Photo circa 1957-1959

She moved into our Bedok kampong house with the family at the end of 1954, just 4 years of age and the first child in the house – along with 5 other adults. 6 years later our mother married into this same household, and from then on the two of them were often appearing together in the photos you see here. This week, we celebrate our beloved cousin’s 76 th birthday -   we share the same grandfather, though different grandmothers - and we greet her with all our affection: “Selamat Hari Jadi, Panjang Panjang Umur!”

Here’s a remarkable 1968 photograph by Jackie Munro, taken from the fences of Bedok Army Camp—by then already standing on reclaimed ground. From this vantage point you get the entire sweep of the old Bedok coastline, stretching all the way toward Padang Terbakar, dotted with seaside houses, kampung structures, and fishing boats resting along the brilliant white sand. Starting from the left, you can clearly make out the Bedok Rest House with its British pillboxes, followed by Sa-chan-lau, the three ‑ storey home where Jackie lived. Further along the shoreline, the distinctive roofline of the Sultan of Pahang ’ s holiday bungalow peeks out from the trees. If you once lived along this coast, what else can you spot in this panorama—what buildings or familiar silhouettes call back memories of a Bedok that has long since vanished beneath reclamation?

Qing Ming (same day as Easter Sunday in 2026) has always been more than a date on the calendar. It’s a season of remembering and honouring the people who shaped the paths we now walk. The name translated “Clear and Bright” reflects not only the spring weather, but also the clarity of heart that comes with remembrance. For our family, that spirit lived in the way our young father and relatives made their annual journey to Bukit Brown Cemetery to honour his late sister, who passed at just 28 from sudden tubercolosis in 1952. Tomb ‑ sweeping, cleaning, prayers and offerings with quiet moments of reflection were the rhythm of those visits. These photos capture one of those pilgrimages, circa 1953—a small window into how love and remembrance were expressed in those days. And this post is also a shoutout to the Brownies — the dedicated and tireless advocates for the conservation of Bukit Brown Cemetery. Week after week, these passionate volunteers lead visitors through the cemetery’s w...

Not long ago, we discovered that our late father had quietly kept materials from his visits to the YMCA back in 1954 and 1955 - treasures we never even knew existed. We also noted that he only converted into Christianity in the mid 1980’s. These materials included invitations, and old activity programmes that captured a bit of what life and community looked like in those days. The originals are now safely preserved in the National Library Board’s archive collection, and we’re grateful they’ve found a home where others can appreciate them too. We hope you enjoy this little window into the past as much as we did.

We once shared about how our parents brought us to the National Theatre at River Valley Road in 1967, where we wandered through its beautiful gardens and fountains. But our memories of that place didn’t end there. One visit stands out vividly: our dad taking the whole family to watch a traditional Japanese Kabuki performance there. As children, those dramatic masks and elaborate costumes were both mesmerising and a little frightening, yet they opened our eyes to cultures far beyond our shores and taught us to appreciate art in all its forms. Then came the mid ‑ 1970s, when the theatre took on a very different kind of excitement. Cliff Richard was in town, and we had tickets to see him live at the same venue — right in the era of “ Power to All Our Friends. ” It turned into an unforgettable night, especially the moment when the drummer played with such intensity that he broke part of the bass drum, which had to be swapped out while he kept going. 1967 with our mother on the grounds...

As children, we never quite knew what to make of the 8 to 0 ‑ inch hard ‑ plastic coin bank our father brought home to our Bedok kampong house. It felt too precious to use, and its narrow slot seemed to prefer dollar notes anyway. What captivated us, though, was its design — a miniature Chinese-style building with remarkably intricate moulding. We would hold it up, turning it in our hands, simply admiring the craftsmanship. Only much later did we realise what we had been looking at all along: a model of the original OCBC building on Chulia Street, then known as the China Building — the very site where the OCBC headquarters we believe now stands.

Our follower and friend, Mrs Jackie Munro finds herself thinking back to 1968 and to the family’s amah then, Selma binte Ali. Selma lived in one of the kampong houses in Bedok and was a wonderful, steady presence who agreed to care for the Munro household despite already raising seven children of her own. “Armeda was one of her daughters — she became a nurse, if I remember correctly. We were invited to their kampong home for Hari Raya celebrations. Her young son — his name escapes me now — was especially fond of the record Guantanamera,” Jackie recalls with a smile. This 1968 photo of Selma sees her on the ground floor yard of 2B (aka Sa-chan-lau) Bedok Road (Bedok Camp is in the distance)

Here is a wonderful photo of the contestants of the 1966 Qur’an recital competition held at the Masjid Bedok Laut, just a short walk from our Bedok kampong house (and featured in an earlier post). Mr Zainal Nizar, who shared this with us, is seated on the extreme left and just 15 years old then. He and his friends would come all the way from their RAF quarters at Telok Paku Road at Changi for this memorable day. He was second runner-up! Zainal also tells us he was an old boy of Siglap Secondary from 1967 to 1969 (then at Cheviot Hill, off Siglap Road). Thank you for sharing this with all our followers and readers, Mr Zainal!

He used to walk about 2km to school every day — Bedok Boys — from his home at Padang Terbakar (later renamed Siak Kuan Road in the 1970s). His house was the second one next to the old Sungei Bedok bridge, (855M Padang Terbakar, later 222 Siak Kuan Road) looking out toward the British pillboxes guarding the river mouth. And of course, another 2km home again after school. On those daily walks, he would have passed right by our Bedok kampong house at Kampong Laut, making his way out toward Bedok Corner before turning right. We were just babies and toddlers then, but how lovely that all these years later, we’ve connected with this neighbour from across the sungei — Daniel. Daniel shared with us this precious family photo taken around 1960, with him at the extreme right. Behind them, you can see the Bedok beach where the river met the sea, and at the right corner, the familiar silhouette of the pillboxes. He also remembers a huge, rarely-seen butter fruit tree in his compound — bearing ...

This 1968 photo of the back of our Bedok kampong house brings back memories indeed. This was the yard where laundry was hand-washed every morning then hung to dry.  Kak Min our neighbour at 4E, is to the left of the photo (and strangely our back is facing her front). That closed door ahead opens to the outside. And that open door you see on the right was the entrance to our uncle’s bedroom cum store. Foreground next to the belimbing tree (not that in-season here) is what both Malays and we Peranakan Babas call a ‘Tempayan’ or large urn. It stood under a rain gutter ending directly above to catch rain water used mostly for watering the garden (with a safety netting over it since we have little kids around). The thing about this tempayan, it reminded this writer, the older of the boys, on how our mother used to discipline me due to some disobedience issue. Picture this: I was running around the tempayan with her chasing but unable to catch me and strike (with the rotan or cane). Even...

Bedok Rest House, probably the most famous landmark at Bedok corner and most familiar to so many of us. It frequently served as a reference point when we needed to let people know where to meet or to point out where we used to stay (yes just after this building, the 3 Storey Sa-chan-lau (or 2B Bedok Road), then Kak Min’s residence at 4E (the Indian Muslim family), and then us at 10J. Our family went back in October 1992 (we moved out of the kampong in October 1974) to have dinner there and celebrate our late father’s then 62 nd birthday before it closed in end 1992. And in March 1993 on a trip back to Singapore to trace her former residence at 2B, Mrs Jackie Munro and family visited her neighbour next door – before it was demolished completely. Thanks for this memorable photo, Mrs Munro - for a memory keepsake. It was funny to see this huge sign here! Celebrating our father's 62nd birthday then with the family, a few months before they closed for good

Thanks again to Mrs Jackie Munro, who took this early 1968 photo from her home at 2B Bedok Road (the 3-storey building or sa-chan-lau), we are now able to have a glimpse of our Bedok Kampong then with the Masjid Bedok Laut in the centre. On the right the metal railings that served as the moat bridge led up to the Sultan of Pahang’s holiday home, and on the left a tiny glimpse of our neighbour Kak Min’s house at 4E with a small attap structure within her compound. Our own house at 10J is on the left but out of range and not seen here. Also out of range but to the right are the police quarters, after the Sultan’s home (or Istana) The kampong gravel road you see here winds gently (from Bedok corner on its left, towards the Sungei Bedok bridge on its right) between the houses and coconut trees, dry and dusty when it was sunny but turning orangey when it rained with its shallow ruts filled with rainwater and the road sides turning into small torrential streams of water flowing through the...

Our mother reminded us recently that the current bus 10 plies the exact portion of the route taken by the old Katong-Bedok bus when it travelled past Simpang Bedok, down Bedok Road, and on to Upper East Coast and East Coast Road, passing Katong before going on to its final destinations. And the bus number for that same route in those days was also 10! This circa 1956 photo shows such a bus coming from the Bedok corner depot – a British AEC Regal III with its bus body most likely built by Hock Lee Coachbuilders, circa 1953-1956. And well into the early 70's we did take this same bus 10 from the bus stop (same location as Cold Storage now) to our school at St Patrick's and back again...

Quiet rowing in the sea off Bedok beach, early 1968 – taken from the reclaimed land just outside Bedok (army) Camp 2 and near Bedok corner. See the many kelongs in the distance! Thanks again to Jackie Munro for this. Perfect photo for a restful weekend for all followers! 

Our late father cut out this 1995 report of a Chinese-language book “Who’s Who In The Chinese Community” launched at that time by Acting Environment Minister Mr Teo Chee Hean - because he believed his father was mentioned within its pages. We have now been able, with the great assistance from the National Library Board staff, to procure a page that mentions our grandfather, Mr Tan Piah Eng, one of the 1,175 listed Chinese community leaders in Singapore then. With the aid of DeepSeek AI, and thanks to our cousin’s husband, we were able to have page 418 which mentions him, highlighting his contributions during World War I (1914 to 1918) translated and transposed into a tribute for him, on the 71 st anniversary of his death on 27 February 1955.  Tan Piah Eng and his legacy During the challenging years of the First World War which started in 1914, Tan Piah Eng, who was 36 years of age then, played a vital yet often unseen role in supporting the community through one of the most di...

This writer, the older of the boys am grateful to have caught up with Michael Hall and his wife when they visited Singapore last few weeks. Michael and I have been in contact since mid 2024, from his home in Devon, UK. Michael and his family stayed at Bedok (along Bedok Road nearer to Simpang Bedok, opposite Bedok Walk) in the late 1960’s when his RAF dad was posted here, and very familiar with Singapore! He just turned 13 (extreme right) when this photo was taken by his dad at Bedok beach (see left side fencing belonging to the holiday home of the Sultan of Pahang). And here we are posing by Sungei Bedok (now a concrete canal) when we visited Bedok corner just last week! Thank you, Michael, for all the support you have given our blog and Facebook page! Oct/Nov 1968 when Michael (extreme right) just turned 13, 58 years ago Inset box: posing by Sungei Bedok (Bedok River), Feb 2026

Early February 1968 and it was the Chinese New Year celebrations then. Taking this photo from her home at Sa-chan-lau, Mrs Jackie Munro witnessed this breathtaking Dragon and Lion Dance ceremony and performance at the beach at Bedok Corner! Our live-in cousin, just 16 then also told us she was present at this event which also had fire crackers! See the Bedok camp fast taking shape on the right of the photo. Thank you for sharing this wonderful and extremely rare photo Jackie!

The Year of the Fiery Horse this Chinese New Year occurs every 60 years with the last one being in 1966, when we were at our Bedok kampong house! With a family portrait, taken 60 years ago in 1966, we would like to wish you a blessed year this 2026 amplified with the Horse’s inherent qualities of strength, dynamism and momentum. Gong Xi Fa Cai! Selamat Taon Baru! Happy Chinese New Year! 1966, colourisation of original black & white studio portrait with reddish tones to invoke the blessings of the Lunar New Year! The original studio portrait of 1966

February 15th each year is Total Defence Day (the day of Singapore's surrender to the Japanese in World War 2). As it is our collective responsibility to defend our nation and strengthen our resolve to keep Singapore safe and sovereign, we wish to give tribute to and honour two men from within our family who were our war heroes then, and they come from both our grandmother’s sisters’ side of the family. The first hero (see photo taken circa 1939 - 1940) Sng Gim Soon , is our grandmother’s youngest sister’s husband. Armed with only this photo, and with the help of AI, we managed to get some possible information about him as follows: He joined the Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) organization shortly after its expansion in 1939 and he was part of the backbone of Singapore’s early civil defence efforts among the first wave of A.R.P. volunteers, preparing Singapore for the possibility of air raids. This studio portrait was taken around 1939 or 1940. He could have served as a Warden, whi...

While most of us would throw and dispose off those Chinese New Year greeting cards mailed to us of long ago, somehow our late father did not. And now we are so blessed to be able to take a trip back to yesteryears to see some of these cards. Sent by relatives and friends from both here and Malaya, here are cards from the 1950’s to share with you all. Most of them here are made more like mini-postcards and printed only on one side. This card is undated (envelope missing) but we can circa it in the mid 1950's. It has multiple sides with cover and back as well, unlike the above cards which are more mini-postcard like. The lady in the front is an anonymous model. This card was recently colourised beautifully by AI. Circa 1955. It was common in those days to use generic models' faces on cards.