'Under' our Bedok kampong house

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What sat beneath a kampong house? For many of us who grew up in these raised wooden‑planked homes, that shaded under‑floor space became our own version of an attic - a cool, half‑lit world where old furniture, tools and forgotten belongings quietly settled over the years.

In this 1961 photograph of the back of our former Bedok kampong house (614‑3, later 10J Bedok Road), you can see how the timber structure rested on a concrete platform, creating a natural storage space beneath it. Within that low‑slung area, a narrow passageway allowed the adults to duck‑walk their way to whatever they needed - but for us little boys, it became a perfect looping tricycle track. We pedalled round and round under the beams until the day we finally grew too tall to fit.

By around 1967, our uncle - ever the skilled carpenter - enclosed a small section facing the front. That tiny nook became our toddler cousin’s playroom, and for us older boys, a cherished corner to play ‘house’ long before we understood what a real home demanded.


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