Korek Siput

It was one of those everyday wonders we grew up with each time the tide goes out from our beloved Bedok Beach. The moment the shoreline widened and the seabed revealed its secrets, Bedok kampong folk would move in, expectancy in the air.

Families and children - we dug for mussels, clams, lalas, the occasional shy crab, and all the small wonders the sea offered only at low tide. For us boys, it was our paternal aunt who led the way. She would bring us down in the late afternoon, when the sun softened and the sand still held the day’s warmth. Those hours crouched over the sand, splashing in shallow pools, discovering treasure after treasure - remain some of the sweetest memories of all of our childhood.

This 1954 photograph, shared by our former neighbour Daniel Koh, captures that world perfectly.

Daniel, the baby in his late mother’s arms in this image, grew up at Kampong Padang Terbakar, just across Sungei Bedok from Kampong Bedok Laut - linked by that familiar little bridge we all remember. His family and relatives are shown here at low tide, bent over the sand, digging for clams and lalas in the fading light. It is a scene so ordinary then, yet so precious now.

For Daniel’s family - and surely for many of our readers who once lived in Bedok kampong — korek siput was a favourite pastime of play and community - by the sea together.

Thank you, Daniel, for sharing this beautiful slice of Bedok’s past with us.