Shopping, Bugis And Kampong Glam

Taken on: 18th June, 2007. Copyright: All Rights Reserved - See travelfishery's page of Flickr

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Just east of the city centre, Bugis is a neighbourhood with one foot in the past. The old and new are juxtaposed on every corner with business hotels beside street markets and the crowds on the footpaths and MRT are as likely to be on their way to the mosque as they are to the mall.

Bugis is named for the Bugis tribe, seafaring people from Indonesia reputed to dabble in piracy, who came to Singapore in the early 19th century to trade and established kampongs (villages) in this area. After the arrival of the British one of these settlements, Kampong Glam, was designated the home for wealthy Muslims, including Malay royalty and Arab merchants, who built the Istana Kampong Glam palace and Sultan Mosque — two magnificent buildings that still stand today.

In the post-WW2 era Bugis became a centre for an entirely different type of trade — prostitution. Fuelled by sailors on shore leave, Bugis Street gained a reputation for ... Read our complete Bugis and Kampong Glam travel guide

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