Out and about in Arab Steet, Kampong Glam

Whether it’s exploring the artistic mural streets, shop houses and cafés , there is a certain charm about this area that keeps me coming back again and again. 

Walking through this area gives you the feeling that it’s authenticity is actually hiding down it’s narrow back alleys, shophouses and artistic cafes. It is, however, a great place to wander.

There is a special energy here even with tourists on every corner, that I have yet to feel in either Little India or Chinatown. A day out and about around Arab Street probably won’t make you feel like you’ve found nostalgia, ditch the tourist path and have a wander down the narrow back alleys, where the uncles hang out.  

In the maze of side streets around the Sultan Mosque, there is a colourful jumble of Malay, Indonesian and Middle Eastern merchandise.

At the center of the area is the golden domed Sultan Mosque. The current structure dates from 1928, when it replaced the original mosque built in 1822. Next to the Mosque is the Istana, the former palace of the descendants of Sultan Hussein Shah, who ceded Singapore to Stamford Raffles. The descendants were technically entitled to live in the compound forever, but were asked to leave a few years ago, and the building has now been turned into the Malay Cultural Museum.