Little India and Kampong Glam travel guide
Perhaps the most colour- and scent-saturated areas in Singapore, Little India and Kampong Glam still bustle with traditional businesses and religious centres. Beginning first as a camp for Indian convict workers, Little India’s abundant grass and water later made it an ideal cattle-breeding ground. Kampong Glam had a more idyllic beginning as the location of the palace of Sultan Hussein, the Malay ruler who ceded the island to the British. A walk through these areas is a trek through Singapore’s past.
Little India
Serangoon Road is the main thoroughfare that runs through Little India. Its sidestreets are lined with brightly-lit shops spilling over with spices, fabrics, floral garlands and glittering jewellery. A landmark at the junction of Serangoon and Bukit Timah roads is Tekka Centre, a bustling fresh-produce market worth a look.
Although Little India is the hub of the Hindu community, religious centres of various faiths call the area home. Also marvellous examples of various architectural styles, these places of worship include the Abdul Gaffoor Mosque on Dunlop Street, and Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple along Serangoon Road. The stunning Sakya Muni Buddha Gaya Temple and the ornately decorated Leong San See Temple also attract the Chinese faithful to the area.
On Syed Alwi Road is the sprawling Mustafa Centre, a 24-hour shopping complex that is hugely popular with bargain hunters.
Kampong Glam
To the east of Little India is Kampong Glam. The first Arab settlers, along with the Bugis, Javanese, Boyanese and people from the Riau Islands, turned Kampong Glam into a commercial hub. Today the area still draws those in search of bargains, but beyond that, Kampong Glam is also a lovely enclave that offers plenty to see on a leisurely stroll. Lately it has even earned a reputation as Singapore’s coolest neighbourhood, where boutiques and antiques shops sit side by side with Middle Eastern restaurants and cosy bistros, all set in restored two-storey shophouses.
Many of these houses were built in the Early Shophouse style in the 1840s, resembling unadorned dollhouses with their squat upper levels and simple lines. Batiks, linens and baskets of every shape, size and colour are sold on Arab Street. Bussorah Street holds a treasure trove of shops selling Asian and Muslim-inspired crafts. At the end of the street is the golden-domed Sultan Mosque. Dotting the Kampong Glam area are several other cultural sights. At the centre is Istana Kampong Gelam, the former royal palace built in the 1840s, now converted into the Malay Heritage Centre.
Above the Bugis MRT station is another shopping hub with the overcrowded Bugis Street Market and the Bugis Junction mall, featuring a glass-covered retail ‘street’ with boutiques and cafés. Nearby Waterloo Street is a hive of activity with Buddhist worshippers, medicine sellers and fortune tellers crowding the entrance to the Kwan Im Tong Hood Cho Temple.
Discover more about the architecture of this area by reading our feature on Singapore's shophouses...
Places to see in Little India and Kampong Glam
Browse the stalls at Tekka Centre
665 Buffalo Road
Stalls selling Malay, Chinese and Indian food draw sizeable crowds here for breakfast. Tekka also has a fresh-produce market with an amazing array of fresh produce seldom found elsewhere in Singapore. Upstairs are clothing, brassware and antiques shops.
Pay respect to Kali at Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple
141 Serangoon Road
tel: 6295 4538
Dating to 1855 and built by indentured Bengali labourers, this temple is dedicated to the multi-armed goddess Kali, the manifestation of anger in the face of evil, who is both loved and feared. In one of her images at the temple, she is shown ripping a hapless victim apart. As consort to Shiva, the goddess is also known as Parvati in her benign form. The main shrine has a striking Kali statue, flanked by those of her sons Ganesh, the Elephant God, and Murugan, the Child God.
Tuesdays and Fridays are considered sacred days and are especially busy with devotees streaming in to pray and ask for blessings.
See the beautiful Sultan Mosque
3 Muscat Street
tel: 6293 4405
The largest mosque in Singapore, this dates back to 1924. Swan and Maclaren, the architectural firm responsible for the mosque, adopted the design of the Taj Mahal and combined it with Persian, Moorish, Turkish and classical themes. The muezzin calls the faithful to prayer five times a day; the women to their enclave upstairs, and the men to the main prayer hall. With its striking golden domes and soaring minarets, this is one of the loveliest places of Muslim worship in Singapore.
Mustafa Centre - for shopaholics
145 Syed Alwi Road
tel: 6295 5855
An institution in Singapore, selling just about everything under the sun. Luggage, jewellery, electronics, power tools, you name it – if no one else stocks it – Mustafa probably does. The prices here are great, too. But be warned: like everywhere in Little India, this place is packed on Sunday.
Learn the history of the area at the Malay Heritage Centre
85 Sultan Gate
tel: 6391 0450
The old royal palace of Istana Kampong Gelam was built in the early 1840s by Sultan Ali Iskandar Shah on the site of his father Sultan Hussein’s original wooden construction. Erected on stilts, the original building was styled after a Malay palace with a verandah on the upper floor. Restored in 2004, the palace has been converted into a Malay Heritage Centre with nine galleries chronicling Malay history and culture. Exhibits include artefacts unearthed during restoration, such as earthen pots and rifles belonging to World War II Malay soldiers.
There are daily cultural programmes at the centre as well as guided tours (prebooking is required).
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