Kampong Jawa

The bechak or trishaw was a popular and affordable mode of transport for many once upon a time. On the back of a bechak, my grandmother made her many visits to the area she referred to as “Kampong Jawa”, with me as a willing accomplice. Kampong Jawa is what we know as Arab Street these days. My suspicion as to why my garndmother referred to the area as Kampong Jawa, is that there must have been a settlement of Javanese in the area. My grandmother herself hailed from Jakarta, and I am not certain if that was one of her reasons for frequenting Arab Street. One of her motivations for visiting Arab Street were the many shops that lined both sides of the street, selling wares from Malaysia and Indonesia. The shops offered my grandmother a wide selection of batik sarongs, which she used as part of her attire, and also where she could obtain her regular supply of “bedak sejuk”, literally translated as “cold powder”, sold in small glass bottles. The powder was manufactured in tablet like pieces and would normally be mixed with water to form a white paste which was then applied to the face and was usually left on overnight to smoothen and whiten one’s complexion.

For a while, the bechak ride was one of the highlights of the trips – the seemingly long journey to Kampong Jawa, propelled by a man with weather worn features dressed in blue (I am not sure if it was a uniform of sorts used by the trishaw riders), served as a kiddie ride of sorts for a 5 year old boy. I was also caught up in fascination with the many narrow shops along Arab Street, lined with colourful textiles or glass display cabinets filled with anything from trinkets from the Orient to cosmetics from Indonesia, and the myriad of shoppers that filled the narrow five foot ways.

Arab Street today

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