Kampong Glam wears its contradictions openly. Prayer calls echo from Sultan Mosque while tattoo artists work in shophouses nearby, and century-old restaurants share streets with pop-up photo-booths.

On this walking tour, you’ll find out how a area that began as a gathering place for Singapore-based Indonesian pilgrims planning their Hajj journey became Singapore’s creative quarter. It’s also where pioneering street artists and independent businesses built a community that’s now threatened by its own success.

The tour starts at Sultan Mosque, which is the last remaining mosque where the call to prayer still sounds across the streets. You’ll walk past restaurants that’ve been operating since the 1900s, and explore alleys transformed by artists like Zero when rents were still affordable and regulation minimal. As you walk along streets lined with commissioned murals and independent boutiques, you’ll hear from the artists and entrepreneurs navigating dramatic change.