GEYLANG Lorong 24 and
Lorong 24A are like twins with
different lives - one is an
erudite culture vulture, and
the other a street-smart
gangster.
Where Lorong 24A scores in
history, the arts and culture
with its numerous Chinese
clan associations, art spaces
and a Spanish dance studio,
Lorong 24 is a school dropout.
Prostitutes and pimps line this
street of around 20 brothels
that are open nearly 24/7. A
regular visitor in that street
says police raids happen as
often as five times a week.
The Straits Times visited
Geylang on a weekday
afternoon recently, and came
across a raid taking place in
Lorong 24. Women scattered
in different directions. Some
went over to the adjacent
Lorong 24A.
Minus this occasional spillover
of sex workers, Lorong 24A is
usually quiet.
In the conserved shophouses
built in the 1920s, various
cultural activities define the
street, giving it a unique
identity. The shophouses were
conserved by the Urban
Redevelopment Authority in
1991.
At the first unit in Lorong 24A,
a couple has been introducing
the Spanish flamenco to a few
hundred students in their
dance studio, Los Tarantos.
'I wanted a place where I
could have a home and a
studio at the same time,' said
Dr Daphne Huang, 39, who has
been living there with her
husband Antonio Vargas and
two children since 2009.
There is an elongated space
on the ground floor large
enough for a dance studio,
and on the second floor are
three bedrooms. The location
- a stone's throw away from
Aljunied MRT station - allows
her students, who are mainly
young working adults, to
reach the studio easily, Dr
Huang said.
It was 'love at first sight' when
the couple first saw the
shophouse. They were also
surprised by how charming the
street was, she added.
The two rows of restored
conservation shophouses in
Lorong 24A are home to about
10 Chinese clan and village
associations. Members meet
once a week to catch up over
drinks or for a session of
mahjong.
Last month, the 300-member
Overseas Hong Ann Villagers'
Association held its annual
founder's day celebrations.
Food and flower offerings
filled the hall while members
got ready for the night's
events at a restaurant.
Previously, such dinner events
were held in Lorong 24A, with
makeshift tents and tables,
said vice-chairman Koh Que
Chew. They were moved to a
restaurant because 'with the
clean, air-conditioned
environment, we hope to
attract more young people to
join us', the 66-year-old retiree
said.
Living life as normal
THE clans may face concerns
of renewal, but new life has
been injected into a row of
eight shophouses there bought
over by a group of five friends
in the mid-1990s.
Recently, young architects and
art students joined hands for a
project called The Lorong 24A
Shophouse Series. The series
saw the eight shophouses
spruced up into architectural
masterpieces before
reopening as temporary art
spaces.
Three renovated units were
opened for free public
exhibition last month, and two
more are scheduled to open
by the end of next month.
'Before there can be
conservation, there must be
appreciation and awareness,'
said Miss Karen Tan, 31,
founder of Pocket Projects, a
development consultancy firm
tasked with heading the
project.
'Through the project, we hope
to create interest in this
important part of our cultural
heritage in Geylang,' she said.
The art-meets-home space will
be rented out after the
exhibition.
Unit 9 recently found new
occupants. German ship
broker Christoph Franz and his
two friends have rented the
3,600 sq ft shophouse for two
years, at a monthly rent of $
6,800.
'The location is great because
I get to see the interesting
local life and I've always
wanted to live in a shophouse,'
said Mr Franz, 28, as he
showed off his new home: The
space has a fish pond in the
middle of the living room.
'I'm going to buy some koi,
stingrays or maybe even those
tiny fish that go into a fish
spa,' he joked.
He and the other expatriates
share the neighbourhood with
older residents.
Medical hall Han Yin Tong's
80-year-old owner, who
wanted to be known only as
Madam Lau, said Lorong 24A
has been the only 'clean' lane
in Geylang during the 40 years
she has been living there.
She still remembers the days
when children played on the
streets as adults shared food
outside their houses.
Madam Leow Ah Kioh, 64, who
has been living in a two-storey
shophouse with her husband
for 30 years, said there was an
influx of foreign prostitutes
into Geylang about eight years
ago.
In 2009, she resorted to using
a water hose to chase the
women out of her street.
There have been verbal wars
too. 'It was as exciting as
watching a movie,' said the
feisty Madam Leow, who runs
a scrap dealing business on
her premises.
Her next-door neighbour, Ms
Ng Pei Fung, 34, is also
uncomfortable about what
happens in neighbouring
Lorong 24. The mother of a
two month- old baby said
there have been incidents of
rowdy foreign workers and
illegal parking at the
weekends.
The human resource
executive, who moved into the
area with her husband less
than two years ago, said she
hopes to move out of Geylang
one day.
Others working and living
there, however, said they
were not too bothered.
Chinese national Li Jing, 34,
executive secretary of
Singapore Toys and
Confectionery Dealers'
Association, said: 'As long as I
keep to myself, I won't be
misunderstood (as being a sex
worker).'
Every day, the Singapore
permanent resident packs
lunch to eat in the office and
heads straight home after
5pm. In doing so, she avoids
the leering looks of men
scouring the area for paid sex,
she said.
A male worker from a
company in Lorong 24A that
provides music at funerals
said: 'As long as you don't
walk through the wrong door,
I don't see what is the
problem.'
Property price gulf
IT MAY come as no surprise
that the property prices
between the two lanes are a
world of difference.
A conserved, freehold 3,600 sq
ft 21/2-storey shophouse in
Lorong 24A can fetch about $
3.6 million.
A 3,000 sq ft terrace house in
Lorong 24 costs half of that -
around $1.8 million.
Property developers have long
been trying to get hold of
these terrace houses. Sources
said half of the 30 terrace
houses in Lorong 24 have been
acquired so far. About 10 of
them will be vacated by the
end of the month.
An owner of a house there
with red lanterns hanging at
the front porch, who declined
to be named, said he would be
giving up his home soon.
Asked if he was happy to
come into potentially more
than a million dollars, he said:
'Try finding me another place
in Singapore just like this.'
At least a few people in
Lorong 24A are feeling a little
envious about the deal.
These residents, who live in a
shorter stretch of 11
unrestored terrace houses,
say they are being short-
changed.
Resident Elvin Zhao said
property agents have talked
about an en bloc deal, but the
offers so far have been less
than satisfactory.
His ground-floor unit was
valued at $1.09 million.
'Our lane is not part of the
red-light district, so I don't
understand why we are not
getting a better price,' said
the self-employed man.
Mr Wilson Tay, 33, Ms Ng's
husband, said he was waiting
for a better deal before his
family will agree to sell their
first and second-floor units.
'I've heard rumours that the
red-light district is slowly
moving out of Geylang,' he
said. 'I think it's because of
our central location.
'When the time comes, I'm
sure we can get a premium
price for our properties.'
When - or if - that day really
comes, will Geylang and its
streets still have the same
allure as they do now?
[email protected]
Source: The Straits Times ©
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
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