Azimin Saini

It’s just past 7am and the ceiling fans at New Holly Wood coffee shop are turning lazily, swirling the aroma of its signature white brew through the space.

Kampong Glam was never just a neighbourhood.

Borobudur rises from the earth at the edge of the city, its stupas softened by mist and the gentle morning sun. Around it, fields pulse with life – rice farmers stoop low over the wet earth, women carry bundles wrapped in faded batik cloth, and the day begins with little ceremony but great rhythm.

There are streets that change with you – places you return to over the years, only to find yourself mapping personal history onto public space. For me, that street is Telok Ayer in Singapore.