Geylang: Singapore's Red Light District

A few days before the field trip to Geylang, I was already quite excited to go for it. This is the first time I walked around the streets of Geylang, as my prior experiences of the area were from the comforts of a passing bus or car. Our aim for this field trip was to experience the back end of Geylang that is hidden from the public eye, and take a first hand look at the people who ply their trade there.

Our first stop was an old primary school that was converted to a one-stop avenue for the migrants in the area to get their supplies and medical attention. We visited the migrant clinic, named HealthServe, which is in place primarily to take care of the medical needs of the sex workers who ply their trade in the area and the foreign workers who live in that area. We spotted a group of scantily clad women waiting outside the clinic, presumably waiting for their turn to be checked.

Dr Tan enlisted the help of several Chinese nationals who were familiar with the ground to be our tour guides. We broke up into smaller groups and started heading to the prime areas. As this was my first time in a red light district, I was extremely curious and my eyes were roving from one detail to another, not willing to miss any out. The guide pointed out that the sex workers were from a wide range of nationalities and they would congregate in certain specific spots along Geylang. He duly pointed out those areas to us, piquing our interest to explore the area more deeply.

I saw a lot of male Chinese and Indian nationals walking and standing along the streets, presumably waiting for the ideal sex worker to approach. As we delve deeper into the heart of Geylang, we started seeing the "fish tanks", a term to represent the legal brothels. These brothels were legal in a sense that the government tolerates them as long as they ensure that the sex workers under their charge go for regular check ups every fortnightly. If they are found to be non compliant, the police will evict them. What struck me about these "fish tanks" were the bright lightings at the entrance. They gave off a very traditional "ge tai" feel. They were low-rise houses with numbers at the front gates. Beneath the apparent pleasant entrance, one could see the sex workers busy touching up their make up and preparing themselves for the next customers. As we proceeded along the street that is filled by these "fish tanks", I spotted 2 young Singaporean men around my age entering the brothels.