Banda Street, Singapore

Banda Street, Singapore (9 July 2011)


Banda Street is a short one-way street in the Chinatown of Singapore, just behind the newly built Buddha Tooth-Relic Temple. The only building along the street today is a high-rise apartment block with some shops at the ground floor.

From the late 19th century to just before the Second World War, Banda Street and nearby Spring Street was a red-light district housing mostly Karayuki-san, or Japanese prostitute. For that reason, the Cantonese people called the street Fan Tsai Mei, meaning "end of the foreign brothels". In this respect, Banda Street is similar to Cintra Street in Penang.

Karayuki-san, meaning "Ms-gone-overseas", are Japanese girls from impoverished parts of rural Japan who out of circumstance were forced into the flesh trade. They were a presence in many cities in Southeast Asia until before the Second World War.

Map of Banda Street, Singapore

Sights along Banda Street, Singapore

Banda Street roadsign (9 July 2011)

References

List of the Streets in Singapore; Discover Singapore

 Sights in Singapore

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Streets of Singapore and Map of Singapore Streets

Singapore MRT and Map of Singapore MRT

Postal Districts of Singapore and Map of Singapore Postal Districts

Planning Areas of Singapore and Map of Singapore Planning Areas

About this website

Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. While I try my best to provide you information that is as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors. Also, as I might not be able to update some information on time, some of these pages may contain outdated information.