My family used to live in Siglap, I was very young then.
There was the char kway teow hawker on his bicycle with a side car that had his kwali and a tarpaulin top protecting it from the elements. We used to stop him outside my grandma's house and we'd bring an egg to add when he fried the kwayteow. There was also the ark bak hawker who walked around with a bamboo pole across his shoulder and balanced 2 large baskets at the 2 ends. Apart from braised duck, he had pigs ears - the family's favourite!
Grandma's house was just a few houses from the Jln Tua Kong kampong. As kids, we loved playing there although we weren't allowed to. The smells of the vegetation, coconut husks, family cooking, etc, was somewhat alluring. Every morning, a large truck full of empty pails would rumble past my grandma's house which left a faint stench, but in the evening when it came back to collect them, man the stench was BAD! Yes, it was the night soil collectors! The term we used was "tong tahi". My dad used to threaten us kids that he'd get us out of school and work as tahi collectors if we didn't study hard. With the daily overpowering smells, it was a very real threat! lol!!
Some characters in the area was this young man with a leg affected by polio who lived in the kampong. He'd walk around bare-footed, dragging his affected leg. I didn't know what he was saying but he always sounded intimidating. By mid to late 80s, the kampong was demolished to make way for new residential houses. He was middle-aged then and I don't know what happened to him. There was also a butcher or fish monger at Siglap market who wore rags - literally torn pieces of cloth and a pair of black wellingtons. We used to call him Tarzan. He too disappeared when Siglap market was demolished.
The malay cemetery is still untouched. It was well known for as a princess was buried there and people would place offerings for lottery numbers. Neighbours around that area would complain of cars parking outside their homes at the wee hours of the morning. It is only a few years ago that a fence was erected around the perimeter so the number of unfamiliar cars have dwindled.