The Beginning

How did Kampung Java start? How did the idea for 'No Place Like Home' come about?

Well, believe it or not, Kampung Java can trace its origins to when my father was wondering about the geological foundations of our new home. As I did my research to answer his question, I realized that all the texts available at that time were written by geographers, for geographers. There was a very real need for a database on the geography of Singapore, which the man-in-the-street could easily digest.

Thus, on 2 September 1995, I started work on the first draft of 'No Place Like Home'.

It was also around that time when, thanks to the class of 3C1 at the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and my colleagues Choon Gan and Alan, I began to understand the vast potential the Net represents for education. I applied for an account on 3 October, and exactly one week later, my dialup service commenced - that's the historic letter which you see below.

I was online!