“AUTHENTIC” SINGAPORE EXPERIENCE
It’s not impossible to relish a succinct degustation of Singapore, even with limited time. Tours and classes both conventional and quirky are efficient for ticking off the checklist of must-sees, real and surreal in one fell swoop.
Chinatown Business Association regularly hosts crafty workshops like Chinese opera make-up and traditional hand puppetry, or sign up for a Cookery Magic class with your choice of local cuisine in a bucolic Opera Estate backyard.
Still, let’s not forget that the modern sheen of Marina Bay is actually authentically Singapore, one of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s visions for the urban reinvention of the country.
And we’re so fortunate to have heritage next door to these man-made marvels (and/or monstrosities) - just a Jubilee Walk spanning 8km of historical milestones and a loop around Marina Bay glows a real sense of who we are, where we came from, and where we’re headed.
Because at one end of the futuristic-looking Helix Bridge, there’s an uncle selling ice cream sandwiches with rainbow bread - a local snack beloved by generations. In the shadow of the glitzy Mondrian on Duxton, there’s Tong Mern Sern, a shophouse crammed with curios that’s a history trawl through vintage Singapore.
This Central Business District of skyscraper glitz dappled with public art spaces - that’s us. These runners and cyclists along the bayfront - that’s us, too. Those long lines at the Chinatown Complex hawker centre - that’s most definitely us.
In fact, real Singapore is everywhere, if travellers want to really give us a good and proper look — and not just through a smartphone lens.
Desiree Koh is a freelance writer based in Singapore.
Continue reading...