We get a fresh take on Singapore with inventive new tours – from low-carbon farms to Vespa rides and Instawalks
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It’s our first chance to escape the city bounds, and I’m seeing a side of Singapore I never knew existed. Setting off from the city centre, we travel past nature reserves and acres of green space, stop off at a hydroponic farm where herbs and vegetables are growing in low-carbon vertical gardens, then pause for lunch made with the freshest of locally grown ingredients at the Open Farm Community.
“Row after neatly planted row of herbs, wafts of fragrant mint, lemongrass and coriander”
Then we carry on to the northwest suburb of Kranji, almost on the border between Singapore and Malaysia, and draw up at an organic community farm known as Bollywood Veggies. We stroll through row after neatly planted row of herbs, wafts of fragrant mint, lemongrass and coriander swirling in the warm air.
The owner – known by everyone as Poison Ivy, though not nearly as fearsome as the name suggests – explains the medicinal properties of each plant as well as their uses in the melting pot that is Singaporean cuisine.
It’s a far cry from the towering skyscrapers and five-star hotels downtown, but with so much green space on offer for a city of this size, it shouldn’t really be a surprise. As Singapore ramps up its efforts to sell itself as a ‘city in nature’ and invites British travellers back to its shores via Vaccinated Travel Lanes, innovative new tours like this one are showing the city-state in a new light.
Creative forces
The visit to Bollywood Veggies was led by Karni Tomer, guide and owner of food-focused tour outfit Wok ‘n’ Stroll. But that’s not the only creative spot Karni loves introducing visitors to. Just the day before, she led me around Little India to explain the touching stories behind the area’s street art scene.
From the richly textured painting of an elderly Chinese immigrant and a turban-wearing rickshaw driver, every wrinkle writ large across their faces, to traditional scenes of Indian folklore or quirky, colourful images showcasing the city’s whimsical side, this cultural district is brought to life through the energy and imagination of its residents.
There’s also a chance for visitors to put their own creative stamp on the city, with new Instagram-focused tours from local operator Tribe. When travel restrictions put a stop to inbound tourism in 2020, residents were issued a voucher to spend on domestic travel to support the industry.
“We pass by red-roofed shophouses and bustling market stalls”
This prompted many companies to come up with creative ways for locals to see their own city – and led to a host of new tours that are now available to international visitors. For Tribe, that meant designing a series of ‘Instawalks’, exploring an area with both a guide to give a commentary and a photographer to offer tips on the best selfie spots.
Guide YS takes us through Chinatown to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, who came from Guangdong province, as we explore the lives of ‘coolies’, low-wage labourers who migrated to Singapore in search of work. Along the way we learn the origin of famous local dish Hainanese chicken rice – a meal developed by immigrants from Hainan, but never served in China itself – and the background behind Singaporean kopi, coffee made from robusta rather than arabica beans, to which condensed milk is added to soften the bitter taste.
We pass by red-roofed shophouses and bustling market stalls, but this tour isn’t just about the obviously Instagrammable spots. We also delve into the concrete stairwells of high-rise HDBs – government-built housing blocks, where YS tells us he grew up – and where lines of brightly coloured washing are strung window to window and flat-topped roofs tower over the heritage buildings nearby.
The photo focus isn’t just a gimmick, either. Tips on taking the best images for social media force us to see these run-down urban spaces in a new way. The curve of a concrete arch or the hard diagonal line of a busy road disappearing into the distance offer a fresh perspective, especially when allied with stories of the migrant labourers who toiled away in years gone by right here in Chinatown.
Sidecar sights
If clients are looking to change their perspective once again, Vespa tours from Singapore Sidecars are just the ticket. Travellers enjoy a unique tour of the city in a sidecar affixed to the famous scooters. We don our helmets on cherry red, neon yellow and 70s-style cream and tan motorbikes, thrum the engines and rev our way through Joo Chiat.
We pass brightly coloured shopfronts, their rainbow facades a contrast to the modern skyscrapers that tower behind. Passers-by wave at us from bus stops and bridges – whether at the curious sight of a chain of Vespa sidecars or because they are overjoyed to see tourists back in Singapore, I’m not sure – and we skim past the pedestrian-only entrance to Haji Street on our way to Kampong Glam.
“Their rainbow facades a contrast to the modern skyscrapers that tower behind”
It’s a fun way to explore the city with commentary from local guides, in my case a Brazilian-turned-Singaporean called Guillermo, who pointed out key sights over the tut-tut-tut of the engines. Company owner Simon Wong, who hails from north London but has ties in Singapore, is working on a number of new tours, from ‘sidecar cinema’ to explore the city and enjoy an open-air film to a design-focused drive and a Grand Prix-inspired trip around the city’s streets.
It’s yet another example of Singapore’s ability to reinvent itself, showing first-time and returning visitors alike a new side of the city-state.
Book it
If Only offers five nights in an Ocean View Room at the five-star Mandarin Oriental, including breakfast, British Airways flights and private transfers, from £1,749 departing from Heathrow, based on travel on June 1, 2022. Departures from Manchester and Glasgow are available at £1,859 per person.
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PICTURES: Singapore Tourism Board.
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