Commentary: Boring, expensive Singapore? Here’s how tourists can step off the social media algorithm

” AUTHENTIC” SINGAPORE EXPERIENCE

It’s not difficult to love a precise piece of Singapore, actually with limited time. Real and strange must-sees can be crossed out in one go with the help of effective courses and classes, both regular and unconventional.

The Chinatown Business Association often offers clever classes like traditional Chinese opera hand puppetry and traditional Chinese opera makeup, or sign up for a Cookery Magic class in the back yard of a picturesque Opera Estate.

Let’s not overlook that one of founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s ideas for the industrial reinvention of the nation is that Marina Bay’s modern sheen is truly genuinely Singapore.

And we have such a wealth of heritage close to these man-made wonders ( and/or monstrosities ), that a Jubilee Walk that loops around Marina Bay and explores the area’s history gives a real sense of who we are, where we came from, and where we’re headed.

Because at one finish of the futuristic-looking Helix Bridge, there’s an aunt offering ice cream sandwiches with rainbow breads- a native treat beloved by generations. In the darkness of the showy Mondrian on Duxton, there’s Tong Mern Sern, a shophouse crammed with antiques that’s a story search through antique Singapore.

We’re in this Central Business District, a glitzy, neon-lit building area filled with public art spaces. These walkers and bikers along the bayfront- that’s us, also. That’s most positively us, those long lines at the Chinatown Complex stalls center.

In fact, Singapore is anywhere if visitors want to give us a true look, not just through a laptop lens.

Desiree Koh is a freelance blogger based in Singapore.