Free guided tours to 50 places that define Singapore as home

JOY FANG Today Online 22 Jun 15;

SINGAPORE — Did you know Dakota Crescent was named after the model of an aircraft that had crashed into the area in the 1940s? Or that East Coast Park was built entirely on reclaimed land?

These are some of the titbits Singaporeans can glean from free guided bus tours over three weekends from now until August.

Organised by SG Heart Map, the five different tours will last from four to six hours, each heading to the south-east, south-west, north-east, north-west and central parts of Singapore. The tours will take place this Saturday and Sunday, on July 4 and 5 and on Aug 7, 8 and 10.

The tours will explore some of the 50 endearing places to Singaporeans that emerged after six months of crowdsourcing, from more than 85,000 contributions. The spots celebrate the places that define Singapore as home. For instance, those heading to the “Scenic South-East Tour” can visit spots such as the Singapore Sports Hub, Old Airport Road, East Coast Park and Changi Village.

Those who opt for the “Adventurous North-West Tour” will visit the Woodlands Waterfront Park, River Safari and Chong Pang Market and Food Centre. Other spots on other tours include the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Gardens by the Bay, Kovan Market and Food Centre, Maxwell Food Centre and Punggol Waterway.

Participants on these tours will learn about the places’ lesser-known stories and be able to sample local fare during stopovers at hawker centres. The tours will be conducted by guides licensed by the Singapore Tourism Board.

Participants will also be invited to join in a mass activity of planting their thumbprint on a large map. The mega art piece will be unveiled at the SG Heart Map finale event at year end.

Full-time national serviceman Brian Liew, 22, had contributed Changi Village as a destination to SG Heart Map. He said he loves the place because it is a quiet getaway from the city, and has both hawker fare and speciality cafes for everyone’s enjoyment.

“Every time I go there, I find something else that’s interesting,” said Mr Liew, who went for a preview of the bus tour and was impressed by how informative it was.

A resident of the eastern part of Singapore, Mr Liew still managed to discover information from the south-east tour, such as that Still Road was named after Alexander William Still, who was The Straits Times’ chief editor.

“If I have the time, I’d definitely want to join the tours of the other parts of Singapore,” said Mr Liew.

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, who spoke to reporters yesterday after touring a photography exhibition at one of the tour stops on Old Airport Road, said he was glad that SG Heart Map got Singaporeans to participate and put forth what the places mean to them.

“It’s a good effort by the organisers to capture what memories meant to the hearts of Singaporeans, so I support the effort,” he said.