Inspired by my Bangkok based pal, Anna, who has really made
an effort to discover her city since she moved there six months ago, I did a
bit of research before this visit to Singapore to find some activity that would
open up a bit more regarding the culture of the city and its people. I stumbled
across some excellent reviews of the Original Walking Tours, who run various
walks around the city, and decided to take their’ Dhobis, Saris and a Spot of
Curry’ trip around little India. Whilst I had been to Little India before, I
felt like I had really only scratched the surface of the place, and hoped that
this would give me a bit more insight into the area.
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What a good choice I made! The trip was guided by a local,
Geraldine, who was fantastic, giving us lots of local detail on the religion,
history and culture of both the Little India area and Singapore in general. The
tour itself was 2.5 hours long, and we visited a Hindu temple, saw a
demonstration of sari tying, visited a wet market and learnt about some of the local
delicacies, including trying a jackfruit (in taste like a cross between a
banana and a mango with the texture of a lychee) and some Indian sweets. We
also visited spice grinders and sellers, a member of the group received a henna
tattoo, and Geraldine pointed out lots of great food options for us.
At SGD 35 this was incredible value for money, very
interesting and had a brilliant guide. The company run a number of different
tours and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again. They really opened up an
aspect of Singapore for me, and you never felt herded or pressurised to buy,
like I have felt on coach tours before. Definitely recommended.
