Have you ever went for a local tour in Singapore? This might not be on the minds or thoughts of most Singaporeans during the pre-COVID days. When the global pandemic COVID-19 hit the world in 2020, bringing international leisure tourism and travel to a standstill. People around the world returned to domestic travel in their home country. This was probably something new and unheard of for Singapore with her small land size and not having a hinterland, local/domestic travel might not sound that attractive, some might ask, “Do we even have one?”. This ongoing global pandemic situation helps to change all that, Singapore adapted and we are now encouraging people to embark on SingapoRediscovers adventure. I went for one recently, the Black & White Houses Stroll with Jane’s Singapore Tours. 

We started off from Hort Park, where I met our tour guide Shanti from Jane’s Singapore Tours, along with other tour participants. It’s a small tour group outing, making it friendly and cosy. Walking along Canterbury, Winchester, Russels, York, Royal, Cornwall and Berkshire Roads, admiring the beautiful Black & White Houses with their nice spacious gardens and listening to the  given by Shanti, it seemed like I had traveled back in time. 

It was a short two hours Black & White Houses tour, nevertheless, I learnt a lot from my very experienced and wonderful tour guide Shanti. She shared many interesting history lessons, architecture, culture and lifestyle associated with the Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park. I reckon I had a good exchange with Shanti and gained much more knowledge as we were walking around the Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park.

Let me pose you some questions of Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park:

  • Which SIT/HDB estate in Singapore has similar architecture/design to the ones at Alexandra Park?
  • The Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park were built for which British military camps nearby? 
  • Which hospital is just round the corner from the Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park? What is the connection between these two places?
  • Have you seen/heard of a Black & White house on stilts in Singapore? 

Even though I had some prior knowledge of the Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park and some of their history. Under the excellent and knowledgeable travel guidance of Shanti, I learnt a lot more in depth of the history, lifestyle, culture and stories of Alexandra Park. While you may choose to ask Google for answers or I might write a lengthy history tour article here, nothing beats going for a physical tour of the Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park with an experienced travel guide! 

Due to this ongoing global pandemic, we are currently not able to travel overseas for our holidays. Since we can’t travel out, why not travel around, visit and explore places in our home country Singapore? This would give us the opportunity to learn and understand more of our local history, heritage, culture and tourist attractions. How much do we really know about our home country Singapore? Why not join a local tour from a wide selection of Jane’s Singapore Tours on offer and embark on your SingapoRedisovers tour?  

Personally, I sincerely hope that more people would do their own SingapoRediscovers adventure, from rediscovering Singapore’s history, culture, arts, food, architecture, tourist destinations, nature, outdoors etc etc, there are well known places and also hidden gems in our small land size Singapore. 

I had a fun, enriching and informative local tour of the Black & White Houses at Alexandra Park, I learnt so much more about the history, culture, architecture and real life stories behind them, an area that I am interested in since I have been documenting and photographing history, heritage and culture in Singapore over the past two decades. 

I would like to thank Jane’s Singapore Tours for hosting me on one of their iconic and popular tours, Black & White Houses Stroll: Alexandra Park.

For more information and updates on the various types of tours on offer by Jane’s Singapore Tours, do visit their website and social media sites below:

Website: https://janestours.sg/ 

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JanesSGTours/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janessgtours/ 

YouTube: Jane’s Singapore Tours 

TripAdvisor: Jane’s SG Tours 

2 Comments

  1. Thanks so much for your lovely review! Absolutely delighted that you found the tour so
    enjoyable & enriching.
    Yes, this last year or so has been really tough for us tour operators but one silver lining may be that Singaporeans connect with the heritage of our small, but oh so interesting, island home.
    Thanks again for joining us.
    Best regards, Jane

  2. Hi Geng Hui.

    Enjoyed your blog! Am so happy you liked the tour and wrote such enticing description of it. Indeed, our backyard is now our playground and here’s hoping many, many Singaporeans will venture out and explore the beauty that is right under their noses.

    Thank you for the lovely words.

    Warm regards

    Shanti

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *