Adventure travel in Singapore: how to explore the city state’s wild side and connect with nature
- Experiences ranging from bushcraft to cookouts to kayak fishing reveal the Lion City has more to it than soaring skyscrapers and a bustling cityscape
- In July, a US$32 million domestic tourism campaign was launched to encourage Singaporeans to discover the city’s very different sides
Before the Covid-19 pandemic closed the door on international tourism, Singaporean travel entrepreneur Scott Tay journeyed to some of the world’s most remote places. Conducting small-group tours, he spent time with Tsaatan reindeer herders in Mongolia’s frozen hinterlands, roamed the Gobi Desert on camelback and journeyed with Kazakh eagle hunters.
Now confined to Singapore thanks to global travel restrictions, the adrenaline junkie has found a different adventure, closer to home.
Tay has taken to organising outdoor cookouts by the sea in a secret location in eastern Singapore, where he whips up meals for friends using a mix of modern techniques and bushcraft. When all restrictions are eased, he plans to offer these cookout experiences to paying customers.
He has also taken to exploring remote paths and secret underground tunnels in the wildest corners of the tropical city state, in the hope of inspiring fellow Singaporeans to follow his lead.
“Many people might think differently, but to me, the [lockdown] was one of the best moments of my life,” says Tay, 28, founder of travel agency Beyond Expeditions Singapore.
Tay is among a number of restless locals seeking to breach new frontiers in the tiny urbanised country while international travel plans are shelved.
