Enchanting Little India and Kampong Gelam Tour

SURPRISING SINGAPORE WITH MULTI-RACIAL GUIDE Hi, I am Lena, your personal guide in amazing Singapore 🇸🇬. As a young girl, I would eat a Chinese pancake and drink soy bean milk for breakfast, dance to Indian Bollywood songs and have Malay chilly noodles for dinner even into my 30s when my Danish mother-in-law looked at me strangely - like someone from a mixed country which indeed I am. I grew up in Singapore in a kampong (Village in Malay) with Indian neighbor on my right and Chinese on my left so we would share each other cuisine and celebrate each other festivals. My mother is from Kelantan, a province in Malaysia and my dad a sign-writer from Fujian, South China so with my family there is already a fusion of Malay and Chinese practices. Now, my family consists of Danish (spouse), North Indian Hindu and Shanghainese, so my family is a microcosm of multi-racial Singapore. And as I was a child living through the development of 3rd world country to 1st, I breathe, live and witness the meteoric change of Singapore. I was even swept in a racial riot in the 60s, losing my flip flops midway. I have lived in a shack with tin roof, public housing and now a conservation shophouse with different neighborhoods and communities which have shaped me. Buildings may disappear, change or be replaced, but the soul, the charm and the enigma of Singapore are preserved through stories and traditions. Whenever, I have a tour, I woke up with excitement 😀 for I know it is a happy day - to meet new people - not only to show and tell stories about my city, but certainly to exchange observations and thoughts. My background was in advertising and international marketing, until I fell in love guiding first as a volunteer for 10 years where I was trained as a community guide in various government agencies.* My happy times are the “AHA” moments of clients and when we laugh sharing a local joke or a snack. My clients range from teenagers to yuppies, from grandmas to soldiers or to CEOs, who all have given me 5-star reviews. I strive to meet their needs and interest, to make tours enjoyable and memorable. Singapore is just above 720 sq miles but it packs with stories and places from the 13th Century – surprising, isn’t it? Come and join me for a truly authentic local experience 😀 Docent with Friends of Museum *Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore *Malay Heritage Foundation *Singapore Art Museum *Gillman Barracks Art Enclave Led student art tours in National Art Gallery Singapore 🇸🇬