There’s a TikTok Channel That Has Real Videos of S’pore in the Past

For a real hit of nostalgia about Singapore’s past and development, there is no better place to start from besides the Tiktok user msybdin.

On their social media platform, they have made short compilations of how Singapore looked back in the 80s and 90s, the old footage coming from recorded views from car rides and panoramic shots of the old but urbanising city skylines of Singapore.

Might one say that it’s quite a shocker to be thrown back into the past so viscerally?

Throwback to The Past

@msybdin Singapore in 80s is the best era back then! #throwback #aesthetic #80s #tiktoksg #fypシ #foryou ♬ original sound – Dinwingman✔️™️

In this particular Tiktok video that has more than 79,000 views, it features Singapore in 1987.

For the younger generation, we’ve always heard stories about what old Singapore looked like, but with a disinterested dissonance, since it’s hard to imagine the past when you’ve never been there.

Now we have short glimpses into undeveloped Singapore to compare with the current stock-image worthy version we all know now:

Image: tiktok.com (@msybdin)
Image: Shutterstock (Travelpixs)

It’s quite the difference, isn’t it?

And back then, the famous tourist locations weren’t Sentosa—which only officially opened in 1992—or the Marina Bay Sands, but the Victoria Hall, Raffles Place, the Merlion Park, and the Singapore River.

What Lee Kuan Yew had envisioned, for Singapore to become a place that was appealing to the tourism sector, has certainly come into fruition when you see how far the country has come in just a few short decades.

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Old Tourist Locations Versus Now

Likewise, there are pictures of old places like the Orchard Road, with familiar and unfamiliar landmarks.

Image: tiktok.com (@msybdin)
Image: Shutterstock (huntergol hp)

Or perhaps even the waterfront of the Singapore River along Clarke Quay, which was much more rustic compared to the coloured and bright lights of the booming nightlife that now populates the area.

Image: tiktok.com (@msybdin)
Image: Shutterstock (Sergio Delle Vedove)
Image: Shutterstock (f11photo)

Better yet, the Tiktoker even reminds us that before Changi Airport was built, Paya Lebar used to be where the airline tarmac was, though the mode of transport was mostly reserved for the wealthy.

@msybdin SQ B747-200B “Super B” Takeoff from Paya Lebar Airport in 70s #throwback #tiktoksg #80s #fypシ #aedthetic #aviation #boeing #b747_200 #foryou #CapCut ♬ original sound – Dinwingman✔️™️

This Tiktoker is practically a gold mine for old footage, paired with sentimental music in the background to enjoy these old sights.

There’s also the old Esplanade in the 2000s; Sentosa when it just opened; stretching even as far back as Collyer Quay in the 1960s.

As opposed to the line of grand yachts and private sails that stretches across the coastline now, it offers a peek into men being employed to moor the boats, the bustle of activity and business that used to take place in the area before all the shipping and maritime cargo was moved elsewhere.

There is so much more the account offers, and if you wish to sate your curiosity, I suggest that you fully indulge yourself by checking out msybdin at your own free time and luxury.

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Featured Images: Tiktok & Shutterstock