Interpretations of the Hidden

Within the realms of tourism, there are a select group of inquisitive people eager to experience the mystery and mystique inspired by sites located off the beaten path and thus not frequented by domestic and international visitors. These sites attract curiosity and often demand a degree of bravery in or order to enter their liminal domains. Given these places are either hidden or closed to public view, this paper plumbs the experiences of non-mainstream organised university tours and delves into detail of one particular failed tourist attraction, the Tang Dynasty, to expound on the idea that non-public domains are significant spaces of experiential learning. Tang Dynasty was a tourist attraction in the 1990s in Singapore. Despite ceasing operation in 1999, this failed attraction continues to attract visitors into spaces that I have deemed the ‘non-public domain.‘ In this context, I shall explore how a non-public domain site Inspires learning for defiant sojourners.