SINGAPORE - A new heritage trail documenting the history of Singapore's former coastal towns in the east was unveiled on Thursday (May 5).

The Bedok Heritage Trail, which has 10 trail markers, explores Bedok's past as an idyllic coastal town, which fronted the sea previously.

Members of the public can learn more about the history of places such as Chai Chee, Frankel Estate, Opera Estate, Kampong Bedok and Siglap.

The National Heritage Board (NHB) developed this trail as part of the Housing and Development Board's Remaking Our Heartland plans for the East Coast area. It is the 15th trail developed by NHB.

A mobile application, Singapore Heritage Trails, was also launched on Thursday. More than 80 heritage trails are now available on the app, which was developed by researchers at the Keio-NUS CUTE (Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments) Centre, a joint collaboration between the Keio University in Japan and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Users can navigate trails on the app, view photographs, bookmark places, share them on Facebook, write comments and post pictures. They can also curate their own trails. It is available on the iOS App Store and Google Play.

A booklet and map that provides more information on the trail is available on NHB's new heritage portal, www.roots.sg

There will be guided bus tours for the trail over this weekend (May 7 and 8) at $5 per person. Members of the public can sign up for the tour at www.heritagefest.sg