Getting your weekend fix at Southern Islands

Looking to escape from the hustle and bustle of Singapore's busy life?

I recommend the Southern Islands.

Formerly known as Pulau Sakijang Pelepah, Lazarus Island offers sandy beaches and inviting waters. A 800-metre stretch of beach now connects Pulau Seringat following land reclamation efforts in early 2000s. The lagoon is excellent for swimming and snorkelling. Scuba diving is suitable for experienced divers due to the strong currents.

Lazarus Island

Kusu Island is home to a Tua Pekong temple. Taoist devotees make annual pilgrimages to pray for prosperity, good luck and fertility. There is also a mosque by the name of Kramat Kusu. But of course, if your purpose is to chill out, it also offers nice warm waters for you to swim in.

Kusu Island

Another popular spot is St. John's Island. It used to be a quarantine station for leprosy sufferers and a penal colony. Today, you would have hardly guessed its unglamarous past, with its alluring swimming lagoons, white sandy beaches, inviting picnic grounds, trekking routes and soccer fields.

St. John's Island

Sisters' Islands is a popular site for experienced scuba divers. The currents are very strong. 

How to get there:
You can take a ferry operated by Singapore Island Cruise to Kusu Island and St. John's Island. You need private charters to get to Sisters' Island and Lazarus Island.

Immerse yourself in hot springs in Taiwan

Most people will associate natural hot springs (温泉) with Japan. But you can find many hot springs in Taiwan too, mainly clustered in the northern part of Taiwan around Taipei.

My most pleasurable experience was soaking in the natural hot spring at WenShan (文山温泉) in Taroko National Park, while the heavens shed buckets, and a stream flowed by just below the cave. In fact, there is a confluence zone just below the cave, where the hot spring water and the cold stream water mixed together to provide a moderately warm pool of water for you to soak in.

Around Taipei, public baths can be found around YangMingShan (陽明山國家公園) and XinBeiTou (新北投). Mostly elderly gentlemen congregate at the free hot spring public bath at YangMingShan. At XinBeiTou, you are spoilt for hot spring bath options.

One of the hidden gems is LongNaiTang(瀧乃湯) at BeiTou Hot Spring Park (北投溫泉公園), which is within walking distance from XinBeiTou MRT station. In fact, this place is highly recommended by the locals. Unlike the public bath at YangMingShan, LongNaiTang is patronised by people of all ages, from young children, teenagers, young adults to senior citizens.

LongNaiTang(瀧乃湯)

The Taiwanese term for soaking yourself in hot spring is paotang (泡汤).  There are separate baths for males and females. The fee now is NT 90 for adults, and NT 50 for children.

Entrance to LongNaiTang

There are rules regarding usage of the hot spring baths.

So what are these rules:

1. People with infectious diseases are prohibited from bathing;
2. People who appear drunk from excessive drinking are prohibited from bathing;
3. People with pets are prohibited from bathing;
4. People suffering from hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases should not be bathing;
5. People with malignant tumors or suffering from sclerosis should not be bathing;
6. People with hemophilia, skin sensitivity and sensory impairments are not suited to bathe;
7. People suffering from ailments listed in no. 4 to 6 shall heed the guidance of healthcare professionals before entering the bath;
8. You are not encouraged to enter the bath after a full meal or with an empty stomach;
9. Please shower thoroughly and remove make-up before entering the bath;
10. Soak yourself in the bath between 3 to 5 minutes each time;
11. Elderly and young children should be accompanied by adults when entering the bath;
12. If you feel unwell during the bath, please inform the service personnel immediately.

Do heed these rules for your own safety and others. With regard to item 10, young males are discouraged from testing their human limits by immersing themselves in the hot spring bath for more than 5 minutes each time, as this may impair their reproductive organs.

Wishing you a pleasurable experience during your next visit to a hot spring!

Discover rural village charms at Pulau Ubin Singapore

View of pristine white sands at Changi Beach near Changi Point Ferry Terminal

Exposed rocks near Pulau Ubin Public Jetty entrance at low tide

Flag-lined path leading to 'Welcome to Pulau Ubin' Entrance

The buzzing village centre near the Public Jetty on a weekend

Supposedly rare, quite a few wild boars can be seen around Chek Jawa

A tourist posing at the entrance of Chek Jawa

View of private jetty at Chek Jawa Visitor Centre

Coastal boardwalk at Chek Jawa

Mangrove trees spotted along Mangrove boardwalk

Solitary tree seen along mangrove boardwalk

View from Jajawi Tower at Chek Jawa

Chek Jawa Visitor Centre - Tudor style architecture

Maman beach - an idyllic retreat

Pekan quarry

How to get to Pulau Ubin? 

Pulau Ubin is accessible via bumboats at Changi Point Ferry Terminal. The bumboat operator departs when it has a full load of 12 passengers. The fare is SGD2.50 per person one way. Subject to the discretion of the bumboat operator, a discounted child's fare may be offered.

To get to Changi Point Ferry Terminal, you can take a 20-minute bus ride onboard bus service number 29 from Tampines Bus Interchange or a 30-minute ride onboard bus service number 2 from Tanah Merah MRT.

You may also be interested to read Pulau Ubin, a new book published in 2012 by Ronald Cohn Jesse Russell.

Experience Peranakan Cultures in Penang

One of the highlights of my Penang trip 2 weeks ago was the Pinang Peranakan Mansion.

Located at 29 Church Street in Georgetown, this is a reconstruction of a typical home of the Straits Chinese (more commonly known as 'Babas' (for males) and 'Nonyas' (for females) living in Malaysia. These descendants of early Chinese emigrants often assimilated Malay and European cultures.

Just like in a typical affluent Peranakan household, there is a huge treasure trove of antiques. The Peranakans are house-proud, and spare no efforts to decorate their houses. The opulence can be seen everywhere, from the main hall, dining hall, to bridal chamber and silverware and jewelry rooms.

In the latter part of the 19th century, rich Straits Chinese started ordering custom-made porcelain wares from China. Peranakan porcelain are characterized by bright colors, such as bright yellow, green and pink.

This mansion was also used during the filming of The Little Nonya (小娘惹) - a critically-acclaimed drama serial produced by Singapore's MediaCorp in 2008.

Throughout the visit, my young female companion was waxing lyrical and reminiscing about various scenes from the drama serial e.g. "Did you remember this was the staircase when so and so came down the stairs?"; "Did you remember the dining room?"; "Did you remember this was where the ladies peeped out into the streets?"

You can read more about the architectures of Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Sun Yat-Sen Shophouse and Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion in Chinese Houses of Southeast Asia: The Eclectic Architecture of Sojourners and Settlers.

Becoming acquainted with Leong San Tong

One of main attractions in Georgetown is the Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi. It is the grandest clan temple in Malaysia.

According to its official website, its present premise was purchased in 1850. The buildings you see today is the end result of numerous rebuilding and restorations. In fact, the last major restoration took place from 1999 to 2011 at a princely sum of RM 4.2 million.
The genealogical chart that Khoo Kongsi adopts, which begins with KAY of the 8th generation, is inherited from the Chan family. It has 40 characters in the form of a poem with 5 characters to each line. A clansman with his middle name following this chart can easily locate his generation hierarchy. For example, Khoo Kay Poh with the middle name Kay belongs to the 21st generation. Today, the Khoo offspring have reached the 27th generation. (Source: www.khookongsi.com.my)Also known by its shortened name 'Khoo Kongsi', the buildings' elaborate and highly ornamented architecture is still preserved.

Main Entrance of Leong San Tong

Close up of head of lion statue guarding entrance of Leong San Tong

Lion statue at the right hand side of the door of Leong San Tong

Did you know? The Khoo Kongsi was used as a film location for 'Anna and the King', where Tuptim was captured by palace guards.

Penang - The Cradle of the Chinese Revolution

How many of you know that Penang was an important base for Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Chinese Revolution?

Not many, I believe. Unless of course you have studied about the Chinese Revolution in school, or visited the old shophouse at 120 Armenian Street, which currently showcases an exhibition on Sun Yat Sen.

When we visited the antiquated building 2 weeks ago, we saw a sign stating that the admission fee was RM3 per person. The volunteer manning the reception ushered us to some seats, so that we could watch some snippets of the movie 'Road to Dawn' (《夜.明》). While the video clip was playing, he provided a running commentary on how Sun Yat Sen used the historical shophouse as a base to raise funds for the Canton Uprising, which ultimately led to the success of the Chinese Revolution in 1911.

In the following movie clip, you can listen to the awe-inspiring speech from the actor playing Dr. Sun Yat Sen.

Below are 4 images of the interior of the shophouse, also known as Sun Yat Sen Penang Base (孙中山槟城基地纪念馆).

The volunteer guide provided many explanations on the exhibits. As we were leaving, we thanked him for his hospitality and paid him the full admission fees.

Out of curiosity, we asked him whether it is a policy to collect the admission fees only when the visitors were leaving. He shared that in general, the admission fees are collected upfront, especially for those shutterbugs who just want to take quick snapshots and then depart.

For visitors who are genuinely interested in what the place has to offer, he believes that visitors will automatically pay the full admission fees in appreciation of what they have seen, heard and experienced. That has been the case so far.

Discover Penang National Park

Penang National Park is a 2,562-hectares national park located on the north-western tip of Pulau Penang. It's a popular destination for jungle trekking, swimming and fishing.
For those of you looking to get a golden brown tan, you may want to try Monkey Beach or Pantai Kerachut. You can get to Monkey Beach by walking along a coastline or by hiring a boat. The cost of hiring a boat to Monkey Beach is RM40, and a return fare is RM80. Going to Pantai Kerachut by boat is RM80, and a return trip is RM160.
My friend and I decided to jungle trek to Karachut Beach (Pantai Kerachut) and then return by boat, with a stopover at Monkey Beach.

On that clear day, it took us a full hour to climb up and down the steep slopes. Fortunately for us, it did not rain that day, otherwise it might have been unpleasant navigating through the muddy trails. The jungle trails are quite well sign-posted, so you should not get lost if you wish to jungle trek.

What can you see at Pantai Karachut?

1. Nice sandy beach - What I love most about Pantai Karachut is the (almost) absolute privacy you can enjoy here. This beach is generally not frequented by tourists, although locals may come here even on weekdays. Just a warning: The pristine white sand could be scorching hot at mid-day.
2. Turtle sanctuary - You may just be able to catch Green Sea Turtles coming up to lay their eggs from April and August. You can also see baby turtles in the hatchery.
3. Meromictic lake - This lake is formed by two layers of water of different temperatures. The bottom layer of sea water is normally warmer than the surface fresh water. It is generally visible for only six months of the year.

Our boat came at the prearranged time at Pantai Karachut. On our way back, our motor boat driver pointed out some rock formations, and shared their names e.g. crocodile, rabbit and tortoise.

When we arrived at Monkey beach, it was monkeys galore. Besides a few beach apes lying around on the thin strips of beach soaking up the sun, you could see real monkeys tussling over coconuts, resting on trees, or scampering around the grounds. I didn't stay long enough for them to attempt to steal my belongings. Haha.

Having gone to both beaches, I prefer Pantai Karachut for its larger stretches of pristine white sand and lack of crowd.

Address: Jalan Hassan Abas, Teluk Bahang, 11050 Penang
Contact: +604 8813530
How to get there: By car, taxi or bus 101 (this service runs from Georgetown through Batu Ferringhi beach)

Going up and around Penang Hill

In my previous post, I mentioned about The Owl Museum up on Penang Hill.

To get there, I took the Penang Hill Railway. A return fare is RM30 for an adult foreigner. For my local friend, it was only RM8. Guess the cheap fare is one of the perks of being a Malaysian citizen.

Penang Hill Railway	Peering at Georgetown through a telescope on Flagstaff Hill
Cannon	Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple

The ascent to the top was quite fast. As I understand from my Malaysian friend, it was much slower on the old Penang Hill Railway. It was even faster coming down, but that was to come when we descended from Flagstaff Hill.

When we reached Flagstaff Hill, we could feel the cool climate despite a blazing sun overhead. The cool environment was definitely a welcome relief. We walked around a while, seeing some bungalows, a disused cannon and the Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple along the way.

After we descended from Flagstaff Hill, we visited the Tien Kong Than (天公坛), which is in the vicinity of the Penang Hill Railway. Tien Kong Than is dedicated to the Jade Emperor (玉帝) or Tiangong (天公), the supreme deity in the Taoist pantheon. Out of reverence to the Jade Emperor, I did not take pictures of the deities in the temple grounds.

If you are interested to visit Tien Kong Than, the address is as follows:

11500 Hill Railway Road,
Penang, Malaysia, 10200