Adventures At Home: Let's Rediscover Offshore Islands

Nicholas Yong
Thu, 28 Jul 2022 00:00:00 Z

As part of My Community Festival 2022, hop on these special tours (some with ex-islanders as your guide) that will take you to Pulau Hantu, Pulau Tekukor and even Jurong Island.

As part of My Community Festival 2022, hop on these special tours (some with ex-islanders as your guide) that will take you to islands like Pulau Hantu (left) and Kusu Island. Photos: My Community Festival

Have you really seen everything there is to see in Singapore? How about our offshore islands? Go off the beaten track and let ex-islanders be your guide in “Welcome To My Island Home”, a series of six offshore-island tours conducted as part of ground-up community event My Community Festival 2022.

Organised by non-profit organisation My Community with support from the Singapore Tourism Board, My Community Festival is back for its 3rd edition from 5 to 21 August. This year, the theme is "My Home Sweet Home", exploring various facets of Singapore through not only others' homes but also workplaces, places of worship, and communal spaces.

In "Welcome To My Island Home", take a quick ferry to one of Singapore's many offshore islands and listen to former islanders share priceless memories of home.

For the hiking/trekking tours, put on comfortable covered shoes and wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants (so you don’t become a walking buffet for bugs).

Photo: My Community Festival

Photo: My Community Festival

Welcome to My Pulau Ubin with Ah Teck, Mr Choo and Richard Kuah

Follow Ubin islanders as they take participants around their island home to share personal stories and recollections of the past and present.

About the experience

Pulau Ubin is probably the most popular among Singapore’s offshore islands, but how well do you really know one of Singapore’s last kampongs? Meet Ah Teck and Mr Choo on the different tour days and see Pulau Ubin through their eyes.

About the host

Richard Kuah is a Singapore tour guide specialising in nature and island tours. He has been to at least 20 offshore islands on our Little Red Dot. As a nature enthusiast, he loves surveying our islands in his free time to catalogue the rich marine biodiversity and explore its unique characteristics.

Tour details

Ticket price: $50 (excluding Eventbrite service fee)

Tour dates: 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 20, 21 August 2022

Meeting point: Changi Point Ferry Terminal (51 Lor Bekukong Singapore 499172) – Not to be confused with the SAF Ferry Terminal)

Wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and covered shoes for hiking/trekking

Bring your own earphones (with standard 3.5mm jack), umbrella/poncho, hand sanitiser, insect repellent, and water

Parking is available at Changi Village Hawker Centre

Book tickets here.

Photo: My Community Festival

Photo: My Community Festival

Welcome to My St John’s Island with Fawzi Nasir, Abdul Rahim and Corliss Chong

Go on an adventure with ex-residents of St John’s Island, as they fondly look back at their childhood playground, and how this idyllic spot remains a home to them.

About the experience

Friendly guide Corliss, and former residents Fawzi and Rahim will take you on a trip to St John’s Island. Visit historic spots like the old quarantine station where new arrivals to Singapore in the late-1800s had to go to, and listen to stories of the good ol’ days.

About the host

Corliss has been a Singapore tour guide for the past three years, and loves to explore and rediscover familiar places in our city-state. She also enjoys exploring new cultures and seeing new sights.

Tour details

Ticket price: $40 (excluding Eventbrite service fee)

Tour dates: 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 20, 21 August 2022

Meeting point: Marina South Pier (31 Marina Coastal Dr Singapore 018988) – Holding area for Southern Island cruises

Wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and covered shoes for hiking/trekking

Bring your own earphones (with standard 3.5mm jack), umbrella/poncho, hand sanitiser, insect repellent, and water

Parking is available at Marina South Pier.

Book tickets here.

Photo: My Community Festival

Photo: My Community Festival

Welcome to My Pulau Tekukor with Richard Kuah

One of the Southern Islands, Pulau Tekukor was the site of a former ammunition dump. Today, it is a haven for biodiversity, as many species of marine life call this place home.

About the experience

Visit the intertidal zone and learn about the various marine life species at Pulau Tekukor - one of the few Southern Islands with natural rock formations. Only a few Singaporeans have stepped foot or even heard of this long and narrow island, which has a beach at one end and a rocky cliff at the other.

About the host

Richard Kuah is a Singapore tour guide specialising in nature and island tours. He has been to at least 20 offshore islands on our Little Red Dot. As a nature enthusiast, he loves surveying our islands in his free time to catalogue the rich marine biodiversity and explore its unique characteristics.

Tour details

Ticket price: $50 (excluding Eventbrite service fee)

Tour date: 15 August 2022

Meeting point: One Degree, Sentosa Cove (11 Cove Drive, #01-01, Sentosa Cove, Singapore 098497)

Bring NRIC/passport for immigration

Wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and covered shoes for hiking/trekking

Bring your own earphones (with standard 3.5mm jack), umbrella/poncho, hand sanitiser, insect repellent, and water

Book tickets here.

Photo: My Community Festival

Photo: My Community Festival

Photo: My Community Festival

Welcome to My Pulau Hantu with Richard Kuah

Take a tour of Pulau Hantu’s intertidal zone and be amazed by the rich biodiversity on this unlikely island.

About the experience

Pulau Hantu (or “Ghost Island” in Malay) is located between the landfills of Pulau Semakau and an oil refinery on Pulau Bukom, but it is a place where flora and fauna thrive. Explore the island’s intertidal zone, which only opens up for a few hours as the tides recede, and discover the secrets underneath the waters.

About the host

Richard Kuah is a Singapore tour guide specialising in nature and island tours. He has been to at least 20 offshore islands on our Little Red Dot. As a nature enthusiast, he loves surveying our islands in his free time to catalogue the rich marine biodiversity and explore its unique characteristics.

Tour details

Ticket price: $50 (excluding Eventbrite service fee)

Tour dates: 16 August 2022

Meeting point: Marina South Pier (31 Marina Coastal Dr Singapore 018988) – Holding area for Southern Island cruises

Bring NRIC/passport for immigration

Bring a change of pants/shoes as you will be wading in shin-deep water

Bring your own earphones (with standard 3.5mm jack), umbrella/poncho, hand sanitiser, insect repellent, and water

Parking is available at Marina South Pier.

Book tickets here.

Photo: My Community Festival

Welcome to My Jurong Island with Kwong Kok Chan from PacificLight Power Station

Where does our power come from? Find out in this exclusive tour of the PacificLight Power Station in Jurong Island.

About the experience

Go on an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the power station at Jurong Island and discover how it operates 24/7, 365 days a year to provide an uninterrupted power supply to over 1,000,000 Singapore households.

About the host

Mr Kwong is a long-time employee at PacificLight, one of the company’s tight-knit family of staff that ensures the power plant operates around-the-clock.

Tour details

Ticket price: $30 (excluding Eventbrite service fee)

Tour dates: 19 August 2022

Meeting point: Lakeside MRT Drop-Off Point – Exit A Street Level (201 Boon Lay Way, Singapore 649845)

Bring NRIC/passport

Wear covered shoes that have soles with good grip

Bring your own earphones (with standard 3.5mm jack), umbrella, and water

No parking at event, the nearest carpark to Lakeside MRT is at 517B Jurong West Street 52, Singapore 642517. (Approx. 5 min walk)

Book tickets here.

Photo: My Community Festival

Photo: My Community Festival

Welcome to My Kusu Island with Seet Huat Seng and Peng Kiat

Get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and drop by Kusu Island, home to the iconic Tua Pek Kong temple where Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian devotees go on annual pilgrimages to during the ninth lunar month.

About the experience

Go on an exclusive morning tour of the island – there won’t be any other visitors at that time. Listen to stories about Kusu Island, as recounted by temple caretaker Mr Seet, such as the secrets of the child-wishing tree and the eight Taoist deities that call this temple home. Records of Kusu Island date back to before Raffles arrived in Singapore!

About the host

Peng Kiat worked as a commercial insurance broker, but found his true calling as a tour guide five years ago. He is also an avid marathon runner, swimmer, and cyclist.

Tour details

Ticket price: $40 (excluding Eventbrite service fee)

Tour dates: 20 August 2022

Meeting point: Marina South Pier (31 Marina Coastal Dr Singapore 018988) – Holding area for Southern Island cruises

Wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and covered shoes for hiking/trekking

Bring your own earphones (with standard 3.5mm jack), umbrella/poncho, hand sanitiser, insect repellent, and water

Parking is available at Marina South Pier.

Book tickets here.