It's once again the annual pilgrimage to Kusu Island (from 20 October to 18 November); i promised my mom i would bring her there and this made it my 4th visit since 2012.
Entourage this time included the two brats, my younger sister and my parents! With so many things happening this year to myself and my family, i personally feel that i should go and offer my prayers.
Tickets purchased at S$18 for each adult and S$12 for each child! With such high pricing, i am going to resort to staying longer on the island next year; maybe a BBQ picnic, swimming and snorkeling.
Queue at 10 am; was a bit late as the kids couldn't wake up on time due to staying late over at my house for retro games and movies. At the moment, i still don't have the confidence to have them bunking over for the night.
Cheeky Jovyn; more of her pictures soon.
We didn't have to wait too long; in less than 30 minutes, we were on our way to take the ferry at Marina South Pier.
Sianz, no outdoor seating means i couldn't play games on my phone lest i get sea-sick. I am actually super prone to motion sickness although it has improved compared to when i was a kid.
Welcome to Kusu Island; journey took about 20-25 minutes!
Knowing i was taking a photograph of the map, she immediately jumped in and struck an introductory pose. Hello, i needed the map, unblocked!
The temple that housed the Tua Pek Kong, the patron saint that everyone came for. Since Tua Pek Kong is a common enough Chinese deity with numerous temples on mainland Singapore, why the need for an annual pilgrimage?
More information is provided here for your reading pleasure. In the meantime, let's just attempt coin throwing to hit the bell in the middle of the stone lotus flower. Legend has it that your wish will come true if you hit it, i think.
Additional photos of the built-in-1923 temple.
This lagoon was named the turtle lagoon but much as i looked around, there's no turtle to be found. I did find two just a few meters from the lagoon even though they were not alive and kicking.
Praying time for the mom! I did take a few minutes to pray to the deities honoured in the temple; albeit without the offerings as i found to be environmental unfriendly.
Waiting for the mom as she had to go through the standard procedures; lay out the offerings on the altar, light the incense sticks and place them at appropriate urns and then burn the paper offerings.
Customary photo of the three-turtle statue!
Wish-For-A-Child tree; there must be some truth to its claims even though for the Chinese mindset, never try, never know and no harm in trying.
Back in 2012 and 2013, the tentage was huge to accommodate quite a number of stalls. In the past two years, the scale has reduced dramatically to only this standalone one as above.
Have been buying quite a bit of TOTO and 4D recently for, hopefully, a better life and i was kicking myself for forgetting to purchase any when i visited Kusu Island!
Time for my late breakfast at the food centre. To know what's available, check out my posting for 2016 Kusu Pilgrimage; i should have referred to it too as i once again ordered the poor-performing oyster omelette.
After knowing i have quite a few games in my phone, our dear Jovyn has been requesting for my phone whenever she has free time on her hands!
No, she didn't feel embarrassed that her poor uncle me would not be able to check his work email, upload photos to Instagram or read the feed on Facebook.
Done with my breakfast (char kway teow, oyster omelette, fried chicken wings and a cup of kopi gao) and it's time to climb the 152 steps to the holy kramats.
A breeze to reach the top; Mom didn't want to join us as she needed to go vegetarian if she intends to offer her prayers at the kramats.
Our local obsession with the 4D lottery.
Poser!
I don't understand why there were so many 4D numbers written on the yellow-painted boulders. I mean i do but compared to TOTO, the payout for 4D is really peanuts.
Next time i come, i would bring along my lucky marker and write down six digits from 01 to 49. Praying that the draw then would be more than just the usual S$1 million prize.
Immerse yourself in the smoke for "wealth, marriage, fertility, good career, good health, harmony and couples seeking to start a family"; pretty comprehensive.
Time to go down; it's so cute to see Jerald holding on to Jovyn. As Jerald would be reaching puberty soon, this type of scene might be a rarity as both get older.
Hence, take the opportunity for more photo-taking!
Going out from the other staircase.
I find Jovyn's pose to be very funny as she appeared to be a model in a beauty pageant! A check with my sister revealed that this pose has something to do with her graduation performance! Guess i would understand when i attend it this Saturday!
Dad did a better job!
Jovyn again in front of the lagoon; i brought an extra set of clothing but none of them did. Hence, i had to shelve my plan to make full use of my admission ticket.
Stone barrier to protect the lagoon from the strong waves made by the thousands of ships that sailed through the busy Singapore Straits.
Kids insisted of walking towards the far end of the stone dam! I was hesitant as we are primarily responsible for the kids' safety but i always feel that a bit of risk brings out the resilience.
And i am so proud that they did! Next time, i shall sponsor them to Forest Adventure @ Bedok Reservoir; it's a darn good place to conquer the fear of height!
My father joined us in walking over too!
Proceeding to the kids' next favourite place; the open concept tortoise sanctuary. Tsk tsk tsk, dad closed his eyes when i took the picture.
There were so much food for the tortoises; i am wondering if they would overfeed themselves in the way that fishes often do.
Knowing that humans can be extremely terrorizing and the tortoises might be afraid to venture out to feed; a kindhearted man brought along a bottle of dry tortoise kibbles and threw a handful into each tortoise shelter.
Skyline of mainland Singapore!
Jovyn was throwing tantrums, likely due to the warm weather and Jerald shall stand in on her behalf. Poor boy was nursing a swollen eye that day.
Frankly, my father posed quite well! Guess you would see a lot of photos of him in my upcoming trip to Phuket, the Paradise Island of Thailand.
Me stealing a shot of dad's taking a picture.
Remember the two not alive and kicking tortoises a few meters away from the turtle lagoon? These are the ones; two tortoise statues. Unlike the three-turtle statue near the temple, i don't remember seeing these two when i was a kid.
Happy shot of the five of them!
Last picture of the temple as we needed to leave for a lunch appointment with my elder sister and brother in law; despite having a pretty filling breakfast just an hour before.
Under shade, she reverted to her usual posing mood.
Our one-level boat was here! Pity there wasn't an open-air section where i can have the relaxing sea breeze blowing against my face.
Like her mother, Jovyn doesn't survive well in hot places and her excitement in leaving was simply because the boat was air-conditioned, as confirmed by the guy manning the queue.
Once she was in the cool arena, her mood was immediately lifted and aside from asking me for my phone, she also gamely agreed to pose for my camera!
Big cargo ship!
Back to Marina South Pier! In case you think it's a hassle to travel to the pier, it's really not as the pier is located right next to the Marina South Pier MRT station (red line) and it's very convenient, so long the MRT doesn't break down.
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Kusu Island Pilgrimage in 2017
From 20 October to 18 November
How To Get There
Take the ferry from Marina South Pier
(Next to Marina South Pier MRT Station)
Ferry Ticket Pricing
Adult - S$18
Child - S$12
Map
As above.
Past Postings
Additional Information
As the pilgrimage would end this Friday, the above notice might be helpful in case you miss the last boat. If you wish to check out the nearby Lazarus Island and Saint John's Island, click here and there.
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