Each month the Tours Committee offers a variety of tempting local adventures. All tours are led by a Singaporean guide. So strap on your walking shoes, grab a friend, a bottle of water, and get ready to experience something special.
For certain tours appropriate dress is required - knees and shoulders must be covered.
May Tours
Telok Blangah Temples
Monday, May 5
8:45 am – 1:00 pm
Dempsey Road Car Park
members $35 / guests $44
maximum of 18
During this morning bus tour our guide, Geraldene, will take us to some of the temples in one of the earliest settled areas of Singapore. Telok Blangah, home to many interesting and varied temples, was once home to the Sultan of Johor. The area is steeped in history. You will visit the Jaime Mosque, once a pavilion on stilts over the water and part of the Sultan’s old palace in the early 1900’s. We visit the Royal Mausoleum, containing tombs of early rulers of Singapore. We drive to Kampong Lama to see St. Theresa’s Church built in 1927 in Byzantine style, and visit next door at the Tan Gah Beo Temple. Another stop will be the Hainanese Temple for Quan Yin, with many interesting features such as shrines for the Sun God and Moon Goddess, Haw Yah-the Tiger God, the Monkey God, and ancestral tablets. We will also visit the Sri Ruthra Kaliamman Hindu Temple at Depot Road. Light refreshments will be available at the Sikh Temple about midway through the tour. DRESS CODE: Bring a scarf or hat for the Sikh Temple as head must be covered and wear easy slip-on shoes which must be removed at several places.
Labrador Beach, Park and Tunnels
Friday, May 9
8:15 am – 1:00 pm
Dempsey Road Car Park
members $40 / guests $50
maximum of 18
The Labrador Beach Nature Reserve and the adjacent Labrador Park boast a wide array of history and nature attractions—surprisingly close to the heart of town, and yet little known. The beach reveals its secrets only at low tide times, and so our guide, Margie Hall, will lead us straight there on May 9th to paddle in the shallow water and see what corals, sponges or sea grasses are on display. Changing shoes, we’ll then inspect a rare fern on the cliff side and explore the coastal forest of Sea Apple, Sea Almond and Sea Teak trees, many growing through the old gun emplacements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The cliff-top affords views of Singapore’s southern isles and Indonesia’s Riau and Carimon Islands. It is also the location of the old casemate or munitions store that was opened in 2005 with a second munitions tunnel. Marketed as the “Labrador Secret Tunnels,” we’ll be conducted through them by the resident guides who put their own unique spin on World War II history. Arriving again at the seafront we’ll view the controversial replica rock at Tanjong Berlayer. Does the mock rock look anything like the original that stood there until the mid-19th century? Was it one side of the Dragon’s Tooth Gate, shown on old Chinese sailing charts? Did Admiral Cheng Ho sail past it in 1405? After mulling over these mysteries, we’ll board the coach for our return to Dempsey Road. This tour includes your admission fee for the tunnels. You’ll need two pairs of shoes. Your beach shoes should be closed, not open-toed, to avoid cuts or stings from rocks, corals or stonefish. Diving shoes will do, or old sports shoes. Also bring a plastic bag to put them in afterwards, plenty of water, snacks, hat and an umbrella.
Vesak Day Tour
Friday, May 16
8:45 am – 1:00 pm
Dempsey Road Car Park
members $35 / guests $44
maximum of 18
Come join us as our guide, Geraldene, shares about one of the most religious Buddhist holidays, Vesak Day. This day of devotion and prayer is considered thrice sacred because it marks the birth, enlightenment and attainment of ultimate bliss and peace by the Buddha. One of the stops on our tour will be the Phor Kark See or Bright Hill Temple. Located on a 3.6 hectare plot of farm land, the temple's history goes back to the 1930's when Abbot Hong Choon arrived from the southern Chinese province of Fujian. After visiting the Bright Hill Temple Complex, we will stop for drinks, then drive on to Balestier Road to visit the Burmese Buddhist Temple. DRESS CODE
Colorful Katong
Wednesday, May 28
8:45 am – 1:00 pm
Dempsey Road Car Park
members $34 / guests $43
maximum of 18
This tour will take us on a drive over to the east coast of Singapore passing old Kallang Airport and the mansions of wealthy Arab, Peranakan, Jewish and Eurasian families who settled Katong in the last century. We will stop at the Eurasian Association Club House with its interesting community museum with Heritage Guide, Geraldene, who is of Eurasian descent. Next we’ll make a visit to the Ceylon Road Hindu Temple and take a walk along East Coast Road to see the many varieties of food and cakes available. We will also visit an old pawnshop—the "poor man's bank". Our last stop will be at an interesting Sikh Temple. Do bring your cameras to record the colorful sights and architecture that make this little known area of Singapore a favorite of the locals! DRESS CODE: Bring a scarf or hat for the Sikh Temple as heads must be covered.
Registration & General Information
Because our local tours are very popular we do not allow pre-booking until the tour has been publicized in the Bamboo Telegraph. Once the BT has been dispatched on the first day of the month, we take registrations for the tours on a first come first served basis.
You can book on a local tour by:
- telephoning with an American Express card number & expiry date
- e-mailing with an American Express card number & expiry date
- posting a check (payable to "American Women's Association") or an American Express card number & expiry date
- coming in to the office where we accept cash, check, nets and all credit cards
You do not need to fill in a form to book on a local tour, just make sure we know your name, the names of any guests, and which tour you are booking on.
AWA members, their family members and their out–of–town guests pay MEMBER fees. ONLY guests residing in Singapore and waitlisted associate members pay an additional 25% surcharge. Please note that AWA members and their families have priority over guests and waitlisted associate members. Unless specified all tours are closed to children under the age of 16.
Local Tour Refunds
Tours may be cancelled due to low interest. In this case you will receive a credit for use against future tours. If you must cancel once you are included on a local tour, we require 96 hours notice or your payment will be retained. It is your responsibility to confirm the status of your registration with the registrar if you are not notified. There are no refunds given to people who are registered for a tour but who don't receive notification.
Page last updated: 26 April 2008