Exploration: Islands Hopping (St John's, Lazarus & Kusu Island)

Hello once again and thank you so much for reading this blog. 

Today's review would be about our exploration to the Southern Islands of Singapore - St John's and Kusu Island.

To reach these islands, you first need to board a ferry from Marina South Pier. Each ticket costs $18 for adults and $12 for children. Tickets can be bought at the terminal itself. For directions in getting to Marina South Pier, click HERE. 

The islands are mostly popular for fishing enthusiasts, a weekend gateway from our busy Singapore or just to those who love trekking and want some adventure. 

The Schedule for the ferries (from Marina South Pier) are:

Monday to Friday: 10am, 2pm

Saturday: 9am, 12pm, 3pm

Sunday & public holiday: 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm

The Southern Islands are made up of 8 major islands - Kusu Island, Lazarus Island, Pulau Seringat, Pulau Tekukor, Saint John's Island, Sentosa and the two Sisters' Islands. One thing worth mentioning is that these islands have evolved over the years due to reclamation works done.

It was a calm ride to our first stop - St John's Island! It took about 20mins to reach and those on board were mostly fishing enthusiasts as we noticed from their various fishing equipments. We wore Airou tees (Felynes from Monster Hunter) as we heard that the place is a cats' paradise. Click HERE to see all the cat photos we took!

After reaching St John's Island, turn left and you'll be crossing to another Island - Lazarus Island. It was said that there will be a 'secret' lagoon which was what our desire to explore came from.

Things we saw along the way to Lazarus Island:

 A chicken.

 Some fishers.

 Beautiful view

 We got lost and were greeted by a lovely path of dried leaves.

A big grasshopper.

And then finally, we reached!

It was perfect.

Selfie time.

 We were surprised by how beautiful the lagoon was. Fantastically, it was only us. 

 We couldn't wait to put our stuffs down and go play in the water. Furthermore, it was low tide when we reached so we could actually walk some way down the sea before it got too deep.

We packed a picnic for our 'island holiday' too. :) By the way, there are not much amenities available on Lazarus Island - there's a toilet about 10-15mins down the path but that's about it. Remember to stock up on food and water!

It's a dead crab. But it was cut clean and its flesh was gone. We guessed the culprits for this could be the hungry birds.

It was about time for our next ferry ride to Kusu Island. These ferries operate on schedule so it's best not to miss any of them if you plan on getting somewhere. After heading off we went to the nearest toilet we saw. But we totally did not plan feeding cats for the next half hour.

Well, if you love cats, this would be a problem. Because like us, we had a problem getting away from these cuties once they show their pitiful and hungry faces. If you have food (of any kind actually) they will come to you and jump up to grab the food. Yes it's cats infested. 

But you see, she's enjoying herself here.

After saying goodbye to the kitties, we head back to where we started.

 We still had time so we explored some of the nearby buildings.

 Open cubicles.

 Keep your eyes open and you'll definitely spot stuffs like these.

 It was a cloudy day but we could see the Singapore skyline from here!

You can even hold bbqs over at St John's Island if you want :)

4pm on Friday - time to board the ferry and head to Kusu Island. It was a shorter trip this time round.

We were so thirsty by then and really needed a cold drink. Luckily, there's a shop at Kusu Island. It's where the temple is. Just be friendly and ask the owners for a drink.

 Satisfied.

No wonder it was nicknamed Turtle Island. 

There are various stories (what you call myths) involving this island. One of them involves a magical tortoise which turned itself into an island to save two shipwrecked sailors - one Malay and one Chinese.

A commissioned drawing she did sometime back to illustrate the myth.

Kusu Island is also famous for The Kusu Keramat, the sacred shrines in commemoration of a pious family - Syed Abdul Rahman, his mother Nenek Ghalib and his sister, Puteri Fatimah.

 People from over Singapore would come to pray for blessings. The walls were adorned with writings from many people.

That was the end of our Island Hopping Holiday. It was a really memorable trip for the both of us. If possible we would really like to go again probably with a bunch of friends. And it would be even better if we get to explore the Sisters' Islands next time! 

But till then, here's a panorama view at the Marina South Pier. :)

Hope you enjoyed this post.
Happy exploring!