I was so excited when I found out there were tours to Raffles Lighthouse as part of this year’s Singapore HeritageFest, and by a stroke of luck, I managed to get a spot! Raffles Lighthouse is located on Pulau Satumu (One Tree Island), Singapore’s southernmost island, and is out of bounds to public. The lighthouse has been in operation since 1855 (more than 150 years).

We set off from Marina South Pier and passed several islands along the way. I realise that there is still so much of Singapore I have not explored. I haven’t even been to Sisters’ Islands, Lazarus Island or Pulau Hantu! Speaking of random Singaporean islands, you can see Pulau Senang from Pulau Satumu. I’ve included a photo of Pulau Senang below. In 1960, the island was used in a penal reform experiment, but riots resulted in the death of the Prison Officer and three of his assistants. It is one of three islands used for live-firing exercises today.

As our little ferry approached Raffles Lighthouse (and later when we stopped near Sultan Shoal Lighthouse), we were told not to take any photos of the communication towers because they are there for military purposes. But actually, if you Google Raffles Lighthouse or Sultan Shoal Lighthouse, you can see many pictures of the lighthouses with the communication tower visible in the photo. Anyway, I took so many photos on Pulau Satumu that I’m just going to dump them here.