STGS held a 2D1N trip to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, from 27 to 28 January 2026! The Highlights of the trip included visits to the Orang Asli Village Museum, the Bugis Museum and the first Glass Temple in the world! Our Tourist Guides also partook in some delicious treats from a seafood restaurant at Kukup as well as some fruit based dishes from a fruit farm in Desaru.

“Tracing the history of ancient Malaya inevitably leads to Johor. It is through the Orang Laut that one realizes Johor and Singapore are fundamentally inseparable. As Nenek Lety of Sungai Temon says: our stories are shared, our waters connected.

In 2019, I met Pak Salim, Tok Batin of the Orang Seletar. Today, his son Jeffrey continues his legacy. Cruising the river mouth with Kranji visible across the strait, the "border" feels like a modern construct superimposed over an ancient, undivided coastline.

Our journey continued to the stilt village of Kukup, a place I first visited in 1986. While cleaner and brighter today, its essence remains a constant link to my youth. At the Bugis Museum in Sungai Rembah, the Pontian sea breeze provided the perfect backdrop for sharing stories of the Bugis pioneers who shaped both nations.

After marveling at the mosaic artistry of the Glass Temple, we ended at the Tomb of Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang. This is more than a grave; it is a doorway into the Johor Sultanate. For a storyteller, these landmarks are anchors, proving that while borders shift, our living memory remains one.” - TG Sarafian