During the March school holidays, ParentConnect organized an overnight Kelong trip to Sibu Island, Malaysia. This is the first time ParentConnect has organized an outing for parents, friends and teachers and we had a very good turnout. A total of 37 people comprising 10 families signed up for the trip and we were joined by Mrs Loh Siew Kwan and Ms Patricia Chong from the school.

We set off from school at 6.30am on a Friday morning and despite the early hour, the coach was buzzing with the noise of excited chattering from our children! The journey from Woodlands Causeway to Tanjung Leman jetty took about 2 hours and the ferry ride took another 25 minutes.

Standing in the middle of the South China Sea, the Kelong looked rustic and quaint. For us parents, it felt like going back in time when kelongs abound along the coast of Singapore.

As it was low tide when we arrived, we had to climb up a vertical ladder to the landing platform on the kelong and this proved to be quite a challenge for us, albeit an exciting one! This particular Kelong has been refurbished for visitors and is equipped to accommodate more than 50 visitors at a time.

It is best described as a huge single-storey bungalow surrounded by water! At one end, we have bunk beds lined up side-by-side and at the other end, we have a huge kitchen where the staff prepared our meals. There is a big activity area for guests to play carom, card games, mahjong and even a karaoke room!
As for fishing, there are no restrictions. As long as you can find a place to drop your line, you are allowed to fish from there! We literally fished along the entire perimeter of the kelong and some of us even tried fishing from within the kelong where large square holes were cut from the flooring. These holes were designed for the kelong operators to pick their daily catch from the fishing nets in the past, when the kelong was used commercially for fishing.

In the evening, some of us took a boat-ride to the nearby island to explore and play on the beaches. The children had loads of fun playing along the beach while the parents simply enjoyed the cool sea breeze, soaked up the relaxing environment and watched the sun set into the horizon off the South China Sea.

I could go on and on about our activities there but it is time to let the pictures do the talking. Overall, everyone had a wonderful time. We look forward to our next outing and to meeting more and more parents through such fellowship activities.

Philip Pang
Participant