Dragon boats and dumplings in Singapore

Behind two of Singapore’s most popular festivals lies a sad story.

Disillusioned with the corruption at the imperial court, a patriotic minister Qu Yuan, who was much beloved by the populace, threw himself into the raging Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar year in 278 BC. When word of his suicide spread, his heartbroken countrymen loaded tetrahedral-shaped rice

dumplings in their boats (decked with drums and gongs) and raced down the Miluo River.

They beat their drums and gongs furiously in an attempt to shoo away the shoals of fishes that might have come to prey on Qu Yuan’s body and, at the same time, jettisoned the rice dumplings to bait the fish away from Qu Yuan – alas, to no avail.

To this day, Chinese all around the world commemorate the passing of Qu Yuan by holding the Dumpling Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which this year falls on June 25. The Dragon Boat Festival, which is tied to the Dumpling

Festival, will be held in Singapore as a two-day event on July 18 and 19 from 9am to 6pm at the Bedok Reservoir where 22-member crews will pit their paddling prowess against one another in this exciting competition.

To get there, take the metro’s Downtown Line and get off at the DT30 Station. You will hear the beating of drums and gongs way before you get to see the boat.

Air Niugini flies from Port Moresby to Singapore five times weekly. See airniugining.com.pg.