Bright Hill Monastery (光明山普觉禅寺) - A Run to the Most Important Buddhist Temple of Singapore (5KM)

When Big Bone Guy (BBG) suggested running around the housing estates of Upper Thomson and Marymount Road, I was expecting the usual boring private housing, condo and public housing (HDB) landscape that makes up the majority of the housing estate in Singapore. He sparked my curiosity when he mentioned the Bright Hill Monastery or better known as 光明山 among the Buddhists in Singapore.



Bright Hill Monastery (光明山普觉禅寺) is the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore. My Grandmother, who is a staunch Buddhist, often mention this place and without fail, visit this temple during important Buddhist Festivals. I may have tagged along once or twice when I was a kid, but I never had a strong impression on how this famous Buddhism spot actually looks like. My Grandma stopped visiting the temple ever since her legs started to grow weak, and cannot stand the rigorous of the "3 Steps One Bow" ritual.

Here is a video I found on YouTube on the "3 Steps One Bow" Ritual


We met up at Marymount MRT station and started north along Upper Thomson Road. We ran past the Long House Food Center, which has been sold in January 2014 for a whooping $45 million. Many food loving Singaporeans feel sad as there are quite a number of famous stores at the Food Center.

I turned into Fulton Road from Sin Ming Ave and the majestic golden pagoda dome materialized on top of a hill. This is probably one of the best looking approach to the Bright Hill Temple thanks to tree lined road and private houses. I shall let the picture do the talking from here onwards!

The SOLD Long House Food Center

Fulton Road. Golden Dome rising as you approach. Nice!

The Main Entrance of Bright Hill Temple

See the cranes? They are building an expansion for the Buddhism College

Bright Hill Temple houses Singapore's first Buddhism
College

Don't waste space on the construction fence. Some words of wisdom
for the passerby.. or curious jogger.

Overall, this is a very decent run with minimal traffic junctions. The lure of exploring the most important Buddhist temple in Singapore will make this a worthwhile run. This is something quite different from the usual running landscape we will encounter in Singapore. As usual, my knee started to throb from the 3.5km mark.

Sigh.. When will my knee ever heal....