One of the most informative tours I have ever taken in any country.

Very knowledgeable guide.

Very clear answers to all my questions.

Professor Eward Proctor

Black Mountain, USA

Very good tour.

Lots of information with a lot of depth and knowledge.

Have learnt things I didn't know.

Mr. Alistair Rannus

Norwich, UK

Thank you! One of the best tours I have ever had. Simple - informative, fun!

I look forward to visiting more monasteries and applying my new knowledge.

Ms Asya Gribon

New York USA

Excellent tour that I would most definitely recommend - especially as an introduction or if you want some general knowledge.

Ms. Pinky Shah

London, UK

I am really am very pleased. the guide is a very competent person.

Ms Agnieszka Krwk

Warsaw, Poland

I will undoubtedly recommend this tour to fellow travelers. Well done thank you.

Professor Eimear O'Calliaohaio

Dublin, Ireland

The guide was so passionate about subject it kept us all interested and wanting to find out more. Excellent to have a guide who studies and research Buddhism and Chinese culture.

Ms Elizabeth Pyman

Essex, UK

Great, would suggest the tour to anyone visiting Singapore!

Ms Carolyn Hveloner

Winnipeg, Canada

Funny, educational and you could feel our guide was really passionate about what he's doing.

Mr. Morten Sonniksen

Tonder, Demark

Traveled through China last year but I was never given such an interesting information about a Chinese monastery before.

Ms Ronja Scheler

Coburg, Germany

One of the best tours I've ever taken.

Very informative on a wide range of topics.

Ms Kalyn Murdock

Winnipeg, Canada

I really enjoyed hearing such a wide range of topics about history when i was expecting just a brief overview of Buddhism + the history of the temple. It was a fascinating + the tour guide was brillant - very informative.

Ms Catherine Mandair

London, UK

It was really nice and fun and i was happy i did it. It was fun to hear about the type of social role the monastery played to the Chinese immigrants and how Chinese Buddhism is practiced.

Ms Helena Siderberg

Soventuna, Sweden

It was very informative but at the sametime, he injected very interesting facts and applied it analytically. He is also very enthusiastic which really helped.

Ms Luwaihati Macailing

Ragina, Philippines

Thank you very much! I feel more knowledgeable of Buddhism now and really really respect the humanitarian and social development and attention you are giving. Well done.

I hope your energy is rewarded with what you expect although I am sure it already is. Thanks again.

Mr. Matthew DesRoches

Victoria, Canada

 Thank you. This tour has given me plenty of insight to Buddhism and an interest in doing my own research to develop a futher understanding. It has also tied in with a recent visit to the memorial for the victims of the Sandakan Death March in Kota Kinabalu National Park and future visit to Changi.

Ms Rachael

London, UK

I came here without expecting anything but sightseeing but I was amazed that our guide gave us so much historical facts and helped us understand the situation of the Monastery.

Mr. Danick Leblond

Montreal, Australia

The time eventually came for us to head off to our penultimate destination, which was Shuang Lin Monastery, for a peek into Chinese tradition and culture.

We were led around by an experienced guide, Chan Chow Wah, a Fellow of The Royal Anthropological Institute, UK, Member of the American Anthropological Association and owner of a Masters in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics.

With such sterling credentials, it was no wonder that he was able to exhort the Chinese way of life and values to us in a most compelling way. We left feeling enlightened and impressed by the awe-inspiring legacy of the oldest Monastery in the history of Singapore.

As we slowly pulled away from the elaborately decorated gateway of the monastery, a low, familiar rumbling in the deep recesses of our bellies made itself audible. It was quite plain for all to see that, we were hungry!

http://cumstalcorp.blogspot.com

Jonathan Lim

Singapore

This tour was very pleasing. It was a very well organized and also highly informative tour to broaden my knowledge and wisdom about Buddhism and its traditions, philosophy and place in history.

Mr. Chan's enthusiasm is what really makes the tour exciting and very well balance.

Mr. Pado De Berardinis

Toronto, Canada

The tour guide gave a very good overview about Buddhism, Chinese culture and Singapore culture. It's so good to find some information like that with somebody so passionate.

Ms Magali

Toulouse, France

Calming, peaceful.

The surrounding of the monastery and accessibility left me with a vey satisfied feeling.

Pavathy Venkaliswasan

India

Wow, learned more in 1 hour than 5 years of living in Asia.

Mrs. Tammy Mullaly

St. Albert, Canada

I really liked the fact the tour guide was unbiased. I really enjoyed the tour and would recommend it to anyone.

Ms Kirsty

York, UK

Fascinated, excellent knowledge and the guide is very enthusiastic.

Mr. Le Bretton

France

Knowing little about Buddhism, I learnt a great deal about all sorts of things.

Mrs Vickers

Worcester, UK

Excellent, beautiful surroundings with strong sense of history in the heart of a modern metropolis. We should never forget where we came from; How would we know where we are going?

Mr. James

London, UK

It was  interesting to get a different perspective on Buddhism - Chinese Buddhism after visiting many many Thai - Buddhist temples.

Mr. Joe Lyon

Lancashire, UK

The guide is very knowledgeable but does not bore us with boring stuff as he try to make things relevant to what we are studying.

Basically its a very interesting guide. Good work cultural compass.

Ms Adel Li

Singapore

Very Educational. Gained a greater understanding in many more areas than i was expecting.

Ms Lyn

Adelaide, Australia

The enthusiasm of the guide allowed information given to be taken in fully. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour, and the building itself was amazing.

Definitely recommended.

Mrs. Stephanie Dann

London, UK

This tour was extremely informative, "off the beaten track" sort of tour.

You can't understand the real Singapore without this experience.

Ms Jonas

New York, USA

Very good to find out different points from all sides of the stories. and the relation to modern day Singapore was good too.

Ms Laura Smith

Glasgow, UK

I was very impressed to meet our guide Chan and walk around listening to all his information. A very knowledgeable man with a captivating passion.

An unforgettable experience.

Ms Pamela Joy Fuge

Sydney, Australia

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would recommend it to other visitors.

Mr. Andrew Hall

Oxford, UK

Excellent. Thoroughly enjoyable. Very informative. I learnt a lot.

Mr. David Fitzsimons

Dublin, Ireland

An exceptional tour providing fascinating insights into a wide range of topics. It was not "just another temple"

Mr. Ben Morrison

London, UK

Chan was an excellent guide, not only providing the surface info but also background details including history, rumors, and his own findings & theories. The discussion of religious beliefs/systems was quite enlightening. I also really appreciated the anthropological viewpoint.

Mr. Paul Taylor

Toronto, Canada

Very informative. Especially enjoyed the sidetracks taken into contemporary culture.

Mr. Mark

Dublin, Ireland

Much more information than i expected. Loved the passion, sincerity and knowledge of our guide.  Wonderful. A very deep and multi layered way to see the buildings, art, philosophy, history and culture. I really love it.

Ms Lore Detenber

Florence, Massachusetts, USA

Thank you for showing what beauty and peace is still here!

Your enthusiasm and knowledge helped me to learn a lot.

learned the importance of recognizing and studying many different cultures and how it gives a well-rounded view of the world.

Ms Liza Detenber

Florence, Massachusetts, USA

Very knowledgeable on the topic. He was able to give not just a historical/anthropological background but also its relevance on the society.

Ms Maria Theresa L. Attanacio

Manila, Philippines

It exceeded expectation because of our intelligent guide. Very knowledgeable and realistic. A cultural experience I am glad I had the opportunity to enjoy.

Ms Fazeela Jieo

Vancover, Canada

Very useful information about the monastery as well as about Buddhism was delivered. Should be organized on regular basis. Gives alot of information.

Mr. Pankas Menta

New Delhi, India

Fantastic! Your indulgence of history and socio economics is most refreshing and appreciated. Mr. Chan is passionate and knowledgeable. If only all guides could be so enlightening. SMASHING TOUR!

Mr. Ajar Parasram

Halifax, N.S. Canada

Very interesting. A very good different angle to a guided tour.

It's very different from what I expected in a positive way.

I got an entirely different view on a Buddhist Temple.

Mr. Nils Chr Nygaal

Aalborg, Demark

The information was really good and touched more than "only history".

It was the best tour I did in Singapore.

Ms Cornelia

Latsch, Italy

I liked the variety information about a long time ago but as well info about the government in these days. The information wasn't boring at all and the duration was just right.

Ms Vera Schermeir

Hanover, Germany

A wonderful insight into a culture and religion which was previously alien to me. It has made me desperate to learn more.

Ms Francesca Moore-Bridger

Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK

I was very pleased that I was able to attend this tour as it has broadened my knowledge of many issues relevant to my travels through South East Asia. Our guide was excellent; he was very engaging and very helpful.

Chan was an informative and enthusiastic guide - he has clarified many of my thoughts about Singapore and Buddhism. It surpassed my expectations.

Ms Kimberley Jonhson

Halifax, UK

Alternative perspective in a beautiful setting. Well researched, giving the tour a personal feel. Chan (guide) impressively combined wide knowledge with this own opinions.

Ms Nicola Palmer

Crawley, UK

Very good to have a non Buddhist to explain concepts impartially.

Mr. Steve Kyle

Hobart, Australia

It was good that he (the guide) was "neutral" and very interested in the subject.

Mr. Thomas & Ms Lisa

Stockholm, Sweden

I found this tour very good as an introduction to Buddhism and the history of the Chinese migrants to Singapore. Very knowledgeable and interesting tour guide. Thank you very much.

Mr. Chris Taylor

Auckland, New Zealand

Enjoyed the tour Really interesting. Was more than what I expected.

Mr. Juan Carlos Jofre

Santiago, Chile

Enjoyed the tour very very interesting + I feel I have learned more about the religion and Singapore in general. Thank you.

Ms Fiona Lamrie

UK

Great timing, knowledge, enthusiastic, and ability to communicate/interact well with the group.

Great intro to Singapore and Asia. More than just sights.

Mr. Alan Dominijanni

New York, USA

After traveling through China for one month I was reluctant to see another temple. I am very glad I decided to come.

I really appreciated the whole anthropological view of the monastery.

Mr. Alan Dunleany

Ireland

Really informative and passionate about his work - so interesting.

Really good and interesting.

Mrs Katrine Nielsen

Denmark

Very interesting tour. Especially the critical and wide view is very rare in this country. You feel the guide really loves the topic!

I had no expectations so it was much more than I expected.

Mr. Hoiger Nagel

Goeppingen/Stuttgart, Germany

Very informative guide. Well spoken, friendly, knowledgeable, and very informative - made the trip worthwhile. Enjoyed the enthusiasm and respect clearly shown for the history and building.

Mr. Marc Meyer

Johannesburg, South Africa

Very informative and concise tour that was just right.

Ms Anu Kaarla

Finland

Very knowledgeable and interesting anthropological account of Buddhist developments.

Mr. Terry Cox

Lower Halt, New Zealand

I appreciated everything about the tour and liked the way different aspects were covered. It has been the best thing I have experienced while here in Singapore.

Ms Stacy Bolton

UK

Some intercultural/interethnic aspects covered interesting from historical point of view.

Mr. Anton

Ulyanovsk, Russia

Very good, gave an insight which I didn't have before.

Mr. Yohan Matadeen

London UK

Very informative, thought provoking. More than your average tour.

Ms Cherie Gillett

Sydney, Australia

Guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. It was an interesting insight into the history of the monastery and Chinese religion. Interesting + enjoyable. Thank you.

Ms Lauren Best-Shau

Liverpool, UK

Excellent, very informative and enthusiastically given with relevance.

Dr. Collin Tam

Austin, Tx, USA

I enjoyed the serene atmosphere of the monastery, the beauty of the building and finding out about Buddhism and the history of Singapore. I also liked how it applied to modern life. Good introduction to concept of Buddhism for someone who knew nothing.

Ms Lisa Taylor

Letter Kenny, Ireland

One of the best tours I have been.

Guide also knew a lot about the background. Very dedicated and enthusiastic. I really like the anthropological view so that people from different religions can live together in harmony.

Dr. Patrick Ahard

Maxxam, Malta

Fantastic! I enjoyed the commentary on the social aspects of the monastery. I normally don't enjoy tours of religious sights, but this was quite a delight. All of the "right" topics were covered. This is definitely not your regular tour.

Ms Sarah Neal

Orlando, FL, USA

Was a great tour and helped give another perspective on the religion and the people that practice it.

Mr. Dave

Melbourne, Australia

I enjoyed the stories behind the structures, sculptures.

Excellent, very enjoyable, great information.

Ms Tierna Mallon

Belfast, Ireland

Very knowledgeable, friendly, welcoming.

He obviously loves what he does, and that's a beautiful thing.

Ms Jayne Kim

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

I felt the guide went into enough details, the tour never became boring.

Excellent communication skills, fantastic tour guide - very interesting.

Ms Holly Joyce

Dorset, UK

The entire tour was excellent and really opened my eyes to appreciating other cultures and religion.

I have a better knowledge of the monastery and meanings behind Buddhism. Excellent and inspiring.

Ms Hannah Greenslade

Dorset, UK

Excellent & enriching. I enjoyed everything.....every aspect of the tour.

In particular I appreciate the information on all the good work being done by the monastery and Cultural Compass.

I was extremely impressed with Chan. He was knowledgeable and enthusiastic with an effervescent personality.

I will certainly encourage others to visit.

Ms Joy Maitland-Flos

London, UK

Very impressed, both with guide + monastery. Truly exciting in content.

Delightfully daring in its questioning of preconceptions etc.

Mr Vincent Costello

Dublin, Ireland

A beautiful monastery and very enlightening tour.

Good balance between general religious & social context & specific history of this monastery. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and analysis.

Ms Ailin

Singapoere

Excellent! I will recommend it to others visiting Singapore. Thank you!

Ms Samantha Duffy

London, UK

The guide was really knowledgeable, provided fascinating facts in a relax way. Really easy to listen and very interesting to learn how this all fits in with society today. Really interesting nice to have a in depth view that relates society to religion.

Ms Chalis Young

Surrey, UK

Very interesting! Enjoyed the tour and learned about Buddhism.

Thank you very much!

Ms Vanda Costa

Portugal

Excellent - its often been hard for me to understand Chinese religion and this has been very valuable to hear.

Mr. Antony Pietsch

Adelaide, Australia

Thank you for such an interesting tour. The subjects covered were just what I needed to tie together a lot of previous information I have learnt.

Mr. Jamie Rugg

London, UK

Thank you very much. The tour was very interesting and very helpful in building my knowledge of Buddhism's history throughout South East Asia.

Ms Rachael Scott

Brisbane, Australia

The monastery is very beautiful and it was great to get such an in-depth tour. Very interesting, excellent knowledge & passionate guide.

Ms. Joanne Brett

Kimberley BC, Canada

Very enjoyable and informative tour conducted by a very entertaining, lively and knowledgeable guide. I came with no expectations but will leave with the start of an interest in this area of "religion".

Ms Clare Johnson

Durham, UK

A great overall experience and was perfect at aiding me in understanding a world in which I would have been totally lost in, and I am glad that it showed me so many things which would have gone straight over my head if I had explored the monastery. It surpassed my expectations as it was much more insights than I had expected.

Mr. Michael Dean

Maidstone, UK

This community project deserves support - it promotes cultural understanding, and emphasizes that it is through an effort to understand that one can appreciate and celebrate differences and similarity.

Ms S.Y. Lee

Singapore

Very objective tour providing me with a good basic knowledge of Buddhism. Thanks very much

Ms Carole Trainor

Belfast, Ireland

Nice tour that explained about symbolism and how different Buddhism is practiced in different countries.

Mr. Henrik

Lund, Sweden

I am delighted I took the tour as it really gave me an insight to Buddhism, culture and society through the medium of the monastery.

Ms Eva Otoole

Dublin, Ireland

Fascinating historical information. Has inspired me to read more about Buddhism.

Ms Melissa Dunn

Wallasey, UK

One of the most interesting + interesting tours I have done.

V. well explained+communicated.

V. interesting in terms of the social context of the monastery.

Will recommend it. Mix of humour + facts makes it v. easy to listen to + understand.

Ms Sara Ross

Newcastle Upon Tyne

Never heard such interesting facts about Buddhism and Chinese culture.

Always interested but found proper information. Thank you.

Ms Eva Mueller

Munich, Germany

Very well researched. Good social, political background material.

Dr. Kaan

Singapore

Excellent! Very enjoyable and would recommend that everybody take the tour. Very informative regarding social, political and belief structures.

Very good guide.

Mr. Andrew Dowell

Basingstroke, UK

An excellent experience, very glad I did it. Thanks again!

Mr. Andrew

Vancover B.C., Canada

One of the most interesting tours I ever had. Really enjoyed it. The time just flew away! It was told by a person who really like what he's doing.

Mr. Paul

Germany

This information I have just been given, I was looking for during the last 4 weeks traveling around South East Asia. Thanks.

Dr. Beinhauer

Vienna, Austria

Good integration of religious concepts & ways of Asian society.

Very educational and interesting.

Mr. Jeff Kim

Christchurch, New Zealand

It was an interesting insight into Singapore's culture, history and future as well as social issues of today.

Ms Esther Wilson

Crawley, UK

Very informative regarding the cultural-"religious" symbolism of the monastery and their relation to historical events.

Professor Jerry Drawltorn

Sacramento, USA

I was impressed by guide's wide range of knowledge, analytical ability and English vocabulary showing how different religions and philosophies became intertwined in Chinese Culture.

Also improved my understanding of rituals I have seen in Asia. It exceeded my expectations - different from most monastery/temple experiences. Very impressed and entertained - thank you!

Ms Jennifer Hutchinson

East Leigh, UK

The tour was very educational and the guide was very enthusiastic.

It was a great way to start our stay in Singapore.

 Mr. Sean Murray

Cincinnati, USA

I love this. Such a calm way to reflect and learn in a relaxed way about Singapore, religion, culture and myself.

I highly recommend this as an outing for visitors and residents to gain a better sense of self and surroundings.

Ms Kim Stockham

Australia

Anthropology-based guided information was most beneficial, especially the ascetics and cultural aspects covered during the tour.

Mr. Chua Heng Chin

Singapore

The tour was a very enlightening experience. Cultural Compass is embodying the two Buddhist principles of wisdom and compassion in it s activities and I felt this was great introduction to Buddhism in action.

Ms Carol Pepper

New York, USA

Excellent! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The guide was very open, knowledgeable and highlighted not only "textbook" information but personal and reflective opinions also. It provides me with a greater confidence in the world that organizations like this exists in the hope of promoting the beauty of cultural diversity.

Ms Claire Christian

Brisbane, Australia

The tour guide Chan is incredibly rich in depth & breath of knowledge.

I especially found the weaving of past and present useful for understanding the "whys" behind the "whats" I see everyday.

Ms Kathleen Curran,

Houston, USA

A good hour of thorough information about Chinese Buddhism and meaning of the moon. Enjoyable. Thanks!

Ms Federica D'auessandro

Belluno, Italy

We visited the temple hoping to gain a little background on the religion of Buddha. This tour greatly exceeded our expectations. It was unplanned and therefore all the more satisfactory.

Mrs Gormar

Plymouth, UK

It was interesting and help me to understand the Buddhist religion.

The architecture are very nice. Thank you for the postcards.

Ms Gaudard

France

Even though I am a Chinese, I still learn alot from this project. All those symbols of temple and the meaning of decoration in the temple has becoming meaningful to me.

Singapore is a good combination of East and West. Thanks a lot.

Taiwan

To come to Singapore and have the benefit of listening to someone who has passion makes the tour more meaningful. To be a westerner who has traveled across the world, I was lucky to come to a temple that made me understand the importance of life through understanding of others.

Mr. John Christian

Gold Coast, Australia

Provides a rich background to appreciate the meanings of temple structure & artifacts.

Professor Philip Evans

London, UK

Excellent, great to learn about another religion, would recommend it to anyone who would like to learn or is interested in this religion.

Mr. Sakon Bandasak

Auckland, New Zealand

An informative guide to the temple as well as the place of Buddhism in a local context.

Helps us relate religion to society.

Ms Rebecca Wong

Singapore

Having a training in Anthropology, I found this site, and the project of Cultural Compass, both interesting and important. Interesting because it is trying to put in practice what anthropology has always tried to do, which is exactly cultural understanding, and make it accessible to people beyond the academic circles. Important because cultural understanding is  also the very base of a civil society, and its is something we are really in need of in these days.  I hope Cultural Compass will expand and include other cultural and religious traditions within its projects. It is something really worth doing.

Mr. Giovanni Bochi

Italy

Very interesting and recommendable. Very friendly atmosphere.

Dr. Dietr Wenninger

Germany

Great! Interesting & intelligent tour.

Ms Ineith

Israel

I only had a very small knowledge of Buddhism, this tour gave me a good insight. I learned a lot.

Mrs. April Christian

Brisbane, Australia

Having come across your site, I am impressed by the approach and goals your important project is taking. Intercultural understanding -- especially of how the diverse cultural and religious traditions have grown together in parts of the world -- is one of the most important things we can do these days. I applaud your goals, and wish your project the best of luck!
Dr. R Head, PhD.

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Very good and useful for both Buddhist and non Buddhist.

Give Buddhist a better insight to their heritage.

Mr. Kelvin Wong

Singapore

About the guide: Very good tour, very knowledgeable. He was opened to all questions. Explanations was always easy to understand.

Mr. Tobias Garke

Bocholt, Germany

Just Fantastic and with a person with lot courage and knowledge.

Mrs. Leue Bonnelykke

Denmark

I am quite impressed with the mission of the Cultural Compass project to promote cultural understanding. Through the focus of this monastery, visitors can see the "bigger picture" of how our global pathways cross and intermingle--where believes are shared and enlightenment gained, and how different points on the compass have interpreted the flow of new ideas and concepts. This is so much more than the average tour program. I certainly hope, through your wonderful website, you attract students from all over the world and that you even expand your scope to include other worthy cultural traditions.

Mr. Thomas Witherspoon

Asheville, USA

Interesting and enthusiastic guide. I learnt much about the moon characters and symbolism. Buddhism is a fascinating "religion".

Ms Melanie Way

London, UK

Insights into Buddhist beliefs as opposed to it being a religion.

Mr. Amran Ali Ahmad

Singapore

A very appealing experience! The cultural compass project is a wonderful way to encourage and develop cultural understanding between people coming from different backgrounds and gathered to discover different aspects of Buddhism directly on the field, in the Shuang Lin Monastery. By promoting generosity, mutual understanding and human interactions, this project is a remarkable application of the principles studied and developed by the discipline of social anthropology. It will also enable the future participants to promote the noble principles of Buddhism: compassion and kindness (do not forget that donations will serve charitable causes!).

Ms Carole Fuchs

Saint Avold, France

Fascinating and very informative especially to me as I have no prior Knowledge of Buddhism.

Very Knowledge guide.

Mr. Jeff Melville

Sydney, Australia

What a joy to go on such an intelligent tour. The monastery itself is spectacular but the best part of the tour was the fascinating account of the meaning and cultural significance of everything we saw.  Most tours just note the interesting buildings and sights. This tour puts them into context.

Professor George Bishop

Durham, USA

Very good! Please organize more in future, pls!

Mr. Pay Jie Wei

Singapore

Very interesting tour in a beautiful surrounding. What a beautiful and tranquil place. Beautiful architecture.

Mrs. Elsebet Jorgensen

Denmark

I have personally visited Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery twice. Each time I'm there, I feel a need for this great Asian architecture treasure should be shared with the world! Thus this project is both timely and splendid. Thank you for making this effort for the rest of world to be associated with this great heritage!

Dhammika

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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