“Ten Thousand Years To The Heavenly Lords!” “Long Live The Heavenly Lords!” on the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, these cries of prayers echo in the streets of Thailand as the Chinese celebrate the festival of the nine emperor gods. From the streets of Singapore to Phuket in Thailand to Myanmar, Malaysia and even the Riau Island, the followers of Taoist Jiu Huang Ye Sect take this solemn festival to heart, seeking the blessings of longevity, health and prosperity from the nine gods.

In Singapore, the festival takes place at Kiu Ong Yiah Temple every October with colourful parades and prayers filling the streets for 9 consecutive days and the sight is probably one of the most unusual and definitely a thrilling one to bear witness. The Mah Song as they call it is a ritual where the gods take procession of the bodies of pure humans who are unmarried and without family. The dangerous acts these processed bodies perform is nerve wrecking to watch! With painfully huge piercings in various parts of the body from tongue to cheeks to even between the nose, these bodies sway rhythmically for the intense pain appears to escape their sensors.

The festivals include bearers carrying flags, idols of gods and dancers swaying to the beats of the drums and are indeed an extraordinary sight to behold. If you happen to be the travelling lodger at a Singapore city hotel during the month of October be sure to capture this essence of Singapore culture. Located within close proximity to all key destinations of the city, M Hotel Singapore brings forth contemporary luxury with simplicity to give you a quiet retreat in a cosmopolitan city. Be sure to check out the latest of their Singapore hotel promotion before you plan your trip to Singapore.