The third time’s the charm. A Thai woman got what she wished for — a life partner — after offering prayers at Singapore’s renowned “temple of love”. And he also happens to be Singaporean.
When interviewed by Shin Min Daily News, her 28-year-old Singaporean husband surnamed Yang, shared how his wife Pimmada, 23, had come to Singapore for a holiday in May 2022 after borders reopened.
She had heard about the Yueh Hai Ching Temple which houses a matchmaking deity, known as Yue Lao.
The temple, located at Phillip Street within the Central Business District, had gained a reputation for helping devotees find love and marriage.
“When she went to the temple the first time, it was closed. So she could only offer prayers while standing outside,” said Yang. But she didn’t give up.
Yang added that Pimmada revisited the temple again during her trip, where she prayed for blessings not only for herself but also for her family.
“Then, a relative of hers who was going through financial difficulty won the lottery, which left her feeling incredulous,” Yang shared.
Before leaving Singapore, Pimmada went to the temple one last time.
She offered her earnest prayers to the Chinese love deity, praying for a good match.
Two months later, she met Yang at a gathering hosted by a friend in Thailand.
Yang, a student, was staying in the country while earning a Master’s degree in marketing at the time.
He told Shin Min that it was love at first sight when he first set eyes on Pimmada, also a student. They went out on three dates and got together three months later.
After dating for six months, the pair decided to get married, with Yang proposing at the bar they met on Feb 13. They registered their marriage in Singapore on March 28.
But Yang shared that his feelings were not reciprocated, at first.
“She didn’t have a favourable impression of me at the start, but after we got to know each other, she felt I was dependable,” said Yang on how he eventually managed to win her heart.
There was also the language obstacle, which they tried to solve using technology. Google Translate, specifically.
“She is conversant only in Thai and it’s difficult for her to express herself in English, so we had to use Google,” he said.
“But as I had gone for Thai language classes while studying in Thailand, I had some grasp of the language and could still handle basic conversations.”
Yang, the Singaporean husband, shared that he’s currently “actively learning Thai” and she is also picking up English to make communication easier.
During their recent return to Singapore for the ROM ceremony, Yang and Pimmada also took the opportunity to give thanks at the Yueh Hai Ching temple.
Yang told Shin Min: “My wife is very grateful to Yue Lao for his blessings, so we returned to the temple to express our gratitude and take photos.”
The couple intend to hold their wedding ceremony in Thailand on Nov 6 this year.
According to The Straits Times, the 200-year-old Yueh Hai Ching is Singapore’s oldest temple, with its roots dating back to the 1800s. It was gazetted as a national monument in 1996.
And while the deity Yue Lao resides at other temples in Singapore, Yueh Hai Ching has managed to make a name for itself over the years with its reported “high success rate” when it came to prayers for love and marriage.
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