Tag: Pulau Ubin

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Diary

Ubin Island 2015 – A Journal

Today is one of those miraculous days whereby I was able to have a decent sleep. Our Filipino neighbors upstairs still banging doors early in the morning, like every morning. Except perhaps when the Pope was in Philippines. They must have flown back for a religious pilgrimage. I was briefly awoken this morning and promptly went back to sleep.

By nine plus, my wife was bored of being my bolster and has started playing with her phone, on our bed. Shortly after she got out of the bed, I followed suit.

We woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning. It was sunny, yet the breeze was gentle to the skin. I had an idea. Why don’t we have dim sum in the east and then take a ferry to Ubin island? It was so impromptu, so spontaneous. Cynthia did not see it coming. Just like that, I have successfully postponed our housecleaning chore to tomorrow.

We were lucky. We didn’t take too long to find a parking space, didn’t have to wait long for a ferry to Ubin island, in fact, didn’t need to wait for a ferry back. It was as though all our stars are aligned, on this very day.

I had no idea that we have an oil rig in Singapore!
I had no idea that we have an oil rig in Singapore!

The boat ride to Ubin island was short, S$2.50 per person. We passed by an oil rig, or what appears as one. I had no idea that Singapore is sitting on top of an oil field. Back in our Tasmania holiday 2013, I vowed to teach Cynthia how to ride a bicycle with gear. Today was the day.

The rental bikes in Ubin island are not great. We paid S$15 for two, which retrospectively speaking, it was a rip off. As someone who was capable in taking the bike apart and assemble the parts back, as someone who once cycled from Oxford to Edinburgh in UK many years ago, I would say: these bikes are crap. The alignment is off. The gear component is badly maintained. Having said that, throw Arthur a butcher’s knife and I reckon he can still slay a dragon (Merlin!). I rode the life out of my crappy rental bike. And I got to see a wild boar, as my reward.

A wildlife in Singapore, wild boar.
A wildlife in Singapore, wild boar.

Cycling in Ubin could be challenging, especially for the untrained or in my case, the unfit. But I have always enjoyed overcoming an up-slope. It is all about rhythm, breathing, and will power. A lot of will power in fact when my bike refused to switch gear at that crucial moment.

I have no idea if my wife enjoyed the experience because it is kind of physically demanding. She seems to cope pretty well. I am so proud of her.

A beach or a sandy shoreline near the jetty pier.
A beach or a sandy shoreline near the jetty pier.

We cycled all the way to the east until we have reached wetland, where we met the wild boars and large monkeys. These monkeys are much bigger than the ones we have in the mainland. We then cycled back to town and rested near a sandy shoreline, by a police post. We could go west. Or we could go north. I picked north because I wanted to see how close we are to Malaysia.

Unfortunately, the shoreline was out of bound due to erosion. I took a picture in the area nonetheless.

If the shoreline is to erode further, this building could be at risk!
If the shoreline is to erode further, this building could be at risk!

I thought of cycling to the west. But we could save that for another day. By the time we reached the mainland, it was dinner time. We picked a Thai restaurant nearby. The food was sort of salty and spicy. But we were too hungry to be of concern.

Our cycling route in Ubin island.
Our cycling route in Ubin island.
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Diary Photography

This Is Pulau Ubin

I have always been curious about Pulau Ubin – an island off our mainland.  For more than a decade, Cynthia and I and some of our friends have been talking about visiting Pulau Ubin.  To cycle, or to observe the wildlife.  For some reasons, all that talk does not seem to go anywhere.  Earlier last year, I have joined a corporate volunteering event to weed at Pulau Ubin.  The island is charming.  Rural, unlike any place I have seen in Singapore.  During my mother’s visit, I brought there her for a day trip.  My sister also wanted to join us.  So we have five adults and a toddler, eager to explore the very last defender of Singapore’s village living.

Pulau Ubin is a 1020-hectare island.  It is not as tiny as I thought.  It does look like a mini Singapore.  The town center is on the south by the shore (just like our mainland!).  West side of the island is reserved for Outward Bound.  To the east, there is Chek Jawa Wetlands.  I laughed when we saw the posters saying that there are wild pigs in the island.  Ya right.  This is Singapore.  Lo and behold, there are wild pigs in Singapore!  They were dashing around near the Wetlands looking for, I suppose, food.  Cynthia said that the wild pigs are smelly.  To be frank, I smell nothing of that sort.  I smell only the smell of nature.

It was a nice walk from the town center to the wetlands.  Armed with the printed guide by our National Park, we could more or less figure out the landmarks and the points of attraction.  Cynthia was our de facto map reader.  I was hopelessly reading our location off my GPS phone.  Fortunately, we have Benny, our real map reader.

Would you bring a 2-year old toddler to Pulau Ubin?  To be honest, it was quite nerve wrecking to get my niece Bethany in and out of the boat.  Because in Singapore, these small boats are not secured to the pier during boarding time.  They reverse, press against the pier with the engine on, and the passengers then gingerly jump in and out of the boat.  As for the walk, majority of the roads are paved.  But there are some unpaved roads.  So, my sister has to turn back while my mother, Cynthia and I pressed on.  Do bring insect repellent.  And lots of sunblock.

Pictures speak a thousand words.  And I have prepared a photo album, just for you.

  • Click here to view the photo album.

To get to Pulau Ubin, you can take a boat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal.  Once you are in the island, you can go on foot (expect hours of walking), take a taxi, or rent a bicycle.  Next time I visit the island, I would cycle for sure.

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Diary

Weeding At Pulau Ubin

When I told my friends that I was going to do weeding at Pulau Ubin, those who have been playing World of Warcraft with me would say: Herbing?  Yes, one of my favorite past time in that online world is to pluck flowers.  And I thought, weeding is like part of what gardeners do.  It is like how I helped my aunt in Paris to maintain her garden during my summer school holiday.  OK.  I was wrong.  The scale of weeding at Pulau Ubin has way exceeded my expectation.

Pulau Ubin is an island off the northeastern corner of Singapore mainland.  It reminds me of our recent trip to Lamma Island in Hong Kong.  Except, Pulau Ubin seems much smaller, less developed.  According to the guides from National Park, there are no more than 50 families living in the island.  Today was the first time I landed on Pulau Ubin, thanks to a corporate volunteer initiative I have signed up for.  I was so looking forward to this trip that even though I was down with a flu yesterday, I willed myself to get out of the bed this morning.  Surprisingly, I felt OK.  Mind over matter no doubt.

The jetty that transported us from the mainland to Pulau Ubin took 12 of us at a time.  The van that transported us from the meeting point to the reforestation zone took 10 of us at a time.  We have chartered four vans.  So, we must have about forty, eager to do some serious weeding.  Before we started, the guides shared with us why the removal of evasive plants is needed (they tend to take up a lot more nutrient and grow a lot faster).  And what would happen to the weeds (recycled in the form of wood chips and used as fertilizer).

We were told that some plants are weeds and some are not.  To be frank, in the beginning, most of us were confused, unable to tell the difference.  We hesitated.  And we pulled the wrong plants.  As our confidence grew, we aimed higher and higher.  Below is a photo taken using my phone titled, “A Pile of Weed”.

Most of the weeds took five to seven men and women to yank them off the ground with our gloved bare hands.  Some are trees as tall as one story high.  We had 2 hours of solid weeding, which could become strenuous.  Imagine yanking a tree out every other few minutes, under a hot sun.  Towards the end of the activity, looking at how enthusiastic we were in pulling out trees one after another, the guides from National Park hinted to us that we should wrap up.  Because next week, there will be another group from one of the polytechnics here to do weeding.  We have to leave them some, I suppose?

Before we left, I looked around the area.  I was amazed at how much weed we have removed.  I wish I had taken a before and after image for comparison.

P.S. The Chinese translation of the island’s name seems to mean “Island of Sensitive Birds”.  But I must confess that I have not seen a single bird flying above us.  Also, we were reminded to be extra careful when entering into bushes.  Because there may be sleepy snakes inside.  Fortunately, we have not seen one neither.