Pulau Ubin 2012

Thus the trip off the coast of Singapore, with a mother, a psychedelic woman, a walking botany dictionary and a young boy with an old soul. I'm not included in that description.

We met early on a Sunday morning. It hasn't rained in a week and up til now, it has not rained either. We were all baking on the main island, so why not bake some more off the island?

Jelly and I went to grab a few paus across the road from the Changi Village Jetty while waiting for A and her kid, CP. Changi Village Food Court has been closed for renovations. I was looking forward to the nasi lemak there that so many people has told me about. At the row of shops, I was surprised that there were macaws, cockatoos and a big ole' red parrot sunning itself on a back of a coffee shop chair.

So we went to the waiting area of the jetty and waited for a bumboat. There are 2 exits here, one to Ubin and the other to Pengerang, Johore, Malaysia. Make sure you get the right one.

The bumboats here don't have a departure timetable. It departs whenever the skipper feels that he has enough passengers to ferry over. When it was our turn, we hopped onto the boat (no fancy railings here so be careful!) and paid SGD2.50 to the skipper. If you are bringing pets, you have to charter your own personal bumboat. No sharing is allowed.

*There will be a lack of photos here as I was either too busy playing with animals, cycling or just too plain hot.

The boat ride lasts 20 minutes, skipping over waves. I don't know why do people call these boats as rickety. Sure, they don't have the bells and whistles of a nice new speedboat but these boats are study with sound wooden planks and probably outlive those newer models. 

Once we got there, we quickly headed towards the bicycle rental shops. You will pass a Taxi Service shack with minivans with license starting with the words "PU" and in green. These vans are only allowed on Ubin and they cannot be driven anywhere else. Same country, different island. 

A rental bike goes for SGD8-SGD20 depending on the model and how new it is. Just pay, leave your name and NRIC number for registration and you are off around the island. 

The island has clearly marked out trails so you won't get lost even if you are riding alone. The first place we headed to was to Chek Jawa Wetlands. Remember to get a bicycle lock from the rental place because there are certain places where you can park your bikes and hike a bit.

When we reached Chek Jawa, we had to leave our bikes near Punai Hut and hike in. Do not leave your water/food on your bikes. The wild boars WILL sniff them out. We saw bikes tipped over in their hunt for morsels. They are relatively tame. I even fist/nose bumped with one.

You can check coastal tide tables on the Singapore National Park website to gauge what time to reach the coastal broadwalk to see the crustaceans underneath. Unfortunately, when we went the tides did not go low enough for us to see the seabed. 

On the way in, we stopped Jejawi Tower where once you reach the top, you can see all the way to Malaysia on a clear day and perhaps spot the resident eagles. There is no shade on the top so hats and sun block for everyone!

After Chek Jawa, went to have a look at House No.1. It used to be a holiday villa owned by a British land surveyor in the 1930s. It has a great view of the seafront. Too many tourists were about that day. Did not feel like taking a photo full with random people.

We felt so dehydrated and realised the vending machine only takes coins. Shucks! Luckily MG had some experience and brought our a bagful of coins.

The trip continued on dirt roads (we used the bikes) past Beberek Hut up to Mamam Beach then more dirt paths back to the Jetty. To get to the dirt path from Mamam Beach, you have to hoist your bike to the beach  itself and next to the toilets, you will see a narrow well-worn path. Look for the sign below to know if you are on the right path.

We showed the boy how a dragon fruit tree and a custard apple tree looked like in our backyard trek. 

Lunch was at Pulau Ubin Seafood. It's the restaurant next to the temple near the jetty. The food came in large portions and tasted even better than some of the zhi char/ tai chow on the main island. Prices for food are the same prices as you would find in the suburb.

After lunch we made our way towards Ubin Quarry. Most of the quarries around Pulau Ubin are fenced up so we parked our bikes at Merbah Hut and hiked up to the top of the hill for a breather, cooling breeze and an amazing view.

We continued onwards past Marina Country Club Ubin Resort (though it looks seriously overrun with weeds) on tar roads, past Muslim and Chinese cemeteries, over bridges where you can see how they control    river tides until we hit the gravel and a dead end. We passed the sign which pointed the way to the German Girl shrine but we had a time table to keep and pushed on.

When we reached the dead end, we knew our trip had come to an end. 6 hours spent cycling in the tropical heat really tired us out. We headed back to the jetty, going past Pekan Quarry and ran into a couple of hornbills. It was probably snack time for them. We could see them foraging in the trees.

How to get there: 
Bus - Bus numbers 2, 29, 59, 109 will take you there. Stop at Changi Village Terminal. Head towards Changi Point Ferry Terminal northeast on Lorong Bekukong about 100 meters away.
MRT - Get off at Tanah Merah MRT and take Bus No. 2 to Changi Village. The distance by bus is 10.8km away.