We spent 6 hours on the island today, X-country cycling and trekking. Sore bums, strained muscles and sunburn to show for it. And boy it was bloody hot! The number of ice-cold coconuts I guzzled down =)) Plus I had my Crumpler and DSLR crisscrossed on both shoulders. Looked like some Japanese Army soldier cycling from Pahang to Singapore during the WWII invasion =P
Well a trip to Pulau Ubin is like a throwback to Singapore in the '60s. The island is home to Singapore's last villages or
kampongs and there are still about 100 islanders living here.
Pretty much devoid of the modern facilities and amneties on the mainland, Ubin residents depend on wells for water and noisy diesel generators for electricity. Some villagers depend on traditional farming and fishing for subsistence but I think the majority tend to provision stores and eateries that dot the area near the jetty.
Shaped like a boomerang, the 1020-hectare island was once actually a cluster of 5 smaller ones seperated by tidal rivers. However, bunds constructed for prawn-farming have since united these islets into a single island.
They have renovated the Changi Point Ferry Terminal. It even comes with X-ray machines now to screen your baggage. No longer the sorry ramshackle old shack that was the previous one.
First stop was of course the familiar jetty that greets everyone after the Bum-boats bum you off. Looks the same, even from far.
We got these at 8 bucks for half a day. Not too shabby. They were brand new. See the bubble tape still wrapped around the frame? =))
20mins into our journey, we had this 'roadblock'. Probably due to the torrential downpour in the morning. Had to carry the bikes through a detour of thick undergrowth and vines.
Noordin beach. Nothing fantastic. No beach-volleyballing babes. No Pina Coladas under swaying palm trees. But at least it was nice and quiet.
Most of the Islanders now come back only during the weekends to fish and relax. Like this old man. His little shack on the bund near a Sluice gate is now his 'holiday home'. We stopped to chat and play with his flea-infested dogs which were so cute.
Flea-infested dog number 1. Check out those ears. Just don't peer inside. Ewww.
Along Jalan Ubin, there is this makeshift Sarabat stall with the most unusual of mascots. There were a couple of
angmo cyclists who rode by and came to a screeching, braking halt just to gawk unbelievingly =)) Surreal to say the least, in the middle of such rustic surroundings somemore. A slice of Sesame Street on the island =))
Durians! Everyone was picking them today, crouched by the roadside, waiting for the thorny ones to drop off the trees. Almost everybody was tenderly cradling his/her prized possession or dangling a couple off the handles of their bicycles. It was like some sort of 'Door-gift' commemorating your visit to Ubin. Except the both of us didn't have one! =/ No patience to squat by the trees and run the risk of having one spike your cranium =))
So we did the next best thing, We paid to have one at the road-side. Sedap! Abit watery but oh so deliciously pungent and bitter. From 'home' soil no less =))
We finished with a delicious seafood dinner overlooking the jetty, tired but looking forward to doing this all over again. But this time, at Chek Jawa =)