PULAU UBIN ISLAND, SINGAPORE

4/4/2014

"Shaped like a boomerang, Pulau Ubin (Granite Island) is situated just off the north-eastern corner of mainland Singapore. The 1020-hectare island was once a cluster of five smaller ones separated by tidal rivers, but the building of bunds for prawn farming has since united these into a single island. Two other islets, Pulau Ketam (Crab Island) and Pulau Sekudu (Frog Island), lie to its south. Ubin is largely a series of undulating, granite hills. In the early days, granite mining supported a few thousand settlers. Much of the original vegetation was cleared for the cultivation of rubber and crops like coffee, pineapple, coconut and jasmine. Today, abandoned granite quarries remain as picturesque relics of Ubin's history, while forests and grasslands have regenerated to cover up the ravages of the past."
Courtesy of www.nparks.gov.sg

Having heard so much about peaceful and tranquil Pulau Ubin, we took the opportunity afforded recently by a day off for hubby - and a visiting daughter and her fiance- to visit the place.

We made our way by taxi to the Changi Point Ferry Terminal which is close to Changi Village on Lor Bekukang, very close to Changi Airport. It's then a very short ride via bumboat over to Pulau Ubin. The bumboats leave when they are full (capacity around 12 people) and cost S$2.50 a person each way (have cash ready, not sure your plastic is going to cut it here). We arrived around 10am, being a Thursday, it was pretty quiet so we pretty much walked straight on to our bumboat and set off.

Changi Ferry Terminal

The bumboat ride was noisy but fun.

Looking out of the back door of our bumboat

Some of the bumboats lined up as we departed from Changi Ferry Terminal

The bumboat driver has plenty of supplies to keep him going lol!

We were soon out in Tanker land. Hard to believe how many Tankers and Freighters dot the skyline off the coast of Singapore.

Our trusty bumboat

The jetty at Pulau Ubin

Once on the jetty at Pulau Ubin, it is a very short stroll down to the start of the village. Immediately you will see bike shop after bike shop looking to rent you a bike. Biking or walking is pretty much the only transportation on the Island.

We were advised by friends who had already been, to upgrade to the S$12 bike rentals as opposed to the S$6 bike rentals, in hopes of getting a decent bike. OK, sound advice. At first, hubby had the bright idea of renting tandems!! I was not too keen on this idea (even though I would probably get the better end of the stick and be able to coast along, whilst hubby did all the work ;)).

We were able to try out our bikes (Trek no less) to see if we liked them and if they were OK. The price started at S$15 but we haggled it down to S$12. The lady very kindly also threw in a couple of baskets for our water (you will need lots of water, plenty of places sell it, or bring your own) and a bike lock. It is possible to bring your own bikes I believe, you will pay extra on the bumboat though to bring them across.

He was talked out of this idea, and it proved to have been much wiser for us to have individual bikes. Some of the terrain was quite hilly, there are also some quite narrow and gravelly tracks which would have been a nightmare on a tandem.

Thankfully we talked hubby out of renting a tandem

After finalizing the deal on the bikes, we were given a very useful (not) paper map of the Island, so we would not get lost! Bring your glasses, the writing is tiny.

We were all set to explore and headed out of the Village on some quite nice paved roads. Not really having any real plan in mind, we just followed the road, enjoying the breeze in our hair and the sun beating down on us like a furness (sunscreen, plenty of sunscreen and also bug spray is a good idea). There are sign posts along the way and also huts (which were useful in helping us to figure out where we were on the map), offering some shade and also information on the flora, fauna and wildlife on the Island.

We turned off the tarmac surfaced road onto a gravel road which led us to a water filled abandoned quarry. There are a number of these on the Island.

Next we found ourselves on a really narrow track, thankfully this joined us back up again with the gravel road and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

After an hour or so, we were all feeling extremely hot and a little peckish. The water supply had depleted, so we headed back to the Village to take a rest. There is a restaurant with yellow chairs which seemed to be pretty much the only option for a meal although the shop next door did sell ice creams. The main attraction was the fans, we seriously needed to cool down.

After a nice cool drink and an ice cream, we were ready to set out again and explore some more. This time, instead of heading straight ahead out of the village we turned right.

The Ice Cream Shop

The head stones of The Muslim Cemetry blend right into the forest.

After starting out on the nice paved roads again, we followed the signs for the Jek Chawa Wetlands. We arrived at Kallchap Hut and took the gravel pathway which is a loop and gives access to the Wetlands. This gravel pathway was a bit more challenging as we encountered some hills. We also came to a Muslim Cemetry, the head stones blended so well with the surroundings it was hard to make them out at first.

A head stone at The Muslim Cemetry

It was whilst on this gravel path that we also encountered some of the wildlife we were told inhabited the Island. Macacque Monkeys thrilled us by running across the path right in front of us. As we neared the Punai Hut (the track to the wetlands shoots off here), we saw some Wild Boar snuffling their way across the path. By this time, we were all getting really hot and tired again, so we elected not to go and investigate the Wetlands.

We made our way back up the gravel path loop and back onto nicely paved roads. After resting at Baperek Hut for a bit to catch our breath, we all agreed we had had enough. Time to head back to the Village and the bum boats.

We dropped off the bikes, bought ourselves some more water and walked the few yards back to the jetty. Time to get the bum boat back to Singapore.

Despite the heat, we all really enjoyed biking around the Island, it was very peaceful and a nice change from the hustle and bustle of mainland Singapore. Would love to know just how busy it gets at the weekend. Maybe one day we will find out.