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Thursday, August 13, 2015

Explored a little island called Pulau Ubin

It was a beautiful public holiday and we were lazing at home with no plan and agenda. I was preparing breakfast for everyone and hb was surfing the Internet on his mobile phone. It was an impromptu idea from hb that maybe we could check out the little island. We were spontaneous enough to go along with the plan and quickly packed all the things we felt will be useful to use during the trip.

Tips on what to bring for a day trip to an island:
- Umbrella / Poncho
- Hat / Cap
- Small electronic fan / Paper fan
- Small towel (to wipe away all your perspiration)
- Camera (Optional)
- Tissue papers and wet tissues (in case of toilet emergency)
- Water and food (I know there might be shops/restaurants on the island but what if the food is not to our liking? What if the food is very expensive? You never know...all these are for "just in case" situation)
- Some basic First Aid kit (just in case of any minor injury)
- Money (for the boat ride, food, drinks and for emergency cases)
- Insect repellent (which we forgotten to bring along)
- Sunblock lotion

The crowd was building up at when we reached Changi Point Ferry Terminal, but we were lucky enough without having to wait for 10 hours to take a bumboat ride there *laughed*.

The trip cost $2.50 per person for one way. Try to prepare the money in advance as those boat operators are quite kan cheong to collect the money from you as soon as you board on their bumboat. If you are bringing along your own bicycle, you will need to pay $2 for each bicycle on top of your fare. Each bumboat can only accommodate 12 passengers.

I guess we were very lucky that the weather was bright and sunny.

Enjoying the scenery on the sea...

The ferry terminal at Pulau Ubin. 

The signboard that directs you to the place you want to go. I was horrified when I visited their common toilet. Imagine not a single source of water was available. We could not flush the toilet bowl and no water to wash our hand.

The map of Pulau Ubin (don't ask me to read the map coz I'm very bad at map navigation, lols!)

There were a few bike rental shops along the same stretch of road. Their pricing range from $6 to as high as $25 (new bike). There is no limit to the number of hours but the shop assistant told us that all bikes must be returned to them by 6pm. If you are too lazy to cycle up, you can always hire a van near the jetty. I did not have the chance to check out their charges though.

The locals told us that usually the journey is about 45 minutes to reach Chek Jawa by cycling. Honestly I forgot to bring my watch that day and the 45 minutes trip felt like an eternity to me at one point. The uphill slope was so steep and I was trying to catch my breath by pushing my bike up the hill. The downhill slope seemed too dangerous for me to let go at my full speed.

One thing I learnt during this trip:
If you have children who are still on 4 wheelers, then its not feasible for them to ride there as the road can be very bumpy. Since YQ and Junior YS were unable to ride a 2 wheelers, we rented 2 bicycles that can accomodate both adults and children.

We took a few stops along the way to catch our breath as well as to enjoy the nature scenery. No more cycling is allowed when we needed to explore the mangrove boardwalk. We parked our bicycles at one corner and it was time to do some walking.

We took a 10 minutes break trying to cool down at the information kiosk and continued our walk towards the mangrove boardwalk.


Spider webs

Mangrove trees



It was a fun & educational day for them.



We were lucky to see a few monkeys swinging and resting on trees.


My $8 rented bike looked pretty rusty right?

Taking short breaks again to immerse ourselves in the nature surrounding.

Taking a pose at the lotus pond.






The queue started to form when we were leaving the ferry terminal around 4 plus in the late afternoon. Although everyone was slightly sun burnt and tired but the kids enjoyed themselves.

Bye Pulau Ubin! Hope we will come back someday again.

20 comments:

  1. Nice sharing! surely a good guide for me, as I have not been there before!

    p/s: no water in toilet is so not Singapore! :p

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    1. maybe that day we very "heng", no water supply in the toilet. lols!

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  2. Pulau Ubin is such a fun place to explore for the family and experience a little bit of the kampong life! We went with Lil Pumpkin once 2 years ago: http://www.sakuraharuka.com/2013/08/weekend-getaway-pulau-ubin-singapores.html I think we need to go back again soon haha

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

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    Replies
    1. yah...you should go back and check it out again!

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  3. Chek Jawa looks beautiful! But I'm pretty sure I'm not up for that 45 minutes cycling. And the thought of toilets with no water supply... Hmmm....

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    1. At first I also thought that the distance is kinda far but in the end I made it...haha!

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  4. I cannot wait to bring my children there for an excursion! But 1 and 3 year olds are definitely too young now to understand the making of a swamp and mud crabs. Hahah

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    1. Its better to wait for them to be slightly older and bring them there. They will start to appreciate and enjoy the nature walk too.

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  5. I have never been to Pulau Ubin before and from your photogaphs, this island looks like a nice place to get out of our bustling city life. I hope the government will keep Pulau Ubin as it is in the future.

    Cheers,
    Soon Koon
    (lemon-film.com)

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    1. Yah...although its not too far by boat but the pace of life is slower than Singapore.

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  6. We brought Dana to Pulau Ubin once and loved it. The next time we go, hope to explore Chek Jawa too. Kudos to you for cycling there with the kids in this hot hot weather! :D

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    1. You should check out Chek Jawa and you will get to see more things during low tide.

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  7. Haven't been there for many years! Hope to bring my children there after they have mastered cycling.

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    1. yes...best is to let them mastered cycling first but at the mean time you can rent those bikes that can ferry a child together with you too.

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  8. I have been wanting to go to Chek Jawa but the guided tour is always fully booked ahead many mths in advance! Do the bikes charge by per hour? Are there road signs to guide you to Chek Jawa?
    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. We didn't follow any guided tour that day. The bikes do not charge by per hour and they only wanted us to return by 6pm. So time is not so restricted. They are some simple road signs there.

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  9. Hope ubin will forever be there as it is now. One day when my girls are older must bring them there. I miss the good old days when I join photo walks just to shoot at ubin. How fun!

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    1. You should bring them there one day, it will be fun for sure.

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  10. It sure looks lots of fun. Perhaps we should make a trip there when the little one is bit older and before they start to urbanise the island.

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  11. The toilet was fine the day I went (just one day before you), so guess you must be so lucky :P
    The cycling upslope was tough man and made me realise how unfit I am. Great experience to visit Pulau Ubin and we'll be back maybe for a guided tour of Chek Jawa.

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