Pulau Ubin.

Posted: June 17th, 2009 | Author: faddy | Filed under: Dear Diary | 11 Comments »

Recalling that the last time I went to Pulau Ubin was around one and a half years back with The Totots, I asked Kal if he would like to pop his cherry with regards to the island, as well as accompany me in my quest to take pictures using the LG Viewty Smart (thus all the photos in this entry has been captured using that phone).

Always being the supportive boyfriend (and who can resist a free pass to Ubin kan? haha!), we donned vibrant colors and headed towards the ferry terminal next to Changi Village after spending a bomb at Daiso stocking up on props for the ‘photoshoot’ (chey macam faham wakakaka).

So we hopped aboard the bumboat at the cost of S$2 (one way), after waiting for 12 other passengers who would share the journey with us. Yup, the bumboats at the terminal does not have a specific time interval. Rather, the Ahpeks will wait until the headcount is 12, and then head off. So if it’s a slow day, I’d reckon you have to wait there for 30 minutes as compared to 5 minutes on another day.

Grabbing a mountain bike each ($2 – $10 per day, depending on the make), we headed off into the hot blistering day towards Che Jawa. As we were there on a weekday, the roads were rather empty and many of the shops that were usually manned were closed. Also, the last time I went to Ubin with the Totots, we headed the other way and did not even end up anywhere near Che Jawa, so I thought of breaking new ground :P

After cycling around in circles (tak bedek.. serious salah jalan kwa kwa kwa), we finally reached Che Jawa after 30 minutes or so. Left our bikes at the bicycle park (don’t forget to ask for a lock from the rental shop!), and walked around the whole area of Che Jawa, from the Seaside Boardwalk, to the Mangrove Walk and to the Visitors’ Center area.

At the seaside boardwalk, we chanced upon a group of English tourists and noticing that they have a super duper cute toddler amongst them, I sneakily took out my bubble blower (Daiso!) and created bubbles in the air, automatically attracting the child wakakakaka pandainye aku.

Unfortunately I did not really like how the photos turned out, so… well, at least I made a new friend hehe!

From the Seaside Boardwalk, we made a turn to the connecting Mangrove Walk, where we chanced upon dozens of flora and fauna (wow so long since I last used this phrase! haha!). At the viewing tower (sadly rather badly vandalized but silly adolescents), we even chanced the above praying mantis looking for a cool shade from the burning day :)

Spot the Ancient Native! (Yeah see what one day in the sun does to my skin?)

Our last stop, the Visitor’s Centre, was rather pathetic in the sense that the exhibits don’t work. A quick check with my mom showed that they have in fact, not been working since last year. Hmmmm? Hello Singapore (Ubin? Haha!) Tourism Board, not nice you know you have things like that?

Suffice to say at this point, half the day has passed and we were so damn exhausted. However, I really wanted Haikal to try out the Mountain Biking Trail (which was at the other end of the Ubin hehe) and despite his hints to go home, we perservered and finally reached the location.

Sadly, I had a bad fall 10 minutes after we started (fell sideways off a slope, landing on thorny bushes which cut the back of my elbows, legs, tore my favourite pink pants and twisted my ankle, all the while whilst the bike was on me, so I have bruises on the front too! har har), and from then on we just cycled quietly throughout the rest of the trail with me trying not to grimace too much as I stubbornly showed Haikal where the Totots and I went the last time round.

Happy to report it was worth it, as I see Haikal going “weeee” up and down the slopes, and being very jakun at the correct places <3

As the clock struck 5, we slowly made our way back to the main Jetty so that we wouldn’t miss the closing time of 6pm. Had we been there a wee bit later, I think we would be in a bit of a trouble as by the time we reached the rental shop, the guy had everything closed and packed, and was just waiting for our bikes to reach. Phew!

Got on the bumboat (last boat is at 11:30pm I think, but don’t quote me haha) and weee!-ed all the way back to Singapore where we had our expected Changi Village feast :) Oh, much thanks to my cousin Anz who lent me her jeans because I couldn’t possibly go home with a gaping hole at the back of my pants hehe!

Awesome-st day in a long, long while! Thanks Bie for accompanying me in most, if not all, of my blog related events. Having you next to me and supporting me really makes everything worthwhile :)

Related posts:

1. Pulau Ubin with the Totots.
2. Pre-Bangkok Mixup!
3. Swish.
4. My Totots.
5. Third Day Of Ramadhan.

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