Pulau Ubin

At 9.30 PM, looking like a red-faced monkey and feeling like beaten to death, the only thing that keeps me awake is food. I missed it all through the day… however, the cost of it was extremely low. It has been one of the best days of my life since I came to Singapore and is also possibly one of the most eventful days of my life.

We had been to Pulau ubin, an island near the eastern part of Singapore. But then, that is exactly where the relationship ends. This place, in no ways, is like Singapore. No ‘$1000 fine’ signboards, no double-decker buses, no hawker-centers – it is an isolated world, one that is all by itself but still very much worth a (few) trip(s). It is rustic, full of greenery, surrounded by sea (of course) and importantly, fresh! It has winding roads that take you all around the place to various corners and beaches.

The interesting part of the whole thing is that there is no ‘transport’, so to say, inside. You go to this place on a Ferry from Changi Village. Once you get there, you can rent a bicycle for as low as $5 for the entire day and you are on your own to explore the entire place. All you get is a nice map of the whole island with proper signboards in every possible place. The rest is upto you – begin wherever, go wherever, reach wherever and do whatever!!

I’m sure it sounds very interesting – it was indeed!! We rented our 7 bikes and set off on our exploration journey. It was about 12 noon and we were energetic because it was almost years since any of us had touched a bike, that too in such a setting. We set off on a winding earth trail and reached a meeting point, only to realize that, had we taken the opposite direction we could have reached there in 2 minutes. Well, that is the whole fun however – it is a mystery, in spite of the map. Then we cycled along to the Thai temple and on the way, the pedal of one of our mates bikes came off. Imagine – after such a long ride, walking back to the base camp in that noon time. Fortunately, we had these shuttles plying around to the temple and we used it to quickly fix the problem.

The Thai temple was a beauty in itself. I was amazed – first time I entered a Buddhist temple. It was surprising to see a ‘Guinness’ beer bottle next to the holy shrine – which definitely didn’t look like having been misplaced. I still don’t know ‘why’ – but this temple was a revelation with the entire setting being so different from what I have typically experienced. That done, we set off towards Ketam Channel. My bike’s chain came off on the way back – It was a ‘n’ geared bike and I was jamming the gears so much that something like that had to happen. But that was like a ‘two-minute’ issue with such vast experience to support. Setting it right, we pedaled to the base-camp for lunch. Veggies have a hard time in Singapore and it was worse in Pulau ubin. Managed some food and got geared for the second half.

We visited Noordin Beach – a point that is like 50 mts away from what is technically Malaysia. We could actually see Malaysian land on the other side! We then set off for the Chek Jawa Beach which is apparently closed currently but for guided tours. We came all the way (biked for more than half hour non-stop in that terrain) to end up on the wrong side. It was almost five. We took a break at the Kelichap hut (there are 1000s of huts there which serve as guide points on your map too!) and decided to help ourselves by heading back. It was 5.30 PM when we reached and man… we were all almost dead. It has been ages I’ve had such an experience that involved so much of physical exertion.

It could sound exciting but it wasn’t all that pleasant too. I almost blacked-out at one stage after lunch. It was possibly because of the extensive biking and not enough food to support it. I had to get off the bike and take a break for nearly a quarter hour before I could get on the trail again.

Though I’ve covered many of the things, it was a lot more exciting. There were earth trails, sensory trails, discovery trails, swamps and much more to explore. There are these small shops everywhere and we took breaks quite often to rejuvenate. I could keep writing… but food is ready!!!

I’d post the photos as soon as I get them. 3 cheers to Pulau Ubin – my best get-away yet!!

Cheers!!

I'm left behind...

I have been thinking of porting my blog to blogspot for a while now. However, I am too lazy because it is quite some work that I need to do to accomplish this task completely. And what is the benefit, is another question I am trying to answer. All I need to do is have a hyperlink in this blog and so in the other one and voila, things get tied up.

For now, I am choosing this option... I would publish some of my 'close-to-heart' posts from yahoo 360 on to this space with time. For now, welcome to my new world!! I am going to have as much fun here because it is the words that I love!!

Cheers!