Whitetrashcoder’s Blog

In case any non-practicing Jew with a double Canadian / British nationality and a doctoral degree in philosophy wants to read this blog (not thinking of anyone in particular), today I am writing in English. 

If you don’t understand English and are still interested to read this entry, I would suggest using both Google Translate and Babelfish.  The correct translation is usually somewhere in between.  It also has the added bonus of injecting “funny” translation errors in the text which, quite frankly and considering the source, can’t be a bad thing.  Of course, if you don’t read English, what I just wrote won’t help you a bit since, well, it’s written in English.  But to use the eternal words of Edmund de Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March: though luck bub.

So, let’s get on with the story.  In 1812, our fearless leader, her Majesty the Queen (I’m pretty sure it was the same queen back then), sent Sir Stampford Raffles to colonize the area.  After countless adventures (like fighting sea dragons and dinosaurs among other things), he planted a flag near the Singapore River and soon “civilization” just happened.  In is hast however, he forgot a couple of small nearby islands, hence no skyscraper grew there.  One of these islands is known as Ubin (or, as I’ve heard other people call it, abandoned quarry island). 

That, at the very least, is how I understand history.

Saturday (the 21st), I got up bright and early, at around 11 am.  In my defense I went to bed at 6am; this city doesn’t really have a closing time.  I packed up my bag, jumped in a taxi and cross the island to go to Ferry Terminal in Changi Village.  This, I was told, is where one can find a boat to go to Pulau Ubin (Pulau means “island” in Malaysian).

I looked around a little bit and finally found the bumboat quay.  Each boat can take ten passengers; so even though there are plenty of bumboats, they only depart when at least ten persons are ready to go.  That’s why just before the quay there is a little waiting area where one can wait for the next trip. 

When I arrived there, the Chinese skipper of the next departing bumboat told me something in mandarin.  I deduced from is gestures that he wanted to know if I was alone.  Either that or he though I’m so fat maybe I should be counted as more then one.  I assumed my first impression was correct, gestured “one” back at him and after a short wait we were ready to make the trip.

The ride cost 2.50$ (Singaporean dollars), takes only about 15 minutes and is mostly unremarkable on itself.  However, “technically”, I was on a boat in the Indian Ocean, so I was pretty psyched.

After debarking, I watched my boat leave and then headed to the little village that’s right off the quay.  There I found a multitude of bike renting shops and little restaurants.  Since I didn’t have breakfast, I decided to eat something before going for a ride. 

I settled on a small Chinese-looking restaurant and, after pointing at the menu, apparently succeeded at ordering food.  Soon, a plate of fried chicken and another full of steamed rice arrived in front of me.  I was somewhat surprised by the non-exotic look of my meal.  The chicken tasted like homemade fried chicken and was pretty good.

Sustenance being taken cared of; I walked to a nearby shop to rent a bike for the rest of the day.  All the shops displayed, in large characters, a price of 2$ per bicycle.  But for that price you basically get a unicycle with a flat tire.

The shopkeeper, a forty-something Chinese lady, turned towards me as soon as I arrived.  The conversation went something like this:
- Hello sir, you want bike? 
- Yes, I’d like to rent a bike.
- Here, nice bike, 18$.
While saying that, she pointed at what was probably her most expensive and top of the line bicycle. 
- No, I replied, I want a cheaper bike.
- Ho.  But nice bike, only 18$.
- No, no, cheaper, cheaper.
- Oh, ok, nice bike, 15$.

After a couple more exchanges, I finally settled for a nice little 18 speed mountain bike for 8$.  I tried it to make sure everything was in order, discovered that the transmission didn’t work, switched for another bike and off I was to visit the island.

I soon realized that, even though I was going at a leisured pace, riding a bike in this weather (very warm and humid), especially in the afternoon, was no ride in the park. Well, actually, that’s exactly what it was; Pulau Ubin is pretty much a park after all; except there also was a “sauna” side to the experience.

The image of running on a threadmill while wearing a ski doo suit comes to mind. Fortunately, I planned for that and brought water (not quite enough) and a clean shirt for the ride back to the hotel.

The rest of the tour is probably better explained with pictures, so here we go.

The bike I rented for the day

A map of Pulau Ubin

My right foot on the island, hanging out with the camera's strap.

Some palm trees by a lake.

While on Pulau Ubin, I also visited a little temple and a beach; saw some really nice scenery and photographed a couple of houses still inhabited by local people. I also saw a scary big lizard, but it was to fast for me to photograph (actually, I took a picture but since I was on the bike and the thing was running, it’s just a big blur).

All in all, it was a pretty fun day and if you ever are in Singapore and need to get away from the city for a while, or simply enjoy nature, I would recommend you visit Pulau Ubin.

Oh, and for those who wants to see more, I posted other pictures here.