Re-exploring Pulau Ubin

I was extremely blessed to receive funding from the U.S. federal government to conduct dissertation research in Singapore. However, one of the conditions is that I cannot leave Singapore during the period of funding, which means I'm landlocked on this tiny island until September. As much as I love Singapore, it can get a little claustrophobic being "trapped" in this bustling urban city.

Bye bye mainland Singapore!

Hence, you can imagine how excited I was when in May, the bishop (congregation leader) of my church invited me to tag along with his family to Pulau Ubin (pronounced "pull-le-owl oo-bin"), one of Singapore's off-shore islands along the east coast.

According to Wikipedia, "Pulau Ubin" means "Granite Island" in the Malay language due to its many former granite quarries (I learned something new today!). Today, Pulau Ubin is home to one of Singapore's last natural rural ecosystems, and several large outdoor campsites (Singaporean friends remember OBS?). Only a few stalwart residents still live on the island, although there is a thriving bike-rental and camping business due to the high level of tourists and school expeditions that take place there. It's a tiny island, only 10 square kilometers (or 4 square miles), so you can explore the island in a couple of hours.

I've been there a few times but it's been a few years since my last visit. Plus, when you are landlocked in an urban area for months, the rustic trails of Pulau Ubin are like a heaven-sent breath of fresh air. From the moment you disembark from the ferry, you immediately feel the difference. No concrete jungle, no jostling crowd; just natural, thick vegetation everywhere.

And aggressive monkeys. People, please stop feeding the monkeys.

You can hike along the paths, although the most popular form of transportation is cycling, and the bike trails are FUN! I miss cycling soooooo much. Sadly, there were a couple steep slopes I could not conquer but am sure I could have right after my mission :( Next time...

The stunning 35-meters Common Pulai Heritage Tree

The highlight has to be our trip to Chek Jawa, a 100-hectare marsh wetland located on the eastern tip of the island. LOVED IT! This was my first time exploring this part of the island. Not only did we see real mangrove marshes, we also saw wild boar, monitor lizards, tiny crabs and mud-skippers. 

There was a boardwalk for visitors so as to minimize disturbance to the natural environment, and a seven-story tall viewing tower that looked out into the forest and sea. 

View from the top. So grateful that some areas have survived
Singapore's intensive (and at times, destructive) development program. 

The boardwalk takes visitors through the marshes, then along the coast of the island. During low tide, visitors can see various sea creatures indigenous to Singapore, but we arrived during high tide and didn't see any of them. The view was still spectacular though! I really, really, really love being near water.

Clockwise from top-left: view from the boardwalk; my friends and I in front of an abandoned former colonial home; random unique flower; I love my Miss Manda whom I can goof around with. 

As much as I loved exploring Chek Jawa, the best surprise was yet to come. On our ride back, we came across this beautiful sight:

I seriously had no idea that Singapore was capable of producing such a stunning pool of rich blue water. We aren't known for our natural landscape, but this lake proved me wrong! It's not big and was fenced around. Nonetheless, how gorgeous is that?! The lake is really water accumulation from an abandoned quarry. 

Aaaaand when we arrived back in the mainland, we saw a cute otter eating a fish at the jetty. For a true-blue city girl like me, seeing an otter in real life got me super excited. I'm weird like that. The day was hot (duh...it's Singapore) but any unpleasantness was compensated by the terrific company, the sights and exhilaration of exploring the island. So grateful to my bishop and his family for organizing this outing!