My First Pulau Ubin Adventure

So there’s this island in Singapore called Pulau Ubin that is known for being one of the last rural areas in Singapore. Nantoy has been inviting us to go there since last year and we finally had a chance to go yesterday. It was really awesome except for when I got thrown off my bike and got two bloody knees and a sprained leg. Totally my fault, but I’ll get to that later.

We met up in Pasir Ris where most of the gang lives and took bus 89 to the Changi Point Ferry Terminal. Once there, we queued up to ride a bumboat that can take up to 12 passengers, each paying S$2.50 for fare. We made sure that we were on the right queue, else we ended up boarding a boat to Malaysia and there we were with no passports or anything.

After a short (around 10 or so minutes) ride across the sea, we arrived.

We walked in and not even two minutes later, we found ourselves facing bike rental stalls.

We found out it cost S$6 to rent a small adult bike, which was the same price as in Pasir Ris Park, but we brightened up when we found out that it was the rate for the entire day, as opposed to Pasir Ris where the rate is for an hour, or for two hours on some days.

We quickly chose bikes and rode off, then Joc’s bike’s chain got loose so we had to go back and have it fixed.

Then we were off again, and we cursed whenever a huge black smoke-belching vehicle roared down the narrow road and we had to make way for it because we didn’t want to die. This happened a lot on the roads closer to the ferry but when we went farther into the island, the vehicles disappeared, probably because they could no longer pass through the narrower roads.

As we biked along, we couldn’t help but comment on how the surroundings looked like our provinces in the Philippines. “This place is supposed to be what old Singapore used to look like,” I said. “So I guess the Philippines is stuck in time, huh?” We laughed.

The first one was ruined when a couple’s bike passed by at the exact time the camera went off.We went on a cement road for a while till we made a turn towards Chek Jawa, the most popular spot on the island, when we were faced with uphill gravel roads and it became really tough, so tough that we had to get off our bikes and just wheel them up at times.

Then we got to a point where no bikes were allowed, so we had to leave them. We hesitated at first because our bikes didn’t have any chains on them and someone might make off with them or something but then we realized that everyone came with a bike and were doing the same thing, so why shouldn’t we?

Besides, Dred reasoned, if someone stole a bike, they couldn’t exactly get it off the island without being noticed. So we stashed our bikes and went on foot.

We had no idea what to expect, so we were pleasantly surprised when we found the Chek Jawa Visitor Centre, which is a very lovely brick house, the kind that you see in American movies and don’t belong in tropical countries like Singapore.

This is what I mean. Why would anyone need a fireplace in a tropical country?

We walked through the house and emerged outside, where there was an amazing view of the ocean with a pier.

We eventually had to leave because we wanted to see the rest of the island and we had little time. We walked on and found ourselves staring up into the sky at this really tall viewing tower. It was about as tall as a five-foot story building and we had to climb all the way up using the stairs.

It wasn’t a relaxing experience because not only was it exhausting (I had to pause to catch my breath like twice) but really scary as well, especially for Jemma and me who are scared of heights.

We freaked out a bit, but thanks to Mildred chanting the words to the “Don’t Quit” poem (You know, the one that goes: “Often the goal is nearer than/ It seems to a faint and faltering man/ So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit/ It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.”), we managed to get to the top where we got to have a view of the sea and a whole bunch of treetops.

We climbed back down and walked further on the board planks that led to some mangroves.

We eventually found ourselves back to where we had left our bikes, so we got on them again and took another road out.

Mildred was ahead of us and when she got to the top of this hill she went, “Wow!” which should have served as a warning but when I got to her, I said the exact same thing, and so did everyone; the words just jumped out of mouths, we couldn’t help it.

The view was just legen – wait for it – dary! It was a breathtakingly gorgeous turquoise lake framed by trees and grassy hills. My camera does not do it justice.

We would’ve stayed longer if not pressed for time, but we needed to press on, and it was after this that my accident happened. We had been passing all these steep roads that had these “slow down” and “steep road ahead” and “dismount and push bike” warning signs preceding them so in the island’s defense, it wasn’t its fault but completely mine.

I normally half-pressed my brakes all the way through these descents but on this one particular road, on my way down I saw that after going down, the road went up and I knew that I needed to get momentum in order to go up, so I stupidly thought, Hey, I should go down fast so I can go up fast too! and didn’t press my brakes and halfway downhill as my surroundings sped by in a blur, I thought, shoot I’m moving too fast OMG I am gonna cr- and the next thing I know, my bike had spun out of control and I flew off its handlebars, landing on the road a few feet from my bike.

If there was one positive thing about what happened, it was the fact that nobody was there to witness it. I had been going so fast that I had left everyone behind. So by the time they arrived, I was on my feet, brushing myself off and lamenting my two bloody knees.

I asked Mildred for hand sanitizer and put it on some tissues to mop up my wounds. Then I asked Nantoy to help me fix my bike’s chain, which had gotten messed up in the accident, and we were on our way, even though my left leg hurt like a bitch.

We rode on, and we found a beach where we stopped for pictures. You can’t even tell that I’m in pain, can you?

On the way back to the ferry we saw some monkeys sitting on the road. We got a bit scared that they would jump on us or something. Luckily they didn’t.

We finally headed back to the ferry side and found a restaurant where we had an early dinner. We ordered fresh coconuts, seafood fried rice, deep fried baby squid, cereal shrimp and broccoli in oyster sauce.

Everything was so tasty, and we didn’t feel guilty about eating this feast because it only offset all that calories we burned from biking and walking up stuff. We most especially loved the cold fresh coconut though I wish the meat had been more tender.

After polishing off everything, we returned our bikes to the rental stall and walked to the pier where we boarded another bumboat back to Singapore mainland. This time around, we noticed the small island with a white sand beach right across the pier and vowed to go check it out next time.

On the way back home, there were moments when I suddenly cried out in pain when I put too much pressure on my left leg, and my friends volunteered to hold me up on each side, which made me look like I was drunk at merely 7 o’clock in the evening, so I stopped because it looked too funny.

I finally thought that I was okay and told them to leave me, but when I got off my bus stop, I walked a few steps and then just couldn’t walk anymore, so I just stood there till a couple of girls approached me and asked if they could help me, and also spotted me, one on each side, like my friends did earlier. Aww, that was so touching! There are good Samaritans left in the world after all.

I finally got too embarrassed to have them do that for me all the way to my block which was like 15 minutes away on non-limping time, so I said I was okay and I would just get a cab to take me to a clinic, and they actually stayed till my cab came and they even helped me into it.

The mall clinic wasn’t open, though, so I took another cab home instead and hoped that all my leg needed was rest. It was tough to sleep face up because I usually sleep in the freefaller position (face down), and I woke up each time I moved my leg (I move a lot when I sleep) because it gave off waves of pain.

But when I woke up in the morning, the pain was gone. Not completely (it still hurt when I used it for walking), but definitely manageable. Sleep, you are a miracle-worker!

As for my knees, let’s just say it’s gotten used to abuse from me by now. Let’s just hope Terramycin works wonders and heals them fast because I love wearing shorts and skimpy skirts. 😛

But you know what, I don’t regret going on that trip.

What’s a little pain in the grand scheme of things?

And that, I realize, should be my motto for life. Looking forward to the next big adventure. 🙂