Pulau Ubin is an island located northeast of Singapore's main island. It offers a chance to step back in time, as Pulau Ubin truly represents the last remaining area of Singapore that closely resembled what this small peninsular country was like 60 years ago, before it embarked on its journey towards modernity.
That is to say, a country composed mainly of tropical jungle, of villages with traditional Chinese houses called Kampong (even if different from Malaysian Kampong).
Pulau Ubin is particularly suitable for a bike ride since it has several cycle paths, but also hiking trails, crisscrossing the jungle, dotted with small lakes formed by the remains of the granite quarries that were exploited on the island.
After taking you south of Singapore in the St John and Kusu Islands, so I continue my journey through the islands around Pulau Ujong, the main island making up the city-state of Singapore. The opportunity once again to go green and illustrate that Singapore is not just an urban jungle or just these gardens like Gardens by the Bay, however popular they may be.
Pulau Ubin on a map
Short bike ride on Pulau Ubin
I was making the transition from the Marina, where I came from, after my tour of St John and Kusu Islands, and arriving at Changi wharf for Pulau Ubin as the afternoon was already well underway.
No choice, you have to make do! The difference in transportation between this island and the one in the morning is obvious. Here, we take a local boat called a bumboat, all made of wood and with a capacity of barely more than 10 people.
Arriving on the island, I was a little worried about the weather because I saw this big black threatening cloud in the distance, but no matter, I'm here, I'm staying and here I am renting a bike to set off to explore the island.
As I take the bike, I am given a quick briefing on what there is to see and I am given a map to help me find my way. In any case, given the time I have left, I will mainly focus on one area of the island, in this case the south-eastern part, where I have arrived.
And it was towards the area marked "Beach n' mangrove" on my map that I headed first.
Sensory Trail
As its name suggests, this trail is intended to be a "sensory" experience. Personally, I didn't particularly notice any smells or any other senses that were especially emphasized besides my sight, but it's a good introduction to the island's wild nature. Contrary to what one might think, the chickens you see there are normally wild chickens, which have the unique ability to fly.
This is an easy walk that can be done on foot if you have time and takes about 1 hour to complete. It will take you through the Pulau Ubin village plantation, where fruit trees (papaya, banana, rambutan, breadfruit, etc.) are planted.
For my part, I didn't linger there too long and continued towards the seaside. As I passed these coconut trees and this tropical jungle, I still had trouble realizing that we were in Singapore.
After just a few minutes, I arrived at a small stretch of beach where a few bicycles were already parked. The tide was high, so it was difficult to imagine a "beach" as such, but I gathered that it was a spot for picnicking by the water.
I took a couple of photos and hopped back on my beat-up bike, thinking I'd do a short loop in the area. I started following the same path along the water's edge, just like another cyclist right in front of me. But when I saw him come down, grab his bike, and go over a tree trunk, then a group of rocks, struggling to continue without being able to get back on, I quickly turned around to explore another area.
Teck Seng's Place
So I headed back towards the main path and then onto the paved road. Bordering the Sensory Trail, you will come across a pretty pond filled with lotus flowers, by which I took the time to take some photos, again.
My goal then was to reach house number 1, which simply refers to the number of its postal address. In doing so, I passed by some local houses, made of wood and which are supposed to represent the Kampong style.
I was passing by one of them without realizing it, house 363B, also called Teck Seng's Place. The latter is located on the left side of the road (going towards Chek Jawa), higher up than it.
It was owned by Mr Chew Teck Seng, a local trader who lived there from 1970 until 2005, when he relocated to Pulau Ujong (the main island). The house has since been preserved and renovated as a model Chinese kampong house, retaining the original architecture to maintain its rustic charm.
It now serves as an immersive "museum" that retraces life on Pulau Ubin in the 1970s. Namely, at the time, the island was exploited for its granite mines, the very name of the island "Pulau Ubin" meaning the granite island!
The Chew family ran this supply store, which provided provisions to workers at the various quarries around Pulau Ubin. The store is only open on the second and fourth weekends of the month and on public holidays, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
House No. 1
It is upon arriving at Chek Jawa, the island's wetland area, that you will find house number 1, a Tudor-style house built in the 1930s, which now serves as a visitor center. The house, located on the seafront, has been carefully restored.
One of the unique features of the house is its original fireplace, which is probably the only one in Singapore (as a reminder, we are practically at the same latitude as the equator, so a fireplace is really something to behold at this latitude!).
The ground floor of the visitor centre house has information panels illustrating the history and natural heritage features of Chek Jawa. Below the house, I reached the jetty on the sea, while the sky grew increasingly threatening (I could see rain falling in the distance).
From here there is a beautiful view of the house and the marshy edge of this part of the island.
Check Jawa
I then entered Chek Jawa, where I was greeted by a wild pig going about its business (i.e., looking for food, to sum it up), which is quite common in this part of the island, where the local fauna is particularly visible.
FYI, Chek Jawa can only be visited on foot, so I had left the bike in the appropriate parking lot next to the visitor center.
Chek Jawa is a wetland area composed of 7 interdependent ecosystems including coastal forest, mangrove and different types of shorelines. Each of the ecosystems brings its share of rare plants, local and migratory birds.
For a panoramic view of the forest, there's nothing better than the observation tower (Jejawi Tower), which is where I headed first before the sky fell. It was also the only place I encountered other people, as a school group on a field trip was returning from the tower and leaving the coastal promenade (called Mangrove and Coastal Loops) along which it stands.
Given the late hour, I unfortunately didn't linger too long, but the full walk during the day can be really nice to observe the local wildlife (you can see some exotic birds like pied hornbills, and, in addition to wild pigs, monkeys, monitor lizards etc).
Pekan Quarry
As a final quick visit before returning the bike and heading back to the city center, I went to take a look at one of the island's old quarries. These are now all filled with water, forming artificial lakes that serve as a refuge for birds like herons.
I was going to Pekan Quarry because it is the closest to the village where the dock I was arriving at is located.
Other visits on the island
Continuing further west from Pulau Ubin, you can visit a few more small local attractions. Starting with the island's "peak", Bukit Puaka, which rises to 74m. It overlooks another lake.
Next door is a small Chinese temple, Wei Tuo Fa Gong Temple. As you head towards the Ketam Mountain Bike Park, a recently developed (45) 2008-hectare park with 10 km of mountain bike trails, you will pass the so-called German Girl Shrine.
To summarize the history of this sanctuary, it dates back to the First World War. At that time, there was a plot of land on Pulau Ubin where a German family had settled and owned a coffee plantation. While the owners are identified as Daniel Brandt and Hermann Muhlingan, the identity of their daughter remains unknown.
When war broke out, the British army rounded up the German plantation owner and his family. His frightened daughter (about 18 at the time) fled into the woods. The rest of his family was sent to a detention center in Singapore. A few days later, the girl's body was found dead by plantation workers.
While at first the workers simply covered her body with sand and offered her flowers and incense as they passed by, a group of Chinese workers on the island eventually carried her remains to the top of the quarry and gave her a proper burial.
Pulau Ubin, a preserved corner, but until when…
To sum up my impressions, Pulau Ubin is particularly atypical, I really like this feeling of being completely somewhere else, while still being in Singapore.
It is a perfect island for relax for a day and spend time surrounded by a nature still preserved. It should be noted that Pulau Ubin is the last place in Singapore with a natural rocky coastline.
All the other islands are undergoing massive transformation as part of land reclamation projects to gain ground from the sea. A project was even planned for Pulau Ubin, currently on hold until expansion becomes absolutely necessary. But with rampant urban sprawl, Pulau Ubin will unfortunately likely be no exception and its landscape will be radically altered if these reclaimed lands are developed.
As an aside, I had roughly figured out which bus I needed to take back, but I was a bit confused about the route. Arriving at what I thought was the right stop, I glanced at the bus numbers while I waited.
A man getting off a bus just then saw me looking a bit lost and immediately gave me directions. For some reason, he even gave me his EZ Link card (a rechargeable card for public transport) which still had some credit on it. So I was able to get on for free, having the right bus number. I barely had time to thank him before I jumped on the bus.
This confirmed my impression from the trip that Singaporeans had become less "cold" in a few years, as other people had helped us earlier when we were heading to the Southern Ridges.
How to get to Pulau Ubin
You have a dedicated wharf in the north of Singapore, not far from the airport. If there are several access wharves on the island, this is normally the only one that is open to the public. There are in fact 2 other wharves in the north of the island to access the Outward Bound Singapore, youth centers (a type of camp for activities similar to scouting).
From Changi Wharf, count 15 to 20 minutes to get to Pulau Ubin Island.
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