Pulau Ubin Stories

Tree Down!

November — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 01:42:00 +0000

Photo by November

2 weeks ago, I posted a letter to the forum written by an islander's daughter, complaining about a dead branch hanging over the roof of her father's house, causing much fear and worry.

At that time, my mom wondered if the children can just trim it for the father but then I managed to verify that the tree is truly very big, up to about 20m tall and definitely requires a crane to do the deed.

1 week ago, I updated on the sighting of SLA trimming branches of a grand old Angsana Tree behind the row of shops in Ubin Town, where the old Bin Kiang school is. This was observed during the Hungry Ghost Festival Wayang celebrations. Then, there was a crane observed trimming some branches.

Of course, immediate thoughts was that SLA seems rather responsive to the letter to the newspaper forum page. Either way, the villager can now sleep well at night.

Trimming in process. Photo by November

Still, SLA must have been alerted a while back about this since it takes a substantial amount of time to arrange for a crane and then a barge to send the crane over. It would have taken more than a few days and is probably planned for prior to the release of the newspaper article.

What's missing? Photo by November

However, on Friday, 11 August 2006, when I revisited the island for a plant survey, I found something terribly missing as I stand in the town center, in front of the wayang stage. The place looked very bright and very empty.

It was then I realized that something was missing.

The whole Angsana tree has been cut down. Not just one, but 4 of them.

How big the girth of the tree was! The worker at the side for scale. Picture by November.

According to NParks, it turned out that one of the Angsana tree got a disease called Angsana Wilt where ambrosia beetles colonises the tree, causing it to wilt and eventually collapse. It also spreads very quickly to other trees and thus explaining why the other trees around it had to be cut down as well. This is a problem that is quite widespread in Singapore and Malaysia and the usual recommended way to control the disease is to remove the diseased trees. [Source: Botanic Garden Trust of Australia]

Photo by November

Although a terrible lost to the landscape of the island, it is rather dangerous to have a 15-20m tree crashing down on your house in the middle of the night, or even in the day. However, we all wonder if the villager will now have very hot days and warm nights to complain of from now on. I know we will.

Took a few days to remove the trees - truck load of dismembered leaves and branches remains. Photo by November

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Related Articles

Pulau Ubin Old Tree's Dead Branch, By Cai Li Zhu, Lianhe Zaobao Forum Page, 2 August 2006, Wednesday

Branch Trimming, Pulau Ubin Stories, 10 August 2006

Angsana Wilt Disease Complex

Recent visits

November — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:09:00 +0000

Visited Ubin 3 times in the last week and am filled with updates and stories to share on Ubin Stories. But before I rain words and tales on you, I thought I will share the photos from my visits first.

Pulau Ubin @ Hungry Ghost Festival
Includes visits to Butterfly Hill, otherwise known as Jelutong Hill or Jelutong Campsite. Looking more and more like ECP or Pasir Ris Park if you ask me. The hill is artificial. The area was a dumpground for Ho Man Chu quarry which it overlooks. After years of creating holes on Ubin, now we're building hills instead!

Pulau Ubin @ Plant Survey
Includes pictures of baby wild boar, OBS land, Nparks officers, wayang stage, and angsana trees being cut down.

Pedal Ubin @ 13 Aug
The most recent trip to Ubin was rewarding as spring tide exposed some glorious sights of Ubin. I also met this lucky offspring that is the newest addition to the Jelutong Coconut Stall Auntie's household! Lucky had an offspring! heh It was also my first time riding to Kampong Melayu proper. Only time I went that far in was with the Cookery Magic class.

Branch Trimming

November — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 07:31:00 +0000

On 8 Aug 2006 tuesday, when I was there for the Hungry Ghost Festival Wayang, I saw the path behind the Tua Pek Gong temple being blocked off.

Upon exploring, it seems that a crane was trimming the branches of a very tall Angsana(?) tree near where the Old Bin Kiang school was, behind the row of shops in Ubin Town.

Could this be the branch that was mentioned in the letter to the forum in the chinese newspaper that we mentioned last week? [See: Pulau Ubin Old Tree's Dead Branch, Lianhe Zaobao Forum page, 2 Aug 2026]

The tree being trimmed seems to loom over the houses in the area as the article described but this could just be a routine trimming. However, after asking around, it seems that this particular tree trimming is being conducted by SLA instead of Nparks. Could it be just a coincidence?

Still, I am unsure if this is the tree that was mentioned in the letter to the forum. If it is, then surely the letter to the forum was quite effective afterall!

I must clarify something from my previous post though. After an interview with Adelle, our friend at the Nparks office on Ubin, it does appear that only certain areas on Pulau Ubin is under the care of SLA and others have been taken over for maintenance by Nparks.

However, what remains unclear to me is whether SLA is the overall landlord of the entire island but only certain area it is responsible for upkeep while most have been given over to Nparks for caretaking. Or does it mean that SLA has no jurisdiction over 'Nparks land' at all?

I did hear that even if OBS wants to clear any trees or forested area within its boundaries, it has to run through its plans with NParks first.

(?) unconfirmed

Hungry Ghost Festival Celebrations

November — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 17:39:00 +0000

Teochew opera is staged on Ubin every year for the 7th month of the lunar calender, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhong Yuan Jie in Mandarin Chinese. Pulau Ubin has one of the few rare freestanding wayang stage left in Singapore. In fact, there is probably only 1 left on mainland Singapore (at Balestier) which would make this 1 of 2 in the whole of Singapore.

These days, the stage is only used twice a year, once during the 7th month of the lunar calendar, and once in the 4th lunar month. One of the groccery shopkeepers divulged to me that the latter is also for the Tua Pek Gong temple that is facing the wayang stage.

This year's 7th month celebration is held on the 15th and 16th day of the lunar month which is effectively 8th and 9th August 2006 (Tuesday and Wednesday). Despite it being a public holiday eve, when I arrived on the island at 1pm, the island was relatively quiet. As Adelle who was there last year confided that last year there were many more people. Perhaps people are away on holiday already! Hopefully tomorrow there would be more people.

The stage was set up by the troupe on Monday, the day before the actual performance. Even as I arrived, much activities were bustling backstage and on stage. Mic tests and what nots. Yes, it comes with a full sound system. The troupe was the same as last year according to Adelle. Many photographers were also sighted on the island. 2 ladies were busy backstage taking photos. Meanwhile there was a gentleman that came equipped with camera, tripod and all. I heard through the grapevine that he is like me, the descendant of an ex-islander. Sadly, I was unable to cajole my parents to join me today.

Part of the ceremony involves 'praying' for 4D numbers, drawing numbers randomly out of a canister [photo on the left]. In case you are interested, the number drawn was 9102. See the gleeful smiles of the actors as they draw the numbers. In the photo on the right, demoted guards from last year's generals.

Around 2.30pm, activities started first with a cast line up and paying respect to the gods. I am not sure who the main characters were dressed up as but Victor has a brief account from last year's ceremony which is almost exactly similar. The only difference was the obviously diminished offerings. There was definitely no freshly slaughtered pig as Victor reports. Also the generals have been demoted to mere guards. Instead of televisions for the auction, there were 2 new bicycles up for grabs! Of course the usual gold 'trophies' seen in hungry ghost festival auctions. The auction will be held tomorrow night so if you miss the action today, feel free to go join in the bustle tomorrow.

Highly diminished numbers in the ubin population reflected in the small number of 'goodie bags' distributed to the contributing members of the celebration - usually the majority of the members of the community. Adelle confides that there are less than 50 residents on the island now.

View from the stage

With the opera troupe momentarily installed at the stage, the entire Ubin Town seems to come alive, even for a tuesday public holiday eve. I have never seen the stage opened up or even visited backstage before but I got a treat today and fully covered the 4 corners of the structure like an excited fan who suddenly got backstage pass at the sydney opera house. In fact, I also spotted a few celebrities during my backstage tour. One of the visitors to the island observing the celerbations looked very much like Dr Julian Davison, the host of Site and Sound. Perhaps it was really him!

Backdoor leads out to the sea [photo on left] while adverts hangs at the side of the stage. Phone number for the troupe at the bottom. [photo on right]

Unfortunately, I did not stay on till the end of the day. Perhaps those who went at night or stayed on could leave a comment as to whether the crowd got bigger after the sun set.

It's definitely not quiet anymore! Not for now anyways...

I was planning to stay and thus while waiting, I visited the 'new' butterfly hill, had a tour of the NParks facilities courtesy of Adelle and had the most fascinating conversations with Adelle and Angie from NSS. When the ladies decided to go home before sun sets, this monkey was persuaded to leave as well.

Musicians warming up

It was lucky I decided to leave then since I managed to capture some wonderful photos of the setting sun.

What a way to end the day

For more photos, please refer to my flickr account.

If you would like to share your experience of this year's hungry ghost festival celebrations on Pulau Ubin, leave your blog link in the comments section or email me your account.

Related articles

Sons of Ubin keep tradition alive

Account of wayang performances on other occasions on Ubin

Pulau Ubin Zhong Yuan Hui by Victor Yue

Hungry Ghost Festival Wayang

November — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 03:31:00 +0000

If you have always wondered about the old days where Ubin was a bustling community, the Hungry Ghost Fetival wayang performance may just be the chance to send you back in time. The nowadays usually neglected wayang stage in the center of Ubin town comes alive with lights and performances. Islanders and their descendants who have left for the mainland come back for this annual event.

Date: 8 and 9 August 2006 (Tuesday and Wednesday)
Time: Various (around noon and after sunset)

Adelle from NPark writes that:

"... Normally in a day there's a few performances and there should be one at past noon. On the first day, there would be prayers by the performers at past noon. If one is interested in the rituals and the villagers, they can come in at noon, catch a performance and leave the island at a decent time. Second evening, there would be the 'auctioning' of the symbolic items."

Dog sleeping at the backdoor of the wayang stage on a quiet lazy afternoon on Ubin.
Photo by November Tan.

It would not be quiet anymore!

Questions? Post them on the Focus Ubin Forum.

Related articles

Sons of Ubin keep tradition alive

Account of wayang performances on other occasions on Ubin

Pulau Ubin Zhong Yuan Hui by Victor Yue

Pulau Ubin Old Tree's dead branch

November — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 17:27:00 +0000

By Cai Li Zhu
Lianhe Zaobao Forum Page
2 August 2006, Wednesday

My father is 70 years old this year and currently lives on Pulau Ubin. Life was peaceful and without worries but recently something made him extremely worried and uncomfortable. An old tree besides my father's house has 2 dead branches hanging over the house and when the wind blows, the branches swings about perilously, threatening to fall on the house, causing much fear and worry.

Therefore, my father made a trip to the Nparks office on the island to complain but guess what, they asked him to lodge his complaint with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) instead.

Not long after, my father againt went to look for another Npark officer to seek their help. This time, the lady officer finally helped him to write a report and promised to submit it on his behalf. However, it has been 2 months and yet there has been no action to remedy the situation.

Do we have to wait till the branch falls and for a tragedy or accident to happen before there will be remedy?

Briefly translated by November Tan.

-----------------
Thanks to my mom for the alert! She has been very conscientiously supplying me with chinese news and articles with regards to Ubin as she knows I have been trying to keep Ubin Stories updated.

On another note, she also commented that perhaps the author of this letter should have helped her dad to cut the branch or to report to SLA as suggested instead of writing to the newspaper. Is that what people would have done in the good ole kampong days? A reliance on self and family.

Still, it's interesting to read about SLA's role on the island since it's the 'landlord' and owner of the island. Would NParks then be considered Ubin's custodian? I am always piqued by the interplay of agencies on the island.

Upcoming Pedal Ubin Ride @ 13 Aug Sunday

November — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:12:00 +0000

Pedal Ubin Guide and Project Manager, Ivan Khong aka Wingman, in action! Photo by November.

This 3.5-4 hour ride is suitable especially for those who are
clueless about Ubin. Don't worry if you're a novice cyclist. As long
as you can balance yourself on a bike, you can certainly join us!

More details on the Pedal Ubin website.
http://pedalubin.rafflesmuseum.net/

Time: 8am meet at Changi Point Ferry Terminal.

Cost: $10.50 (inclusive GST) per participant per ride. It goes
towards paying for the bumboat ride to Pulau Ubin and whole day
bicycle rental. It also includes a token sum to indicate your
commitment to the ride. If you are bringing your own bicycles, the
charge is $7.35 (inclusive GST) per participant per ride.

Contact: To register, email pedalubin @ yahoo . com

Pre-registration is essential. You will receive a confirmation email.

Places are limited.

The hunt for Ubin Granite

November — Sat, 15 Jul 2006 04:14:00 +0000

On 13 July 2006, I led a group of American students, staff and faculty from the Semester at Sea program to Pulau Ubin.

Despite it being a thursday, the island was crowded. Mainly with NPCC cadets and possibly participants at the outward bound school. It was the first time I saw people canoeing off the Jetty at Ubin.

Photo by November

Some of the students were there as a field trip for their class on Environmental Geology by the Professor onboard, Prof Robert Carmichael from the University of Iowa. Being a geologist, you can only imagine how excited he was to be on the "granite island". He was on a quest for the Ubin Granite.

Photo by November

It had never occured to me before that it would be so difficult to find granite on Ubin. Afterall, it is the island where we have been harvesting granite from for more than a century up till the last quarry closed in the late 1990s. However, the quest proved rather challenging.

First of all, in order to see how exactly Ubin granite looks like, you have to look for freshly exposed rocks. That is almost impossible because most of the rocks around the island are deeply weathered. You can tell which rocks are weathered by seeing the dark color on the surface, the smooth surface, or sometimes even a layer of moss on the top. Freshly exposed granite should be bright and rough. However, the only such patch of rock was on the steep cliff face at Ubin Quarry!

Secondly, although we find a lot of granite pebbles and bits of rocks strewn across many of the roads and trails, most of these are not from the island itself. A lot of it are actually transported from the mainland and dumped there as a site of disposal. Talk about foreign talent! Even our native ubin granite are possibly being replaced by 'foreign' granite materials from the mainland.

Where has our granite gone? Photo by November

Although the Ubin granite are often considered similar as the Bukit Timah Granite on mainland Singapore, studies have shown that:

"The Pulau Ubin Granite has some differences from the Bukit Timah Granite. It is richer in minerals, e.g. green hornblende and brown biotite occuring in clusters. Inclusions occur commonly on Pulau Ubin and Changi, representing mainly the bodies of basic rock and these can vary from 1 cm to tens of metres." (Wong et al, 2005)

Alas, the day ended rather disappointly for the professor despite several encounters with the granite kind but I do not think he has actually managed to find any real Ubin Granite.

Photo by November

Still, everybody enjoyed themselves after a long day on the granite island, discovering mudskippers in the flesh for the first time and "getting away from the city on the mainland" as some of them confided in me.

Photo by November

It was a satisfying day for one and all, especially knowing that a group of people walked away enriched with a little known and fast disappearing side of Singapore.

For more photos, visit my flickr set of the trip.

Source:

Lu Xi Xi, Wong Poh Poh & Chou Loke Ming (2005) Singapore's Biophysical Environment, Mcgraw Hill

More cookery magic on Ubin

November — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 05:59:00 +0000

Cooking Class in a Kampong House on Pulau Ubin (29 July 2006, Saturday, 8.30am - 2pm)

Menu: Nasi Kerabu. We wil go harvest the jungle herbs for the cooking. This is a hands on cooking class. You will also be served Lontong upon arrival.
1. Nasi Kerabu
2. Sambal Blachan

3. Butter Pepper Fresh Prawns
4. Ice Kachang.

Cost: S$85 per person (Cost includes ferry and taxi ride on the island)

Contact Ruqxana at Cookery Magic

Water - all the way from Singapore?

November — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 05:27:00 +0000

This is the first in a series of newspaper articles courtesy of a Ubin resident who has collected and archived them over the last 15 years. Thanks to Ria Tan for providing the contact.

The caption reads: "Thank you, thank you: Madam Lim watching SCDF recruit C C Low pouring water into a countainer outside her kitchen." Photo by David Tan, The New Paper

Water - all the way from S'pore?
Friday, October 10, 1997
Yvonne Lim
The New Paper
Image of the actual article [1MB]

She had lived most of her 87 years without electricity. For years, without company. And for the past two months, without her own water supply. Madam Lim Chin Ching's well dried up two months ago in a drought that has hit most of Pulau Ubin's 200 wells. Alone in her remote, crumbling wood-and-zinc hut, the tough widow has been relying on a friendly visitor in blue for her water.

Yesterday afternoon, a Police Coast Guard land-rover pulled up outside her hut. Out jumped Sergeant Tan Tiam Hock, shouting cheerfully in Hokkien: "Wa nang gia zui lai leow! (We've brought the water)." As two Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) recruits lugged out four jerry cans of water, Madam Lim clasped her hands and gushed: "Gam sia, gam sia (thank you)." Every week, for two months, Sgt Tan has been bringing Madam Lim water from other wells on the island - enough for a week's drinking and cooking. But yesterday, there was a new tang to the water. All 80 litres of it was from mainland Singapore - part of the 50,000 litres shipped over to relieve the island's water shortage.

When Sgt Tan told Madam Lim this, her eyes grew big.
"All the way from Singapore?" she exclaimed.

Since Madam Lim came from China 40 years ago to settle on Pulau Ubin with her husband, she has tasted only the island's well water and rain water. To catch the rain that fell yesterday, Madam Lim laid out rows of pots, pails, bowls, even jam jars.

She could not make it to the collection point yesterday, as her home is a 20-minutes drive through mud tracks and hilly roads. She has been using a neighbour's well water to wash her clothes. But she doesn't dare take too much, and she cannot walk far to find other sources of water, she said in Teochew. "I try to save water, like when I wash rice, because I am an old woman - I cannot carry too much water."

She has lived on welfare aid since her husband died years ago. Her only daughter is in China. Why didn't she move to an easier life on the mainland? Said Madam Lim: "Oh, if I had the chance I would go. Life is difficult here." However, residents later said she had been offered a place in a welfare home last year - but she came back home in the end.

RELIEF FOR ISLANDERS
They came with used oil drums, jerry cans, pails, bins and bottles - on trolleys, lorries and motorbikes. Pulau Ubin residents yesterday carted away some 8,000 litres of water. The water was shipped over by the SAF and SCDF on Wednesday. Coupons were issued to 40 of the island's 170 households, allowing each person 40 litres per day - about 3.5 pails.

The water distribution began at 3pm, presided over by Community Development Minister Abdullah Tarmugi. For three elderly residents, who lived far away, water was delivered to the doorstep. The water operation and yesterday's drizzle broke the dry spell - but not the islanders' thriftiness. Retiree Low Hai Chua, 82, said: "I will drink this water - and bathe in the sea."

Source: The Straits Times
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EL NINO
On the right is an image of a tanker transporting water to Pulau Ubin in 1997 from the Straits Times courtesy of a student website on the 1997 El Nino event that impacted the world.

The trade winds, which normally blew from Asia to South America across the Pacific, reversed due to the El Nino, causing a large body of warm ocean water to flow from the coasts of Asia across the Pacific to the coasts of South America. Therefore, rain clouds formed above South America instead of above Southeast Asia and Australia, causing a drought over Southeast Asia and the Oceania, bringing higher than usual temperatures.

The website explains the phenomenon and its impact on Singapore:

"The droughts caused a village on the island of Pulau Ubin off the northeastern coast of Singapore to run out of water after a dry spell of 5 months. The Singapore Armed Forces and Singapore Civil Defence Force to transport more than 50 tonnes of water to the island to ease the water shortage.

The main island of Singapore itself also suffered from water shortage. The water stock of Singapore fell to just 73% after months of El Nino induced droughts."

RELATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Below is a list of cited bibliography from the El Nino Website relevant to Ubin.

Teo, G. (1997) "Fresh water bound for Pulau Ubin today" The Straits Times, October 8, 1997

Gascon, G. (1997) "Launching to Ubin's aid" The Straits Times, October 9, 1997

Yeo, G. (1997) "Water tankers spell relief for Pulau Ubin" The Straits Times, October 9, 1997

SOURCES

Lim, Y. (1997) "Water - all the way from Singapore?" The New Paper, 10 October 1997

Tan, J. and Tangen, H. (1998) "El Nino Around the World" Website available at: http://library.thinkquest.org/17865/

More Cookery Magic

November — Sat, 27 May 2006 15:26:00 +0000

This is coming a little late but perhaps there may still be vacancies... although knowing the popularity of ruq's classes, perhaps you can sign up for her mailing list instead!

Ruqxana wrote:

My next two Pulau Ubin classes are as follows. Email me if you are interested to attend any of them.

Cooking Class in a Kampong House on Pulau Ubin

28 May 2006, Sunday, 8.30am - 2pm; or
3 June 2006, Saturday, 8.30am - 2pm (only 2 places left)

Menu: Nasi Kerabu. We will go harvest the jungle herbs for the cooking. This is a hands on cooking class. You will also be served Lontong upon arrival.
1. Nasi Kerabu
2. Sambal Blachan

3. Butter Pepper Prawns
4. Ice Kachang.

Cost: S$82 per person (Cost includes ferry and taxi ride on the island)

Also, kindly forward this email to your friends who may be interested in attending my cooking classes.

Regards

Ruqxana
Cookery Magic
ruqxana at cookerymagic dot com
www.cookerymagic.com

Answers to the Earth Day Quiz

November — Tue, 09 May 2006 10:12:00 +0000

On April 23 2006, we launched the new looks for Ubin Stories along with a quiz in conjunction with Earth Day.

Several readers have responded and hazzarded a guess at the identity of the 8 items in the banner on the top of the website.

From the left to right:

1. Oriental-Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris)
2. Fallen Sea Hibiscus flower (Hibiscus tiliaceus)
3. Purple Tree Climbing Crab (Metapograpsus sp.) at the rocky shore facing Pulau Ketam, near German Girl Shrine
4. (top) German Girl Shrine banner
5. (bottom-left) Cross-section of a fig
6. (bottom-right) Pseudokarst Granite Boulder beside the Jetty.
7. Kekek Quarry, also known as Tianci (Heavenly Pool) at the lookout further north of the Thai Temple.
8. Bumboat heading out from the jetty towards Changi

How many did you get right?

Jelutong Namesake

November — Fri, 05 May 2006 16:28:00 +0000

One of the main rivers of Ubin is the Jelutong River. From the Jetty towards the west of the island, the first river that one would cross is the Jelutong River. Previously, we have mentioned the coconut stall by the Jelutong Bridge that spans the river. It is indeed a rather well known river on Ubin but have you ever wondered what Jelutong was named after?

Observing fishes in the Jelutong River by the sluice gates at Jelutong Bridge. Photo by November Tan.

I have always known vaguely that Jelutong is the name of a tree found in this region but I have never seen the tree until last month. In fact, this specimen of the Jelutong Tree (Dyera costulata) was just across the Straits of Johor at the Changi Tree Conservation area. In fact, during the launch of the Heritage Tree Register, we were given a tour of the heritage trees in Changi where these last few remaining stands of giant dipterocarps are the only survivors of the Lowland Dipterocarp Rain Forests that had once extended from the interiors right up to the shores. (Read more)

Encountering the Jelutong Tree in the Changi Heritage Tree trail. Photo by November Tan.

The Jelutong tree is found in Peninsular Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, and Borneo. According to the USDA, Jelutong "may reach a height of 200 ft, with straight and cylindrical boles free from buttresses to lengths of 90 ft; trunk diameters up to 8 ft".

It is a species found in primary forests but has been reorded to regenerate readily in logged-over forest. It is popular for its latex and for timber, but much of the species is also lost due to conversion of lowland forests to agriculture. This was true also for Singapore as the primary forest at Changi was first cleared for rubber plantations before the British further cleared it for their army base around 1923. (Read more)

While IUCN list the tree as being of a Low Risk category, meaning that it is not endangered, the species has been reported to be threatened in Peninsular Malaysia! Such risk was already recognised 60 years ago. In fact, Jelutong is subject to a log export ban in Peninsular Malaysia, and special permission has been required to cut the tree in Thailand. (Source: UNEP Global Tree Campaign)

The Pulai Tree on Pulau Ubin, standing at 35m tall! Photo by November Tan.

If you have visited Changi recently, you would have noticed marker tags (above; 2nd photo) that not only identify the heritage trees but also tells you more about the tree. In fact, some of these trees species can also be found on Ubin, such as the Pulai tree (above; 3rd photo) which is the tallest tree on Ubin. Try to spot the pagoda-like tree on the bumboat on your way to the island. You can also visit the tree at Chek Jawa or look at one upclose amongst the heritage trees of Changi!

Upcoming Pedal Ubin Ride @ 13 May

November — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 02:15:00 +0000

Here's another chance to visit Ubin and learn about its natural and cultural heritage with the Pedal Ubin guides!

Pedalling on Ubin on April 9. Photo by Andy Dinesh

Explore Pulau Ubin on bicycle with trained guides from Pedal Ubin.

Date: 13 May 2006 Saturday
Time: 8.30am

Send an email with the following details to

1. Name
2. Email address where you can be reached
3. Mobile phone number
4. Cycling ability (wobbly, steady or wow!)
5. Emergency contact (name, relationship (e.g. mother/father/wife) and phone number
6. Date of preferred ride(s) - please refer to our 2006 calendar for the list of dates

You will receive an acknowledgement reply to confirm that there are still places available.

Confirmation and Payment (from May 2006)
The charge is S$10.50 (inclusive GST) per participant. If you bring your own bicycle, the charge is S$7.35. Payment covers the bumboat ride from Changi to Pulau Ubin (one-way) and whole day bicycle rental.

Payment is strictly non-refundable and can be made in cash or cheque. In the unlikely event that the trip is cancelled by Pedal Ubin! due to lightning threat or similar reasons (has not happened yet), a replacement ride will be arranged.

To find out more about how to make payments and other FAQ, please visit the pedal ubin website.

After the rain, the wildlife roams

November — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 04:34:00 +0000

During the last Pedal Ubin ride on 9 April 2006 (Sunday), a heavy storm that lasted throughout the night made for an enticing morning to sleep in yet our amazing participants and guides actually got up in the wee hours of the rainy morning and came down to Changi Point Ferry Terminal in full force.

Prepared for a muddy ride, my group headed off with a family with 2 adorable boys and their Norwegian friends along with 2 other couples including a professional photographer Julian that probably knows more about Ubin than I do!

Our first surprise of the day started early as we were standing at the basketball court (Meeting Point 1), a huge silhouette appeared in the horizon. It was one of the hornbills! That was not to be the only time we see the hornbills that day. Later at the Thai temple we were treated to almost a half hour of watching two hornbills (one male and one female) feasting on the Bodhi Tree outside the temple. They were very close and absolutely unafraid. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera on me as I was thinking a rainy day on Ubin probably would not be condusive for photo taking. Well I was wrong! This is a lesson to all that after the rain, the animals come out to play!

Photo of Hornbill by Pedal Ubin Guide Andy Dinesh, 9 April 2006

Unfortunately it also brought out the ants! With the ants' nest flooded, all the ants were out to "play" too!

At Jelutong Bridge, we saw a Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) or what the malay know as the Raja Udang. (Did you know there is a road in Singapore off Balestier Road called Jalan Raja Udang and it was named after this bird!) It was the first time I saw this bird on the island as the Common Kingfisher is actually relatively uncommon in Singapore.

Throughout the trip, from Puaka Hill all the way up till the Thai temple, I continuously heard the strangled call of the Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus) but nobody else in my group heard it. It was not until I demonstrated the call that everybody started noticing it too. Unfortunately we never got to see any that day!

Finally, on our way back to the jetty, we were graced by the presence of a monitor lizard sunning itself by the road side just outside the MCC Ubin Resort!

Photo of a sunning monitor lizard at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserves. The one we spotted at Ubin was doing the very same thing after a cold rainy morning! Photo by November, 4 Dec 2005

Despite my lack of camera, I'm glad that we had Julian with us. More photos from Julian to come!