Went to Pulau Ubin today with a JC ex-classmate. (name's L, cuz I don't wanna keep referring to him later in the post as 'JC ex-classmate'.) Reason going? Wanted to get away from the fast-paced mainland life, as well as check out the site where I fell down flat on my face last time... (Didnt get to do it though, was too tired after walking up-downslope for sometime.)
For the ignorant, Pulau Ubin is a tiny little island on the North (Northeast?) part of Sg, and it houses the supposedly most biologically diverse spot in Sg, Chek Java. Which is the purpose of our visit today. Expected the trip to be just like usual short trek trips, but turned out I got a few cool surprises.
For one, there is a statue of Cookie Monster near one of the shops.. (I put the trip photos on friendster)...what's Cookie Monster doing in Ubin?? Saw some 'wildlife' (hm....somehow, seeing as Ubin is still part of Sg, the term wildlife juz kinda dont fit...) - a really BIG mudskipper, wild cotton tree ('kapuk'), some birds including one that's nestling inside a hole on a tree..n hid when I wanted to take photo :'( There were the usual suspects - various large insects, monitor lizard, fish, crabs,wild durian and rambutan trees...I got to show off my knowledge of rambutans since my companion, a Sg city boy, didn't know much about them.. I meanwhile, previously stayed in a house facing a rambutan plantation.. (Gitu aja bangga...huehehe..)
When we reached Chek Java, it was rather disappointing cuz the high tide's coming and we can't see anything except blue-green water :'( Moral of the story: check for tide level first in NParks website before coming to Ubin. Only during low tide will you be able to see the famed biodiversity rich lowland. Nevertheless, the sea was charmingly blue and it was nicely breezy n we took a walk along the newly constructed boardwalk around the beach and mangrove swamp area.
The suprise came in the form of a small house standing near the beach, a Tudor-style little cotttage, to be exact. I almost couldn't believe my eyes, becuz...wad's a European-style cottage doing in Pulau Ubin???!! Nevertheless the architecture student in me was so excited =) The cottage was built in the 1930s by some British people, and now houses the Chek Java visitor information center. It also houses the only functioning fireplace in Sg,by the way... not that there's need to use it with the sun shining down a tad too generously... Overall, though, the house is a little beauty and for me became the highlight of today's trip ;p (L says they might be incorporating a cafe into it. Yay!) I guess it's not so much the architectural merits of the building as being able to find it in the most unexpected of places.
Oh yeah, I know why Sg is such a popular destination with the ladies: you can find 5-star-totally-clean-sitting-type-perfectly-working-flush-system toilets in the ulu-est of places..there were several cubicles near the cottage that would fit just nice inside a shopping center..kudos to Sg for this one.
Walked back to Ubin jetty n met quite a lot of people cycling...n apparently I haven't lost my somewhat phobia of cycling since the accident cuz each time I see people cycling downslope with wheels whirling and hair flailing, all I could think about was whether or not the person's gonna crash.... Thanks L for giving me lotsa tips and explaining to me the merits of various bycicle gears...I really need to start practicing...
So, went back to the mainland and had the Famous Changi Village Nasi Lemak for lunch... was good, the nasi, fried egg and sambal (Dont ask me about the chicken and ikan bilis...willingly exchanged those for L's cucumber.) BUT I had my first taste of Air Bandung (actually quite a popular drink in Sg but somehow never got to try it)....and it was SO GOOD!!!! I love it. Which intrigues and irritates me. How can something that is SO PINK tastes so DIVINE??!! and how can I like something that's so pink :'( It's definitely on my fave drinks list starting now, though!
In closing, here's a small part of my conversation with my friend amongst those rubber trees:
me: "Oh dude, I really want some cold drinks right now..."
L: "You should get some compressed liquid nitrogen."
me: "....."
Juz as I am losing hope, things happen that reminds me.... Lame jokes rulez!!! ;p
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