Singapore: Boats, Bikes, and Cookie Monster

Trading concrete and humans for trees and monkeys, Laura and I travelled to Pulau Ubin, a very small island off the northeast coast of Singapore. Living in Singapore can feel claustrophobic at times, considering that there really is no escape from the city landscape and the seemingly endless hordes of people who inhabit it. In fact, due to Singapore's largely uniform architecture and unfathomable street numbering system, I'd wager that there are a great many people visiting and even living here that never find there way out from the labyrinthine HDB blocks and multi-level super-malls. Ubin, therefore, provided a necessary respite from high density living and served to underline something a lot of us in Canada take for granted: space.

Before even setting foot on Pulau Ubin, the journey there is in itself an indication that you are leaving modern-day Singapore behind. Ferries departing from the Changi Jetty do so only sporadically, as the bumboat operators will only leave once twelve passengers have boarded. The boats themselves, which by the looks of things only received half a paint job when they were initially built, accentuate character, as most seem to serve the double purpose of providing permanent housing for the bedraggled men who operate them. Strewn about the ship's cabin are plastic bags filled with pots, pans and other utensils, as well as the occasional pair of underwear clipped on to any suitable protrusion for drying clothes. Thin planks of wood are all that separate you from the thunderous roar of the boat's engine which seems to urgently protest against each passing wave, yet will probably outlast any American-built motor. Perhaps the only characteristic shared between the transportation standards of the Pulau Ubin ferries and the "mainland" is the attention to safety; indeed, each boat strictly adhered to the twelve passenger rule, and for those twelve passengers, three pre-war life preservers are readily available should there be the need.

Walking down the main strip of Pulau Ubin is almost like walking through a small Southeast Asian village that is nowhere near Singapore. Lined with low and crowded shacks made of corrugated steel (the architectural staple of Pulau Ubin), the street is comprised of bicycle rental shops and a number of seafood restaurants, as well as an enormous empty stage in the central square where a play was performed once. Arriving around lunchtime, we decided to sample some of the local seafood which is for the most part caught right off the shore and served fresh. The prawns we ordered were some of the biggest and juiciest I've ever tasted, not to mention the sauce it was served in, which the proprietors of Ubin First Stop Restaurant most likely sold their souls to the devil to get the recipe it was that good.

Renting a couple of bikes, we then trekked along many of the island's trails, which take you into the heart of ancient rainforest jungle with the added convenience of paved asphalt and the occasional cold drink stand. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, which makes me even more excited for our trip to Malaysia in a few weeks. Apart from the trail itself, and the occasional makeshift abode, Ubin is dense with lush flora, creeks and immense quarries that are surrounded by pristine lakes. The sounds of the jungle barrage your senses in full stereophonic sound with each insect, bird, splash of water and tinny sound from some tourist's Mp3 player, and the cool breeze felt while descending a steep slope at 30 km/h is enough to make you forget how much sweat has soaked through your shirt. And if the thrill of being surrounded by nature in a moderated jungle cycling environment wasn't enough, there was of course the monkeys.

Real live f*ckin' monkeys. Not those monkeys you see in Disney movies or in zoos or in bad Beatles knock-offs, but real f*ckin' monkeys doing the things that real f*ckin' monkeys do (such as climb and sit and eat and poke each other and jump from tree branch to tree branch). The sight of the monkeys was enough to sell me on Ubin. In fact, simply because of them (and of course the styrofoam Cookie Monster), Pulau Ubin jumped to my No. 2 tourist destination in Singapore after Haw Par Villa (see Singapore: Welcome to Hell). It was just such an awe-inspiring experience to be so up close to an animal in the wild that is so foreign to what we experience in North America. That being said, as these monkeys jumped around, scavenging for food and climbing all around some poor person's rooftop, I commented on the fact that to most Singaporeans, monkeys are probably no less bothersome and irritating than raccoons back home.

As with all outdoor excursions, however, the fun must come to an end. And for Laura and I, that end usually takes from in a massive downpour, which we just narrowly avoided (we could actually hear the rain before we felt it). Still, there are worse ways to end a day than cracking open a beer in a covered patio with an oceanside view. I'm not going to complain.

(One of these pictures has a monkey in it! Look closely and you just might see him!)

(Before I get any comments like "Yeah, he's the one wearing the baseball cap!" I'll save you the trouble by saying you're nowhere close)