The Weekend! Pulau Ubin

For my first real weekend in Singapore (you know, for which I was conscious and all), a bunch of people from EAPSI decided to go to Pulau Ubin--a tiny island off the coast (as if Singapore wasn't tiny enough).

It was pretty much exactly on the other side of Singapore from where I'm staying. We had to take a bus, and then a train, and then another bus, and then a ferry to get there. But it was totally worth it. Pulau Ubin is awesome.

I may or may not have tried to get Tim and Eliza to get into a fist fight, since fighting was strictly prohibited on the ferry (see the sign behind them?) But they were both too nice and didn't want to throw the first punch.

People say that Pulau Ubin is like what Singapore was like in the 50s. But it feels so much older than that because Singapore has developed so quickly. You definitely feel like you've stepped a few hundred years back in time. From skyscrapers and subways, into old bikes, outhouses and little electricity.

We all rented bikes and set out to bike around the island.
Boy did we bike. We made it pretty much around the whole island, but by the end of four hours, my knees were killing me. The bikes were not exactly of the latest design or the highest caliber. (for instance, the gears on the right of my bike only shifted up...on the left they only shifted down). And most of the road was unpaved. And then there were the "adventure trails" marked as "black diamonds" and such as if it was a ski slope. Yeah...we just did the "blue square" and that was enough. I had to walk my bike up some of the hills.
But again, totally worth it! The nature was amazing! There were lots of lakes and ponds, all with odd colored water. Gray-green, dark blue, solid teal....not sure what the deal was, but it looked awesome.
There were also lots of little huts and houses along the way. Which was such a contrast, because in Singapore proper, there are NO houses. The island is too crowded (5 million people on an island you can drive across in an hour). In away, the people on Pulau Ubin are living a life that people in Singapore could only dream of.

We were also lucky enough to see some wild life on P.U. I think that's one of the main reasons people go. We saw lizards and mudskippers and crabs and birds, and MONKEYS!!! I love monkeys and it was so cool to see them in the wild, just chilling up in the trees. Some people also saw a wild boar, but I just missed it. All I saw was a flash of hind legs as it ran into the trees.

So, this sign is apparently famous, so we had to take our pics with it. Firstly, it's written in Singlish (Singaporean Slang English). Secondly, it's graffiti-ish (serious no no in Singapore).
All in all, a great place, great experience, and great day. Don't you wish you were here?