Let's Go East (and Back): Pulau Ubin

At the suggestion of one of Michael's co-workers, on Saturday we took a little day trip to a small island called Pulau Ubin.

The small island lies northeast of the Singapore main island near Malaysia. It is described as one of the last original rural areas of Singapore and is inhabited by only a small handful of people - aka a legit jungle(!) Today, Pulau Ubin caters to nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, families and tourists looking for anything from a leisurely stroll to off-road biking. We fell somewhere in between :)

The adventure started out with a 15-20min taxi ride from our apartment to the ferry terminal - easy peazy. From there we hopped on a 'bumboat' to ferry across to the island. The bumboat situation was very interesting. First off, it only cost S$2.50 (USD 2.00) each way. As a rule, I am a little suspect of anything that costs $2.00 nowadays - is that just me? Secondly, the boats only leave when full - 12 people - no set schedules whatsoever. Hmm... Luckily, we were the 11th and 12th people both on the way there and back so we did not have to wait at all. I also read that you can 'charter' a boat yourself for $30 if there are not enough other people. The bumboat chugged along with all its might and we made it across safely in about 10min (but you bes-believe I was mentally calculating if I could swim the distance the entire way there).

Upon arrival there is a small dock and a main a drag of bike rentals, cold drinks and one or two places to eat. Mostly just bike rentals.

We picked out a couple bikes and we were off! (next time we are totally getting a tandem bike. Michael said, only in a foreign country, where he doesn't know anyone, can we ever ride a tandem bike. that's love)