Pulau Ubin

16 Feb 2010 - Wed

My ils were gg to Hanoi for a holiday. Initially, they had booked a trip to Japan via Japan Airlines but since the company had declared a bankruptcy, the trip was nt able to be confirm. So they changed plans & booked for Hanoi instead.

We all went to the airport for a send off & thereafter, headed for Pulau Ubin to spend the day.

There were only 7 people gg on the holiday but the whole kampong came along for a send off. In total, there were abt 18 of us. After checking in, we went to the staff canteen for a meal. At the last & final call, those 7 went in for boarding.

We left for Changi Ferry Terminal while the rest went home or to their appointment for the day.

We parked our vehicle at Changi Sailing Club which was next to the jetty.

Lionel & Daddy had a tummy ache, so we waited for them by the car. We adjourned to the jetty & queued up to board the bumper boat. S$2.50 per head & no tickets issued. Cash only, payable on board.

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Bumper boat ride to Pulau Ubin, enjoying the sea breeze.

We arrived some 15 mins later & proceeded to rent bicycles, our mode of transport for the day. The 2 kids rode with Daddy while i rode with no responsiblity. Or so i thought! My major resposibility for the day was my bike which caused me to end up in aches & pains. I cldnt ride up the slopes cos my wasnt a mountain bike. And therefore, i needed to pushed my bike up & was panting.

I thought Pulau Ubin was all levelled roads & paths but i was wrong. There were many many slopes. To those of u thinking of gg to Ubin, bear this in mind. Choose a good bike. But i am nt a bike expert so i hv only myself to blame. Haiz.

There were still many on land residents, mostly doing business like restaurants/coffee shops, provision stores & bicycle rental stores. Along the way, we saw many kampong houses clustered together. The residents can be seen doing their washing, cooking or js lazing ard.

We rode to the wetland reserve but to our disappointment, it was in high tides at that time & so there wasnt a tour conducted. We cld only walked along the boardwalk & if we were lucky enough, we might spot some marine creatures. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed ourselves.

I was reminded of a SBC local serial production ( now known as Mediacorp la). If you were born in the 70s like me, you shd vaguely remember a serial which was filmed on spot at Pulau Tekong -" 西阳西下, 海风青送晚霞, 德光岛, 美如画" (pardon me. my pinyin may nt be accurate).

We breaked for lunch at a kopi tiam near the jetty where we ordered some seafood. Ard 3 in the afternoon, Lionel had an accident which caused me to cancel the cycling for the rest of the day & headed back home. You see, he was seated in front & Rachel behind with Daddy in the middle on the same bike. Lionel accidentally slipped his right leg into the front wheels instead of putting them on the front stand. Luckily Daddy was riding very slowly. Lionel yelled & screamed & we stopped to hv a look. Daddy took off his shoes & socks & there was a nasty bruise. I hurridely took out some ointment & gently rubbed his ankle. Daddy massaged his legs & asked if he cld walked abt. We were afraid he might hv sprainked or twisted his ankle in the midst of it. He came down from the bike & gingerly put his foot down on the grounds. He walked a step or two. Seems ok. I asked him to walk for a few more steps. Looks ok too.

Daddy & i went back to the bicycle rental shop & returned or bikes. We took the next available boat back. I wanted the kids to hv their naps too cos later in the evening, we wld be gg to Lay Khim's house for dinner & "lao yu sheng"

About 6pm plus, we made our way to Lay Khim's house. The kids had an enjoyable time playing with wii (actually so did the adults). And of cos, the most happy moment was when they received more ang paos.

I did not take any fotos of the "lao yu sheng" ceremony cos i had foreseen that it wld be very very messy. The " yu sheng" wld not go high; rather it wld fly in all directions. True enuff, we had yu sheng in our hairs, on our clothes, on the table & floor. No one was spared. Everyone had a little bit of yu sheng on themselves. But everybody enjoyed themselves.

Again we went back early ard 10pm . Again we needed the kids to have an early rest. Again we needed to wake up early the next morning at 5.30am. Our ferry leaves for Batam @ 0750hrs. We had to do a check in by 0650hrs.