Island Getaway

Hello all!

Time is really flying by, and I hope everyone is staying happy and healthy, as we near the end of winter and slowly make the transition to spring.

While those back on campus at Carleton are wrapping up their winter term before spring break, I actually had my spring break this week at the National University of Singapore, as I am now halfway through the semester. As a result, I don’t have much to talk about this week on the academic side of things. But I was able to do a couple of really cool things and wanted to share my experience!

I’ve mentioned in a past blog that travel around Asia is extremely cheap and that I was looking forward to visiting many new countries, but the emergence of COVID-19 has made travel much more difficult. So, I decided to stay in Singapore over our week-long break, and in the meantime, all I can do is hope that families all around the world can stay safe, that the sick can recover quickly, and the virus can be contained/eradicated as soon as possible. 

So while leaving Singapore was not an option, I wanted to experience something new, and decided to visit Pulau Ubin! It is an island off the coast of Singapore, and is little-known to tourists. Pulau Ubin is home to a quaint fishing village, where Singaporean residents haven’t really changed their way of life over the last few decades. It really offers a glimpse into the past, and with lots of beautiful plants, trees, quarries, and animals on the island, it makes for a great getaway for Singaporean citizens on the mainland.

The ferry terminal was quite far from my university considering how small Singapore is; it took roughly an hour and forty-five minutes to get there by train and bus. Once we arrived, we purchased tickets for the ride to the island (around $2). They don’t have a schedule for when the boats leave, instead waiting for 12 people to arrive before making the short trip across the channel. Once we had 12 people, we boarded a little bumboat, and it only took around 15 minutes before we set foot on Pulau Ubin. 

Bikes are the best way to travel around the island, and we were able to rent a bike for the rest of the day for around $4. The other boat riders soon dispersed, and as soon as we started riding and left the village, it felt like my friend and I were in a world of our own. Palm trees and giant tropical plants surrounded us, and we could hear nothing other than our spinning tires and birds, offering a much appreciated contrast to the bustling city life that Singapore offers. 

Over our few hours there, we were able to see a stunning array of wildlife, from wild boars to monkeys (we were surrounded by roughly 30 monkeys at one point!), from exotic birds to monitors. We biked from one end of the island to the other, climbing to the top of the highest peak which gave us a view of both Singapore and Malaysia, and ended up in the Chek Jawa wetlands, where we experienced thick mangroves and beautiful coastline. 

Overall, we had a great time on the island. We begin school again this week, so I’ll definitely have more stuff to talk about soon!