Haha, finally a post in Aug! It has been a busy for me, hence things have been pretty quiet here. But at least, I am BACK! XDAnyway, just last Friday, my department went to Palau Ubin for a branch cohesion. Admittedly, I was both a bit apprehensive and excited about going to Ubin. Such mixed feelings were due to the fact that I have not stepped on the shores of Ubin since 12 years (hence the excitement) and the prospect of cycling there scares me (I told you I can't cycle -- hence the apprehension!). Luckily, the organiser decided that we should just walk all the way to Chek Jawa, and that had me heave a sigh of relief.
Anyway, we set off for Palau Ubin via speedboat at about 9am, and it took up a 10 minute ride to reach the shores of Palau Ubin. Palau ubin has changed massively since the last time I had been here. All the residents have since moved out, and all that is left on the islands are just the eateries and bicycle rental shops to cater to the visitors of the island. Hence, it was as though this is my first time here.
A 40 odd minute-walk from the jetty into the depths of the well-preserved rainforest brought our group to an information counter at the heart of the forest, where a tour guide offered to bring us futher into the forest and to our destination Chek Jawa.
As we made our way towards Chek Jawa, the tour guide shared with us many stories as well as information on the plants and animals that still live in the forest. After a 15 minute trek, we finally reached Chek Jawa. It is very different from the last time I was here! Back then, when I was on a cycling trip with classmates and teachers (of course, I am not the one cycling.), there was no proper road for cyclists or trekkers, so it as a pretty muddy trip for our class. Fast forward 12 years later, shelters and elevated walkways have been built for people to walk/cycle and at the same time, look out for the natural wildlife living in the rich ecosystem there. As we reach Chek Jawa at about 10-10.30am, the tide was about 1.1m high and hence, we missed out on a lot of creatures like the Noble Volute (a large, beautifully marked snail som
etimes encountered on sandy areas near seagrasses and coral rubble, but frankly, they are all buried in the day so there was no way we could have seen them around at that time) and the Common Sea Star (which is ironically not very common given the fact that the tide was pretty high and more importantly, the massive flooding in Johor during early 2007 nearly wiped them out). However, we did manage to catch a glimpse of Fiddler crabs and mudskippers.
After enjoying the scenery at Chek Jawa, we travelled back to the jetty via the same route. We had lunch at an eatery near the jetty before we travelled back to mainland Singapore.
Personally, this is an enriching experience as it is near impossible to observe such wildlife in mianland Singapore, where everywhere is surrounded by buildings, vehicles and roads. A pristine, natural habitat in Ubin cannot be found in most parts of Singapore anymore, and this is a sad fact.
etimes encountered on sandy areas near seagrasses and coral rubble, but frankly, they are all buried in the day so there was no way we could have seen them around at that time) and the Common Sea Star (which is ironically not very common given the fact that the tide was pretty high and more importantly, the massive flooding in Johor during early 2007 nearly wiped them out). However, we did manage to catch a glimpse of Fiddler crabs and mudskippers.
After enjoying the scenery at Chek Jawa, we travelled back to the jetty via the same route. We had lunch at an eatery near the jetty before we travelled back to mainland Singapore.
Personally, this is an enriching experience as it is near impossible to observe such wildlife in mianland Singapore, where everywhere is surrounded by buildings, vehicles and roads. A pristine, natural habitat in Ubin cannot be found in most parts of Singapore anymore, and this is a sad fact.
