203. GO TAKE A HIKE! UBIN & CHEK JAWA

This is how close we are to Malaysia, a hop, skip and a jump. That large island Tekong is one large military camp...

A short boat ride of 15 minutes took me into Ubin - a different world from mainland Singapore.

As I approached the jetty - a rustic, idyllic simple lifestyle

There isn't a great deal near the jetty, which can be considered the village center, with bicycles for hire, small eating places, drink stalls and small mom & pop stalls. I popped into a van which will take me to the far eastern end of the island where the action is...Chek Jawa.

I've been to Ubin several times and is taking a look at Chek Jawa for the first time. National Parks (NParks) has been working on these parts over years and is ready to welcome visitors in larger numbers.

Everybody alights at this colonial showpiece known as No. 1 which is the Visitor Center. It's a viewing point. It's front door faces a beautiful view of the Straits of Johore, across it is Changi Airport on one side and the large Tekong Island on the other.

As this is the only building of character on Ubin, I shall plaster more of it on this page...

The front of No. 1 commands a nice view of the Johore Straits...and this jetty which is not yet for public use...

Local residents are macaques and boars. I wonder why our otters have not made their homes on Ubin, they are instead running quite happily in busy, town areas 

They are sniffing out food in those bags...there are signs that warn against leaving bags hanging on bikes - alas! common sense is not common...

Mangroves are amazing and wonderful creations of Mother Earth - everything has its purpose, all have a role to play. It's only now, the human mammals are getting it into their consciousness how we are intertwined, and if other creations in the Plant and Animal Kingdoms are removed from the equation, it's to our peril...

The indigenous peoples have always lived in communion with Nature and respect all life, they kill only for food and do not destroy unnecessarily. The slash and burn method is practiced by today's men as farming became commercialised...and greed influenced the decision making...

Only Mother Nature can be so perfect and 'thinks' of everything - breathing roots - which hold on to the coastal earth so securely, acting as a buffer against very strong winds and waves...

life in the mud

From the mud rises the Nipa Palm or Mangrove Palm whose seed cluster produce attap seeds used in local desserts. The flower clusters produce an edible sweet sap that is turned into an alcoholic drink. The most useful part would be the leaf fronds which were for a long time used as roofing in traditional wood homes in SEA...

attap seeds or attap chee

nipah palms

How they make attap roofing in Indonesia where it's a thriving business sustaining village folks. It's good too that designers use attap roofing in their projects in resort hotels and botanic gardens etc...

Traditional attap ceiling and house...

Mother provides the materials...the creativity and ingenuity of the humans do the rest. At the Center for Ethnobotany, a part of Singapore's Botanic Gardens, the pergola is made out of wood, bamboo and attap, I was actually happy to see that and snapped a few pics which are in the post on the Center...

The stroll on the extensive boardwalk was really nice...it was overcast so that was pleasant, no scorching sun, no rain...

the tide was coming in that morning, so didn't get a chance to see intertidal life...

A butterfly patch where some local species hang out on their favourite flowers...

Ubin, during the days of the colonial government, was one large quarry. Workers imported from China and India worked at mining these quarries. Granite mined was used to build the Causeway across to Malaysia as well as Singapore's Horsburgh Lighthouse. There are several quarry lakes on Ubin...this one looks peaceful and serene amidst the greenery...it's very deep...

...and the ubiquitous look-out tower