Day Trip to Pulau Ubin Island

Experience Singapore life as it was in the 1960s. Enter the rustic beauty of Pulau Ubin - the last surviving Kampung (aka Village in Malay) in Singapore.

Located in a small island off Changi, it's the perfect "overseas" day trip for the family - literally over the sea. Best part of this adventure, NO PASSPORT NEEDED!

Ferry Rates

Board a ferry at the Changi Village port at SGD$2.50 per person. Cyclist enthusiast can bring their own bikes for an additional SGD$2.

Ferry Bunk Boats at $2.50/pax

Variety of Bunk Boats

The 10min boat ride to Pulau Ubin can be calm provided waters are not choppy. Note that some rides can result in sea water splashing onboard.

That aside, one can get to see the waterfront landscape of Mainland Singapore and Kelongs (Malay word describing a form of offshore platform built predominantly with wood, which can be found in waters) among others.

There are lots of activities one can do at Pulau Ubin, mostly eating Seafood and cycling. On the left of the jetty, one can easily find eateries and bicycle rental shops (rental prices from $2 onwards).

Rows of Bicycles for Rent

Right and Left are Bicycle Rental shops

Since this was an impromptu trip, i wasn't dressed in the appropriate attire to cycle nor did i prepare any sunblock (imperative for such trips). We contented ourselves with feasting and a short leisure walk.

Panoramic View of Ubin's Main Square

Cutting through the lanes of bicycle rental shops, you can start your trail ride from 2 points. One, beside the stage on the left and the other beside the red temple (大白公 temple).

But if you're there for seafood, i tried the seafood restaurant on the left next to the temple. Crabs were going at $60/kg. It felt quite commercialised and the only positive experience dining there is the seaside view.

The initial plan was to visit the restaurant on the right - with the green railings. But they were still closed when we were there. Hence we backtracked and tried the one amidst the bicycle rental shops.

Seafood Restaurant

 The serving auntie was nice but i didn't really enjoy her humour. Sarcastic and they lacked choices. Crabs were going at $55/kg. But their crabs looked rather small and pathetic. In the end, we skipped that dish.

The food took ages to come and by the time they served, we were famished. Too hungry to take a picture. Hence the aftermath image to whet your appetite.

Total Damage $31.40

Damage
1. Salted Fish Fried Rice - $4 (small)
2. Seafood Hor Fun - $4 (small)
3. Sambal Kang Kong - $6 (small)
4. Stir Fried Wild Boar - $15 (small)
5. Drinks (Kopi O, Teh O & Hot water) - $2.40

For 3 of us, we were stuffed!

Beach View

Being at the beach means indulging in the Coconut fruit. Unfortunately this restaurant doesn't cater to *BOO*. So back to the Main Square we go.

Under the multi-coloured umbrellas, one can find the local coconuts (the green ones) or the thai coconuts (white and small). Difference is the Local ones are bigger and have more coconut flesh (that's what the spoon is for). The Thai ones are mainly for the drink and not much meat inside.

Young Coconut (Chee Yá) has softer meat compared to Old Coconuts (Lao Ya)

Dad taught be the difference of the coconut. Which kind to order and what's the difference. Yong Coconuts have lesser meat but are softer to scrape out. The older coconuts have more meat but it's tougher to scrape them out. we settled for the young coconuts instead. 

Damage

2 x Young Coconuts + 1 x Chedol ($2.50 - $3) + 1 x Teh = SGD$11

Not too sure of the breakdown individually. But this is what we paid for.

Beach View from Jetty

We decided to take a walk and enjoy the sea breeze to digest our heavy brunch. Seeing that the Sensory Trail is only 110m away from the Jetty, we took a long slow walk to check it out.

This Trail is a perfect educational tour for the young and old. Seeing the origins of some of the local ingredients we consume daily just keeps me in awe.

Artemisia

Common Uses

- Consumed as a vegetable and used in salads

- Also taken to clear wind for women after childbirth

Hawaiian Tea Leaf

Common Uses

- Popular as an ornamental plant

- In Hawaii, the rhizomes are fermented and distilled to make liquor

There are many more interesting plants that one can explore in. We spent over an hour looking through and reading all of the plants and looking at their leafs. 

Time to head back to Mainland.

Lonely walk back to the jetty.

If you look carefully, the lower deck is spacious enough for 2 people to bunk in. Captain Uncle even has a mattress in there.

Home Sweet Home.