Pulau Ubin

Pulau Ubin is a getaway from the bustling city life of mainland Singapore. It can be said to be the last ‘kampung’ in Singapore.

How to get to Pulau Ubin?

To get to Pulau Ubin, take the MRT to Tanah Merah MRT station (EW 4) and board bus number 2 to Changi Village Bus Interchange. Changi Point Ferry Terminal is near the interchange. Take a bumboat ride from Changi Point Ferry Terminal ($2 per adult) to Pulau Ubin. The bumboat will only depart for the island when there are twelve people or you may hire the bumboat for 24 dollars. . The bumboats operate from sunrise to sunset by private operators. If you wish to set off to Pulau Ubin before sunrise or depart from Pulau Ubin after sunset, you may make arrangements with one of the operators.

Modes of transport in Pulau Ubin

The best way to get around Pulau Ubin is by hiring a bike. You can easily rent a bike from one of the bicycle rental shops along the jetty. There are always taxis on the island which you can hire. However, these taxis do not run on meters like those on mainland Singapore and it’s advisable to negotiate a price with the taxi driver before you get into the taxi. Of course, you have the option of trekking through Pulau Ubin too.

There is a small little town on Pulau Ubin named Ubin Town. There are small coffee shops, bicycle rental shops and grocery stores that cater to your needs during your short stay on the island. There is a wayang stage there. Wayang is performed on this stage every July during the period of the Hungry Ghost Festival. During the seventh month, it is believed that this is the time where the gates of Hell are opened and spirits come out to mingle among us in the living world. To appease the spirits and gain their favour, special performances such as wayang performances are put up for them. If you are there during this season, do go and watch the wayang performance , a dying tradition in Singapore. It is not a tourist attraction but a way of life for the residents at Pulau Ubin.

Places of interest on Pulau Ubin

Granite quarrying was once carried out on Pulau Ubin. No such activities are carried out now. Over the years, rainwater has accumulated in these quarries. Fishs have start to appear in the quarries. Lush green vegetation has grown around the edges and on the sides of the quarries. Do go and visit the quarries at Pulau Ubin. The abandoned quarries filled with rainwater provide a rather scenic view. However, swimming and other related activities are not encouraged as the quarries remain a pretty dangerous place. When I went there, some of the quarries had fences surrounding them as a safety measure to discourage people from swimming in the quarries.

In the past, there were many rubber plantations on the island where rubber was tapped for commercial uses. However, such activities have stopped. This is due to cheaper rubber prices in neighbouring countries like Malaysia and the introduction of synthetic rubber. Rubber tapping in Singapore is no longer economically viable. The rubber plantations have since been abandoned and are now reverting back to secondary forests. However, you can still see rubber trees among the secondary forest and pick up rubber seeds which have fallen from the trees.

There are many temples and shrines on Pulau Ubin. One of them is the German Girl's Shrine. It holds the remains of a German girl who fell off a cliff while running away from the British during WWI. People discovered her body at the beach the next day and buried her body at the beach. However, it was said that they kept seeing her spirit after she died so they decided to move her remains to the shrine where it has remained until today. Other shrines and temples that you can visit includes the lotus pond temple, thai temple and the Tajun Tajam temple.

If you have any energy left after cycling around Pulau Ubin the whole day, do try climbing Bukit Puaka, the tallest point of Pulau Ubin at a height of 74 metres. If you trekked right to the top of Bukit Puaka, you will be rewarded with a bird's eye view of Pulua Ubin and even parts of mainland Singapore and Johor Bahru!