Pulau Ubin is a small island off the north-east coast of Singapore, and very close to Malaysia (our mobiles kept switching between Singapore and Malaysia signals, and the resulting sms's welcoming and farewelling us kept the phone's as busy as we were).
On appearances alone, Pulau Ubin is very much like Bali, on a smaller scale. There is a small row of bike-rental places, a couple of seafood restaurants, and nothing else. We decided we'd follow the pack, and hire a bike for the day.Hanna hasn't ridden a bike for 20+ years, and whilst you never forget how to ride a bike, you can lose some of your coordination... So we settled for a tandem bike (no gears, no brakes) and headed off around the island.There isn't really much to see, and its a bit like riding around bicentennial park in Sydney, even though it is a 'natural' environment, it still seems strangely manufactured. We decided (well, Alan did) that it would be a good idea to head off the main path, and follow a smaller, less frequented path. Twenty minutes later, after peddling through mud and dirt, we decided that we were on the wrong path, and needed to turn back. Hanna, being just above the back wheel was an effective mud-flap, as can be seen in the photo below...
After stopping for a young coconut at one of the local kampungs, we decided to call it a day and head home. The bum-boat ride back was relaxing (as it didn't involve peddling), and unlike the journey to the island, the driver didn't drive full-steam into the pier!
After the activity on the island, we settled down in Changi Village and enjoyed a local meal of Fish Head curry, fried baby octopus and beer... The fish-head curry, which we've been wanting to try for a while, was delicious. You always picture this curry with little fish heads in it, but the head has more meat than the average fish you eat in a fish n chips store, and was great...definitely worth a try!Alan & Hanna
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