We see Singapore in a new light and we behaved as if we were tourists! It's a most peculiar feeling and we do things that we don't do when we were in Singapore.
Destination 1 - Sentosa Island
One of them was our visit to Sentosa. We saw the Song of the Sea performance (which took over the previous Musical Fountain). We even went on the luge (like a snow sledge with wheels that you race down hill with your friends)! We didn't believe their ad of "once is never enough", but it was true! Once is really not enough! But we didn't have the luxury of going on another round coz we didn't have the time.
The portion of family resort has been cordoned off for "future development" a.k.a. Integrated Resort
Destination 2 - Pulau Ubin
Pulau Ubin is an island situated in the north east of Singapore, right next to Pulau Tekong where army recruits are trained. Pulau Ubin is much more backward compared to cosmopolitan Singapore. It is like Singapore in the 40s. There are no high rise residential public housing, shopping malls, and the only public transport you can find there are vans and bicycles.
Gateway to Ubin Kampung....
My bro and his SLR camera...
The only way of going to Pulau Ubin is by "bum boats" from Changi Village. Not that the boats only ferries bums across, but I think it was meant to be "bump boats" because they are old boats and they were parked very closely together so the boats were 'bumping' into one another when they are stationary. Another theory is that you "bump your bums" on the hard wooden seats when the boat ride the waves.
"bum" boats....
Changi Village alone is an attraction in its own right. Not only is it famous for nasi lemak (Malay coconut rice), it is also famous for its night activities - "Ah Gua" / transvestites gazing.... come weekend, past 11pm you will see beautiful "ladies" all along the open air carpark with queues of cars and motorcycle going around. Some of these "ladies" have legs that are slimmer and skin that are softer than real females (which puts some of us to shame.....)
Stuart and Cindy....
Bro and Tian....
The ride across the "sea" cost each of us SGD$2. The bum boats will only set off for Pulau Ubin when it carries the full load of 12. If you don't have the patience, you can charter the whole boat at SGD$24.
Fortunately for us, we didn't have to wait long.
The moment you step off the pier at Pulau Ubin, you will be greeted with two rows of bicycle rental shops with big signs of "$2 per day". We were elated. However, there's a catch. You will never go for the $2 bikes because it gives you the feeling that it wouldn't last even half a day! And being business minded, the shopkeepers would "recommend" that you take mountain bikes with suspension and cushy seats. So we went for the $6 and $12 bikes. Hence beginning our bike trip of 6.
One of the bicycle shop and their bikes catering for the throngs of "tourists"...
Pulau Ubin is really "kampung" like. They are still living in wooden houses, furnished with familiar "oldies" furnitures. The only thing that's missing are children playing "kampung" games like "guli", hopscotch, five stones etc.... I had only seen 1 kid helping out with the family's bicycle renting business, which makes me wonder, has the other kids gone to the mainland for their enrichment / tuition classes? Do they even live at the island? Or have all the kids grown up and is working on the main island?
There were numerous temples and shrines on the island. We prayed for a safe trip and no rain! Heaven was merciful on us because it only showered for about 20 minutes which really started pelting after we've found shelter... Also, a couple of days after us, radio 93.3 DJ Dennis Chew was on an excursion with his friend on the same island when he was involved in a bad fall, breaking his bones and disfiguring his "cute" face.
The stage for opera shows still retains its original look (I wonder if they still have opera shows here?). Ubin also have "water front houses".... don't play play ar....
If you've seen this type of switches, you know which era you belong to.....
Pulau Ubin is also "famous" for its quarry. Not that it produces the most beautiful granite / pebbles, but because the quarry had claimed quite a number of 'violators' life. Thrill seekers who disregard the "no entry" sign and decided to take a dip / dive into the cool, green waters only to meet with their makers. Since then, fences were erected to prevent illegal entries. But, people still manages to find a way in, one way or another....
Tired bikers...
Bro played hero and pushed two bikes at once... his own and Tian's... (awww.......)
"Y U SO LIKE THAT? BUY A DRINK LAH".....
Who says you cannot use Singlish for advertisement?
Hungry and thirsty bikers stopping down for food and drinks... (we were surprised that things here are cheaper than in mainland Singapore)
Beach front seafood restaurant.... Isn't it a familiar sight? (think neighbouring country....complete with "unwanted floating particles" as well)
We also had a close encounter with the slippery kind... we saw a green snake. There were also lots of spiders, dogs, bugs and especially mosquitoes!
Can you spot the green snake?
After a whole day of cycling, with sunburnt skin and sore arse, we concluded our 1 day trip to "tile island", and headed back to Tampines for a korean grill buffet.
Destination 3 - Night Safari
Other than Pulau Ubin, we had also visited the first night operating zoo in the world - the Night Safari. There were quite a lot of animals to see and we had to rush through most of them as we didn't have much time. We took the tram ride which brought us very much closer to some animals (of course you wouldn't want to rub shoulders with tigers and lions and hyenas at night right?). The tram ride was worth it, because you come closer to the animals and there's commentary on board.
Buying tickets....
The SGD$8 per person tram ride....
The nightly show is also pretty good, credit goes to the humourous, petite, Indian host whose wit caused unsteady recordings due to shaking hands. That night, we had the pleasure of seeing them train the wolf to come on stage and howl. It was a very beautiful animal and we had been given stern warnings (by the Indian lady) to sit still, keep quiet and no flash photography, otherwise she herself will come after the perpetrator's throat.
The Indian lady..... (her eyes were really big... and you wouldn't want to go on a staring match with her....)
Though it was too dark to take any pictures, the experience of seeing the animals (lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, hyenas, rhinos, deers, otters, bats, flying squirrels, crocs, etc) was well worth it. The roar of the lion can be heard across the park! One thing though, most of the animals are restless, which makes me wonder if they were deliberately kept hungry so that they don't just hide in a corner and sleep! We also witness how formidable a tiger is in camouflage because we were searching high and low for the tiger behind the glassed enclosure when it is actually sitting right in front of us on a rock, staring at us! And we always wonder how such a big animal could spring the ultimate surprise on its victim.
Esmond got bitten by a croc!!!
Destination 4 - Chinatown Heritage Museum
We also went to the Chinatown Heritage Museum in (where else...) Chinatown... It's walk down memory lane for us (we felt so, so, so old....), more so for my mom who was with us. The familiar sight of old houses, rooms, furnitures, equipments etc brought back some fond memories...
We used to have a cupboard just like this in our kitchen...
Earlier versions of the portable loo....
(which I vaguely remember using when I was very very young at my grandma's place in Kota Tinggi...)
Earlier version of a light well... (which we always have to rush to close it whenever it rains.... I can still hear my mom shouting for me to get to it! ha ha...)
How some of our forefathers were living back in the 40s....
Familiar sight for mom... she used to work in a tailor shop!
Destination 5 - Mount Faber
The hotspot for courting couples. If you come during the weekend, you will be greeted by throngs of couples, each going about their own "business" depending on the stage of courtship they were in. As we were there in the middle of a weekday night, there were only a few persons and 1 couple.
Night view from Mt Faber.
One of the busiest port in the world, can be seen / heard toiling away into the night....
We were pleasantly surprise that the level of service and entertainment in Singapore had improved marginally - probably in preparation for the upcoming IRs in 2009 and the current upbeat economy.
Why didn't we visit these places when were were still in Singapore? Frankly speaking, we don't know. And when we read Final Notes from the Little Island by Neil Humpreys, we started asking ourselves if we had truely miss out on some interesting places. Most weekends were spent in shopping centres rather than exploring the island. I guess we simply didn't have the mood or energy or time to organise such outings with friends and family due to the hectic life we led previously.
In our next trip back to SG, we'll probably visit the Jurong Birdpark and Kusu Island! haha...
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