Ok, enough speculation on this strange topic. Hopefully this article will be the last of the series on outdoor activities in S'pore. The last thing I want to do is to give the impression that S'pore is an outdoor sportsmen's paradise. Actually, it's far from it 8-) What about Pulau Ubin? Oh yes, I had the opportunity to cycle there a few weekends ago. Here is a question I like to pose to S'poreans that own mountain bikes - where are the mountains? 8-) If you have a mountain bike in S'pore, there aren't really many places that you can make full use of it. The highest "peak" in S'pore is Bukit Timah at a mind-boggling 162 meters. For you metrically impaired, that's about 500 ft. You can't really appreciate the sport of mountain biking until you have biked in Boulder, Colorado. Oh boy, that was an experience. Going up and down a steep gravel road with cliff on one side... what a rush 8-) In S'pore, the best place (it's all relative you see) to mountain bike is Pulau Ubin. It's an island for the outdoor enthusiasts. You can camp, swim, walk and get intimate with "nature" all on this tiny little island.
We started the day by meeting at Changi jetty. Changi is on the most eastern end of the main S'pore island. If you like to watch aircrafts take off and land, this is also a nice place to be. To get to Pulau Ubin, we needed to take a 10 minute boat ride from Changi jetty. There is a little immigration booth right next to the walkway which is pretty interesting - no long queues or intimidating machine guns here 8-) While waiting, we saw some mountain bikers ride their bikes directly into the boat. Pretty nifty. Like to try that someday, but definitely not in front of the SDU group. Just in case there is a temporary lack of coordination on my part 8-)
Once you get on the island, you can see lots of bike rental shops. The price of the rental varies between shops. And, of course, the quality of bikes varies between shops too. We were able to get bike rental at S$4 per day which is considered quite cheap compare to the East Coast standard (S$4 an hour). There were a few trails on the island and most of them are not very difficult. It's perfect when you have a mixed group like us. Regarding the terrain, much of them are paved roads. If you are beginner, there are a few sections of the road that you might want to walk instead of bike. If you are an experience mountain bikers... then what are you doing in S'pore? 8-) The danger here is not with the roads or trails themselves but with the vehicles that would zoom down the roads. This is especially true when you go over some of the narrow bridges. Supposedly you don't need a license to operate a taxi on Pulau Ubin. Most of the vehicles on the island are fairly old and on their last leg. I wonder if COE applies to cars on this island.
There are a few "attractions" on this island. There is an outward bound school. There is a temple close to the west side of the island. And behind this temple there is a nice view of the largest quarry on Pulau Ubin. There are a few quarries on this island and most are no longer operating. But there is a warning on the map stating that there are still a few areas that will be closed off during the day for blasting work. We weren't adventurous enough to venture into these areas. Because some of the quarries are no longer in use, they would accumulate water and form man-made lakes. There were quite a few local people swimming in them. To me, the water was not very tempting since it is stagnant. The quarries on the island also seem to be a good place for climbing. Though we didn't have the equipment or time to try them out.
Another famous attraction here is the sea food restaurants. There are quite a few sea food restaurants on the island. Since it's against the usenet rule to advertise, I won't recommend the particular restaurants that we ate. All I can say is that I had some of freshest seafood in S'pore on this island. Overall, it's a good mountain biking experience, especially with the seafood. Where else can you mountain bike and have good seafood right afterward? 8-)
Since we are on the subject of cycling, if you think Pulau Ubin is too far (at this point you might want to classify yourself as a couch potato), then you can always try your luck at East Coast Park. I consider East Coast Park one of the most dangerous place in S'pore. I know a friend that has been run down a few times. Here is the situation. You get one bike trail and one walking trail. They are supposedly built to accommodate the following people:
When you combine all of the above, you will see a good example of what will happen if no fines were imposed in S'pore 8-) How do you avoid this chaos? Well, one way is to keep cycling west so you will get off the paved road. There are quite a few dirt trails on Marina East. On these trails you can see the Benjamin Sheares Bridge hovering over the Marina Bay. You can also see ships steaming in and out of the Marina Bay. If you go out a bit further to the jetty, you can have a good view of the port of S'pore. There you can feel the sea breeze and watch ships going by. The location is fairly remote and detached from S'pore, so you get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. Just make sure you bring your SO and a camera along 8-)
12/09/94
