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Pulau Ubin Youth Camp Reccee 11112007 Panorama 05
Small stretch of beach a stone's throw from the main Ubin Jetty

Headed east to Pulau Ubin with Dennis & Jon on a mission to design our version of the "Amazing Race" for the upcoming Youth Camp in December. I'm already looking forward to the camp as we've also planned a Paintball / Laser Quest shoot-out. I'm pretty certain, if the weather holds (even if it doesn't), we'll all be in for a blast of a time.

I've always liked the nostalgia of Changi Village and Ubin. However, within the span of 2 years; a lot of things have drastically changed. It is with extreme fear that Ubin will one day turn out to be a second Sentosa, with signs already showing. Starting with the modern immigration jetty (which was already present late 2005 when I paid a visit to Chek Jawa), to the Pasir Ris liked Chalets at MMC Ubin Resort, to the new Chek Jawa Boardwalks launch in July 2007. Gone are the days where we board the decades old bumboats through the almost made shift jetty. More often then not, either walking through planks or jumping through boats. I recalled distinctly those offshore fishermen who brought small amounts of catch to be sold in Styrofoam containers. The area was dingy, dirty, wet and totally original.
That jetty was pure crap, but now that it's gone... a part of Ubin's history got lost with it.

Pulau Ubin Youth Camp Reccee 11112007 Panorama 01
Overlooking some Kelongs north of the island near Noordin Campsite

Armed with an island map and a set of rented wheels; we cycled around the island plotting the 'Pit Stops', 'Detour', 'Road Block' and 'Mandatory Rest Period Stops'. All in faithful "Amazing Race" style. It isn't a very big island (1020 hectare) which we covered within 4 hours, squeezing in numerous coconut juice stops and a walking trail on the boardwalks of Chek Jawa.

Pulau Ubin Youth Camp Reccee 11112007 Panorama 02
View from the 21-metre Jejawi Tower within Chek Jawa

Just for kicks, we decided to cycle up some unbeaten tracks to Chek Jawa. Wasn't all that fun as the gears either didn't snap in or takes a while to set. I could hear Dennis' cynical laughter as I shouted "Damn gear don't work!" as we approached uphills. No bikes were allowed within the conservation area and at this point I was really happy we rented a bike. I would never have left my Contessa out of sight if I had brought her along.

For those that have never visited Chek Jawa before the construction of the boardwalks will never really get a chance to soak in the view of the vast unobstructed wetlands area from the ground. I can only imagine how much of the precious eco-system was destroyed through the construction works. Looking down from the boardwalk, the boys were highly fascinated with a bunch of 1 clawed tiny crabs.

Pulau Ubin Youth Camp Reccee 11112007 Panorama 03

Pulau Ubin Youth Camp Reccee 11112007 Panorama 04
Walking on the 1 km of boardwalk of the Mangrove Loop

As we completed the Mangrove Loop, the Park Ranger insisted we check out the Coastal Loop since the low tide at 0.3m was "perfect" for viewing corals and marine life. We were utterly disappointed and suspiciously wondered if algaed, gray rocks were corals. I highly suspect that the tide has not gone low enough, and the brownish sea water at 0.3m made most things invisible underneath it. Well, at least now we know...

By 6pm, we were back at the Ubin Village for another round of coconut juice before heading back to mainland.

Mission accomplished.

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