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This was Ivana's promise as we head towards Ubin on the bumboat on a cloudy morning. My last visit to Ubin was 6 years back during my University days. Stepping on the island once again brought back sweet memories of being a student going on a treasure hunt and trying to avoid ghostly entities.
Ubin is in essence, the last village in Singapore. A peddling through the rustic roads of Ubin takes you back to Singapore in the 1960's with the simpler pleasures of life. Some viewed Ubin as a mosquitoes feasted island and its favourite delicacies were the island’s visitors. However, as we cycled towards Chek Jawa, we were greeted by military commandos and Ubin Volunteers who were preparing for the arrival of the APEC guests. The trail was peppered with unforeseen road obstacles but everyone pressed on before we stopped for some coconut drinks and to marinate ourselves with sunblock. And when we were hungry, we went to our "Kachang Puteh" Mingcai for some tidbits who also provided us with loads of entertainment along the way. Of course, how can we forget about the photo-taking whereever we went? Ben was our official photographer and did I mention he is also a potential Man-hunt model? It was a fantastic nature cycling trail as we managed to catch the mini mudcrab migrating, the Nipah also known as "Attap Chee", jelly fish and wild boars! It was indeed a very enjoyable getaway from the hustling and bustling life on mainland Singapore.
On top of our Great Singapore Nature Trail, we went on our Great Singapore Makan Trail! Alike the Taiwan food tasting entertainment television series, we took a bus from Changi Point to Geylang Lorang 35 for the 24 hours daily Bean curd store and back tracked to the famous fermented toufu at the junction of Geylang road and Katong! It was an amusing sight watching Tricia trying the toufu for the every first time and downing barley water to kill the stinky breath. To save time, we took a bus to Lorong 18 where we tried to catch a glimpse of the shady red-light district. To our surprised, we were tailed by a mentally disturbed man who wanted to befriend me! Who else was to save the day other than our President, Daniel Kwek? He walked up to the man and scared him off with a glare and a baritone voice warning him to stay away. Our hero was rewarded with a plate of spicy stingray and a delicious frog leg’s porridge as Mingcai re-enacted the whole scene telling us he was so ready to teach that senile man a lesson if Daniel has not bravely come to the rescue.
At the end of the day, Tricia was a bit toasted from the sun. Daniel became a hero. Ivana's weather forecast came true. Mingcai was the ultimate entertainment provider. Ben was our security officer making us feel safe and secure. And I felt like I have gone through an unsuccessful weight lost programme, but it felt absolutely fantastic.
Thank you Ben and Mingcai for organising this outing and making us feel so safe throughout the trip. Never forget Ben’s slogan: Your Worries are Our Concern.
More photos on chengsantmc.multiply.com
Written by Gwen
