Brayden 8Y3M7D
Bevlynn 4Y0M0D
Bev turned 4.
We decided to plan something different for her birthday. With a close friend, Jane, we planned to bring our children to Pulau Ubin. It will be our first trip to this small island northeast of Singapore, which is untouched by the fast-paced urbanisation of Singapore city.
We arrived around 8.30 am at Changi Point Ferry Terminal. At the carpark, we were greeted by some free-roaming chickens, 2 roosters leading 4 hens. We did not have to wait long for the 12-pax bumboat to fill because several others were waiting in line before us. Small fishes were swimming beside the bumboats. From a distance, we could also see a family of otters playing on the sandy beach. Several planes flew by. The captain was going fast enough to make strong waves trailing behind the boat. It was a nice windy ride.
In less than 15 minutes, we arrived at our destination Pulau Ubin Jetty. Near the jetty entrance, bicycles were lined up in front of small kampung houses. Bev was riding with me on a bicycle with a child seat; while the rest had their own bicycles to ride on. It was a shaky start for me. It was already pretty tough for me to balance on my own bike and now I had to manage with an almost 20 kg "load" behind me. I cannot give up, I knew this would be better; better than to have her on a separate small bicycle (she has low stamina, and she'll want me to carry her and her bike after she gets too tired).
Jane led the way with her bike, three children between us, and I was last to make sure nobody was left behind. It was good that I was last in line because I don't think anyone could be slower than my pace. I was strolling slowly and talking to Bev, while encouraging the children in front to cycle ahead.
The morning freshness from the green forest and the slight smell of saltiness from the sea, brought back a nice kampung vibe. The road leading to the Chek Jawa Wetland was a bumpy one.
At one point, Bray was pushing his bike on top of some giant ant trail, he did not realise until I told him to move to the other side of the road. He wanted to move but noticed he was "trapped". He abandoned his bicycle and hopped to the other side. I had to pull his bicycle from the trail.
Up and down the sloppy hill, there were some monkeys. The children stopped and did not dare to go forward because some monkeys were blocking the road. I reminded them not to feed the monkeys and that the monkeys could smell food in our bags. Then, Bray pulled out a box of milo from his pocket and asked, "How about this mommy?" Oh my *how my eyes widen in horror* In split seconds, the big monkey charged towards him on all fours and climbed on him. He started to scream, I screamed back at him to throw away the milo.
Next thing I know, the milo was flying in my direction from 2 metres away and landed right into my basket. *My face turned pale* THE MONKEY WAS NOW CHARGING TOWARDS ME, I thought to myself "how could this be happening, the milo could have landed anywhere else but why is it so accurate this time? This doesn't seem right!!!". I quickly picked up the milo and threw it far into the forest. By now, Bray was in tears because he lost his milo, Bev sat behind me looking blur. I hugged Bray and walked pass the monkeys.
We got lost halfway and ended up at a location beside a Muslim cemetery. We decided to quickly u-turn and take another route.
We finally arrived at the wetland. The bicycles were parked at the designated area. At the wetland, it was an entire different habitat. The mud areas were filled with holes "homes to the crabs", mudskippers, fish, dragonflies and butterflies. It is very hard to spot them. The children were excited. We walked along the bridge and it stretched out to the sea. It was almost noon. It was a nice view but it started to get really hot and humid.
We did not stay long and we started our journey back.
The same journey back. But this time, Bray fell from his bike when we were going down a rocky slope. His hands were bloodied and his leg had a big swelling. He cried and walked towards me. His face was covered with sand too. I quickly used water to clean to wound, and while we weren't looking, 2 curious monkeys came closer. They were about to snatch some tissues off my hands. We hastily left the place. Good thing, Bray managed to bring himself together and rode on the bike even though he was in pain.
When we were almost arriving back at the jetty, I checked on Bev. There was no sound coming from her. I checked again, still no response. I felt slight jerk on my bike twice. I looked to the back, the girl was dozing off. We finally arrived.
After returning the bikes, we rest and had some good seafood nearby for lunch.
We then took the bumboats back to Changi.
It was an unforgettable adventure in Pulau Ubin. We would come back for more...
Poor Milo haha
ReplyDelete