34 Ubin House

Grant Pereira's GVN Green House is now known as 34 Ubin House. It's care and charge has now been taken over by the Nature Society (Singapore) who has taken over the temporary occupation license (TOL) with SLA.

Use of the house is still currently undetermined. Will update further when more is known.

Trail to Chek Jawa closed

Notice of Track Closure for Improvement Works posted at the bike rental shops in the main town area. Photo taken in December 2008

Regular visitors to Pulau Ubin would long have noticed that one of the access roads to Pulau Ubin, an off road trail, has been closed for some time now. This is the trail that passes by the Balai Quarry via the Northeast of the island. For cyclists, this was once a treacherous track. Many accidents, falls and spills had taken place on this trail.


The trail in question, Balai Quarry on the right of photo. Taken in June 2007.

As such, NParks is now conducting large scale maintenance, trim and fill of the trail. Some parts of the trail have been filled up with soil up to 2-3m high! While it is undergoing maintenance, cyclists are strongly advised against using this trail for their own safety! The alternate route to Chek Jawa is via Kampung Melayu through the southeast of the island.

The trail is expected to be reopened in February 2009.


Balai Quarry, June 2007.

Ubin Lodge is now open!

In February 08, I reported that the former Civil Service Club Chalets were renovated and ready to be open for corporate bookings according to the caretaker.

2 weeks ago, a lil bird told me that the former CSC Chalet is now known as Ubin Lodge is open for public bookings! Rates are relatively cheap, near the Ubin Jetty and perhaps this might be a good boost to the visitorship on the island. Perhaps finally there'll be an excuse to visit the island more often! More overnight stays too perhaps?

This place is definitely memorable as I will always remember the stories of how Ria Tan booked the old Civil Service Chalets for the volunteers helping out with Chek Jawa in 2001. This was when Chek Jawa was still about to be reclaimed, prior to deferment! Low tide was at unmentionable hours and volunteers need to be there whenever the tide calls so that they could survey the flora and fauna of CJ! I'm sure those volunteers would have many stories to tell about the civil service chalets!

Related Reads:
Ubin Lodge Official Website
Civil Service Chalets on Ubin, WildSingapore
Former Civil Service Chalet, Pulau Ubin Stories, 18 February 2008
Bed & Breakfast or resort likely on Pulau Ubin as first public tender called on island, Channel News Asia, 14 December 2006

Ubin First Stop Restaurant now on mainland Changi

On Sunday, 13 April 2008, Straits Times reported that Singaporeans can now get a taste of Ubin on the mainland.

Interestingly, one of the restaurant featured, is run by a previous islander, Mr Leong Kee Keng 56, who served water-skiiers and boaters from his family kitchen on the island's north shore. The restaurant then moved to the mainland and has been moving from place to place, now owned by a businesswoman from the mainland.

The other is the Ubin First Stop Restaurant which may be familiar to people who frequent the island since 1990. Irony again, Ubin First Stop is owned by a mainlander, Mr Alan Tan 55, "who was born on the mainland but visited his relatives on Ubin regularly as a child".

But what is the true cuisine and "taste" of Ubin? Is it synonymous with seafood as suggested by the article or is it fresh kampung food served by the locals in the kampung setting?

Ubin First Stop's owner said that he is setting up shop on the mainland because "some of his regulars began complaining that it was a hassle to travel to Ubin every time they needed a seafood fix".



However, for me, enjoying the true taste of Ubin food is when I can sit by the beach, enjoying my homecooked food as I watch the fishermen cast their nets. I enjoy eating homemade lontong at Pak Ali's in the mornings. Gigantic portions of fried seafood beehoon at the 2 sister's [located beside Ubin First Stop] for lunch. Finally seafood at Ah Lian's restaurant under the canopy and the cool sea breeze. After all, Ah Lian's father in law is now the oldest man on Ubin who is said to have lived to his grand old age from eating all the freshest seafood from Ubin! I was kindly informed by a resident who frequents Hai Liang's family restaurant and provision shop. The restaurant is after all a converted store room from the family's home!

What I find interesting is that, if the banner pictured above is where the new Ubin First Stop will be located, it is actually a precious landmark to the Changi landscape! That building used to be the customs' office at Changi. It is a wonderful building on stilts that is a reminder to the coastal village that changi was! Likewise, the location of Ubin First Stop on Ubin itself is also a historic landmark being where the maternity clinic of Ubin used to be at!

Do you have fond memories of "food and fun" on Ubin? Straits Times wants to know and so do I! Do leave a comment and share your thoughts. Which is your favourite Ubin resturant?

Increase in Ferry Prices

On the ferry back from Ubin last Sunday with the bicycle shop auntie and her family, I was alerted to the fact that ferry prices will soon be increased. My attention was brought to the notice on the boat (pictured below).


Photo by November. 16 March 2008.

With effect from 15 April 2008, boat fare to and fro Pulau Ubin will be increased from the current price of $2 per person to $2.50 per person. However, the current practice of charging $2 per bicycle remains unchanged.

Ah to think of the days when tickets were but 50cents and police wore shorts. What with fuel prices rising all over the world, this increase is timely. Hopefully, it would help the boatmen to continue providing these much appreciated ferry services to and fro Ubin. Meanwhile, this Monkey dreads hearing renewed complaints from Singaporeans who have already been bemoaning the "expensive ferry service" to Ubin at the previously lower rate of $2/person. Perhaps it's time we put ourselves in the shoes of the boatmen. I haven't seen any of the boatmen wearing rolexes or driving mercedes yet.

During my chat with the auntie on the ferry home, we also talked about how not every bumboat has this notice but the increase, if I am not wrong, is standardized across the board with all the boatmen. Perhaps they have since increased the distribution of this news but I did not see it on my trip to Ubin, only on the way back. However, I just received a SMS from the annotated budak, informing of the same information which reminded me to share this piece of news with everybody. Spread the word!

Upcoming features on Ubin

Was contacted today by a member of the press and of the community. She is interested in doing a series of feature on Ubin, talking to villagers who have remained behind. Hopefully the series will highlight how Ubin is really a treasure and asset of Singapore and not quite the redundant liability that has no better use unless developed.


Talking to the late headman's daughter-in-law on 1 March 2008. Photo by Kenneth Pinto

I will be going down on Sunday and introduce the few families that I have been talking to, getting to know. I meant to write about their stories on the blog but work got the better of me. It'd be lontong in the morning again and a nice sunday of chit chat. That, is the perfect way to spend Sunday for me. And perhaps, for the urbanite Singaporean like me, that is the value of Ubin. A getaway, the last wild frontier, the last island refuge for our rural heritage. On a more personal level, a piece of family history.

What is your value for Ubin? Any thoughts?

Former Civil Service College Chalet

In 2006, SLA offered up for tender the site of the former civil service college chalet. Located conveniently right in "downtown" Ubin, it is mere minutes walk away from the main jetty. However, it has been abandoned since 2001 when the area was supposed to be reclaimed. However, since the deferment of reclamation along the east coast of Pulau Ubin, the chalet has been neglected.



According to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) press release in 2006:

"The property has a site area of about 6,505 square metres and gross floor area of about 783 square metres, equivalent to about three tennis courts. It comprises three blocks of single-storey buildings with a camp, a pump house, three shelters and some ancillary facilities. Capitalizing on the rustic charm of the island, the approved uses adapted some of the former recreational uses, including that of a Bed & Breakfast, or a chalet or resort for short term lodging. It can also be used as a campsite or for group and corporate retreats for the conduct of team building, leadership or motivational activities. This is to cater to the traveller and tourist who are looking for a unique experience in rustic Singapore, away from the hustle and bustle of city life."

Last Saturday (16 Feb 2008), a visit to the site saw that the chalets have been recently cleaned and renovated. Having never been there, I was surprised at its pristine state. However, we soon realized that there was an ongoing party at the chalet to view the air show across the straits at Changi.


OUT OF BOUNDS!

We were then kindly informed by the new caretaker that the chalet is now owned by a Yes Group who intend to rent it out long-term to companies. The company appears to have been awarded the tender for more than 3 months as the caretaker seems to indicate that they have completed renovations over the past months. There will be 2 additional chalets which will be set aside for short term rental. Corporate retreats, bonding sessions and other adventure type events can also be hosted there. Since we rather surprised them by taking advantage of the low tide coastal access, we were informed that the area is now private property. Alas, we have a feeling that the site will be yet another out of bounds area. The caretaker informed us that public rental are not in the plans.

Andy Dinesh, a past visitor at the chalet informed us that there used to be a dormitory behind the main chalets. However, a brief exploration of the area and questioning the caretaker informed us that it has now been totally erased from the landscape. What remained is a lamp that reminds us of Narnia.




Perhaps what is most charismatic about the chalet is the jetty / pier / bridge that extends out to see, connecting 2 huts sitting on trademark ubin granite boulders to the beach. That too appears to have been refurbished. There are also balinese-thai looking pavilions and lots of bbq pits.

While we were told to look for their head company, "Yes group", I was hard-pressed to find contact information online for this company. Could it be the "YES F & B Group Pte Ltd" that I've found on yellowpages? I tipped off recently that there was news of the successful bid of the CSC chalet but again, I was unable to find anything in the archives. Does anybody know more about this?

For more photos, see my flickr set.

More related reads
News about SLA tender of Civil Service College Chalet
WildSingapore's write up on Civil Service College Chalet
SLA Press Release on CSC Chalet tender

Long lost classmates

It was this photo that started it all.

It was this photo that started this blog rolling and growing as early as May 2004.

It was also this photo that made a connection across the Pacific Ocean a few weeks ago. I received an comment from somebody in USA who had the exact same photo. Compare the two photos here.

It turns out that Dennis's mother was a classmate of my mother! The children of Ubin go far. Both his parents are from Pulau Ubin and they migrated to the US in the 1970s. Dennis was born in Mississippi, USA but now lives in Texas. Unfortunately his mom passed away a few years ago. But at least my mom's dream of finding news of her classmates is slowly coming true.

It'll probably come as a shock to many who has only seen the Ubin of today that the island used to be a big settlement with a population close to tens of thousands at its peak. The granite quarries on the island were a big source of income for the island in addition to the rubber plantations and other primary production industries.

While it is really unfortunate that my mom never got a chance to catch up with her classmate in person, Dennis and his father with my mother and I in Singapore exchanged stories via email. Dennis has fond memories of Ubin as unlike me, he has had the opportunity to live on Ubin for a few months in his life in the early 1980s. His mother and grandmother also often told him many stories of Ubin.



Dennis' paternal grandfather was the accountant of the Ho Man Choo Quarry. In the above photo you can see the actual name of the quarry. It was spelt "woo mon chew" but the chinese characters reveal that perhaps the name "Ho Man Choo" (Chua, 2000) is the Hokkien or Teochew pronunciation of the name. Today, NParks has renamed the quarry as Pekan Quarry. Naturally Woo Mon Chew was the name of the quarry owner. Dennis "thinks it was opened in 1947 and closed or sold in 1970".

"My mother's family lived near the quarry. I remember as a child when we would visit Ubin, there would be sirens that go off to signal the blast of the granites. We would all have to take cover or go indoors. Sometimes we would see small chunks of dirt and debris fall out of the sky. There used to be a well behind my mother's house." - Dennis, in email correspondence

Coincidentally, in July 2005, when I first brought my mother back to Ubin, the first time in more than 35 years that she has been back to Ubin, she actually pointed out to me Dennis' mother's home on Ubin. She remembered buying drinks and that there was a hairdresser in the area. Seeing the photos that Dennis has scanned and uploaded on flickr, she regaled me with fond stories of her childhood.



This was Dennis' paternal grandparents home which is just beside Pekan Quarry, where the Nparks office was, where the toilet and Jelutong Campsite is today. Next time as you walk by the area, think of the families that lived here before!

As my mother lived very much further west of the town, she would always walk home together with Dennis' mom up till their home before my mother continues on home down the road. She remembers buying drinks from Hai Liang's shop which is now near where the seafood restaurant is. In fact, the shop may still be there. Monkey will investigate.

Dennis' mother and father lived next door to each other. Their houses face each other along the road. In fact, Dennis' maternal aunt and uncle still lives in their family home on Ubin today!


Dennis' Mother's family

I have really been inspired to really try to scan and go through my family's photos and talk to my granduncles who lived on the island. There is so much to learn and record before this bit of Ubin's history disappears forever. Dennis' love for his family and his excellent memory (unlike my memory of a goldfish) has really benefitted all of us who now know so much more about Ubin. And of course my mother who now knows a little more about the girl who stood beside her in the class photo.



Thank you for sharing your stories Dennis! Hopefully I can convince him to become a regular contributor for Pulau Ubin Stories!

See more photos of Pulau Ubin from 1940s - 1970s on Dennis' flickr set. He found these photos of Ubin in his grandmother's home and scanned them all!

Goodbye Ubin Thai Temple

In April 2007, the Ministry of National Development announced its plans for reopening the Kekek Quarry off Jalan Wat Siam. As the road name indicates, this road was named after the Thai Temple located at the end of the road, just in front of the Kekek Quarry.

As of late July 2007, the Thai Temple no longer stands at Jalan Wat Siam, a road now devoid of its namesake.

When the announcement for the deferment of Kekek Quarry's opening came on 4 August 2007, the news was met with happiness and also frustration as yet again, a landmark on Ubin has been displaced because of planned development. Just like the Kampong Melayu en route Chek Jawa which was cleared in anticipation of the reclamation, the postponement of Kekek Quarry's opening came too late to save one of the last remaining landmarks on Pulau Ubin.


Kekek Quarry in the morning of April 7, 2007. Thai Temple is located at the foot of this hill. Photo by November

All occupants of the island must possess a Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL) from the Singapore Land Authority and it was said that the temple's license was due for renewal. While this fact needs verification, truth of the matter is that the temple is now no longer on Ubin. In an interview with one of the villagers on Ubin, it is unlikely that the temple will be issued a new TOL on Ubin even if they had applied for it after the quarry plans are shelved. It is true of course that the quarry is to be on standby, ready to be operational at the slightest need and having to relocate the temple later would be a bureaucratical hassle.


2030V Pulau Ubin is no longer an occupied address. Photo by November

The temple may seem relatively new, having only established on Ubin in 1986 when a monk from Thailand walked all the way down to Singapore and found its home here on Pulau Ubin. However, it's one of the last few remaining cultural icons on the island with large throngs of visitors on weekends and major Buddhist and Chinese festivals. This was also a large source of income for the island's taxi drivers who would ferry devotees to the temple. When asked, taxi drivers on Ubin expressed disappointment that now there is a less steady stream of income for them. Previously, they could count on major festival days to draw income from. Now, they feel Chek Jawa is the only way for them to garner income from but it is less reliable as return visitors or regular visitors are rare.


Thai Temple one year ago on July 13 2006. Who would have known a year later the temple would no longer be with us? Photo by November

A question was posted on the Ubin Forum asking where the temple has been relocated to. After some "detective work" and leg work from our guest editor, budak, we found that it has actually been moved to Jalan Kayu, near Seletar. Not very different from Ubin, Jalan Kayu is also a kampong place, still relatively undeveloped and rural but rich with heritage but under threat from urbanization and development.


Familiar idols from the Thai Temple in storage at Jalan Kayu. Photo by budak

Budak wrote:

"The reprieve granted to kekek came sadly too late for the Thai temple located within earshot of the quarry. the statues and idols no longer face a tree-lined trail and the musical tributes of straw-headed bulbuls.

The tale of the Thai temple now meets that of another Buddhist shrine, the Ban Kok Sua Chong Yee Temple that for now still resides at Seletar West Farmway 6, a small road two turns off Jalan Kayu surrounded by farmland and abandoned plots. Before secondary jungle retakes the area, however, it will likely be surrendered to planners seeking to turn this historic kampung area (see jalankayutrail.blogspot.com) into another new suburb. In a sense, it already is, as Jalan Kayu is now within a stone's throw from the Sengkang LRT network, and vast fields of cleanly cleared land (formerly farms and orchards) now link the once quiet road to a new town of HDB towers.

Now a lonely outpost in a village of ghosts and forgotten memories, Chong Yee Temple faces a dwindling lease and its custodians are currently seeking to raise funds to erect a new sanctuary for the temple's deities when the present plot is returned to the authorities.

To this end, Chong Yee Temple has linked up with the caretakers of the (former) Ubin Thai temple and another temple (dedicated to Bao Gong) to acquire a piece of land where Jalan Kayu meets Sengkang West Avenue, where a collective development will take place, with each temple maintaining its identity and management, while occupying its own portion of new worship complex.


Site of the new temple premise. Photo by budak

The artefacts of the Thai temple are now at a temporary building at the site, with an interim altar and shrine being built, which is scheduled to be ready by 22 August. Stay tuned for more updates when we visit the place after it opens."

See more photos of Chong Yee Temple and the new Thai Temple premise in Budak's flickr set.