Have you ever been to Pulau Ubin?
If you haven’t, it’s about time you go. And if you have, it’s time to take a whole new look at it.
Let the Toddycats! of the Raffles Museum be your two-wheeled guides around one of the last bastions of kampong life in Singapore.
Pedal Ubin! promises to be a morning of discovery as the guides uncover the natural and social heritage of this island.
The next ride is on Saturday, 13 May. Sign up details here.
Still not convinced? Here are some photos to do the talking.
Lam Chun See
/ Wednesday, 3 May 2006Thanks for sharing the photos. Can’t help chuckling to myself at the sight of the kids with safety gear. My goodness, its as if they going for a race. Maybe I shd blog about how we kids used to ride adults bicyles in the kampong days – I mean the goods carrying type.
I went last year for a hike and cycling – not much fun. Too crowded. Somehow, its not like the Ubin I used to know from the army days.
acroamatic
/ Thursday, 4 May 2006Well, better safe than sorry. Several countries have legislation which requires cyclists to wear helmets. First World Singapore has yet to catch up in that aspect, like in many other areas. ;)
Before I go off totally off tangent…
Yah, Pulau Ubin is very different now. The first time I went there, I was in Secondary 2. That was… 1991? Not that I’m very old but *ahem* in those days, it was still possible to ‘topo’. In fact, that was where I learnt how to navigate with a map and compass.
Now, a lot of the tracks have been properly paved, and there’s the colourful NParks map to help people get around. I still prefer the old topo maps which they used to sell at the bicycle rental stores. Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy any more.
We should still treasure Ubin. One day, perhaps not long from now, our Gahmen will decide that PROGRESS takes top priority, so Ubin might become a HDB estate (as it has been suggested) or worse, an Integrated Resort.
Okay, I’ll give credit where it is due: they did listen when Chek Jawa was threatened. (Still… it’s more of a stay of execution than anything else.)
Ooops. Straying again.
Chun See, I suggest you join the Pedal Ubin! ride. I’m sure they’ll make your morning there interesting and informative.
Lam Chun See
/ Monday, 8 May 2006Hi Kenneth, I want to blog about the technique we kampong kids used to ride adult bicycles. Can I use your photo? The one with kids in their safety helmets. Thanks.
acroamatic
/ Monday, 8 May 2006Hi Chun See,
No problem! My blog posts and my photos are Creative Commons by-nc-sa licensed, unless otherwise stated. :)
I.e. must attribute, only for non-commercial use and must share under same license if modified.
LIBERTY
/ Thursday, 25 March 2010hello acroamatic sir,
are you aware of any place, institution, entity in singapore where i could acquire a pulau ubin topo map?
same reason as yours, basic navigation honing for my friends.
regards,
Liberty
acroamatic
/ Thursday, 25 March 2010Greetings, Liberty. I wish I knew – I’d get one myself!