Nature's Gift

A few days ago, my colleague told me he was going to bring a group of students to Pulau Ubin for an enrichment programme and asked if I was interested to go along with them. They were going to cycle to Chek Jawa and to check out the ecological system of the place. At noon today, we departed under the sweltering heat of 33 degree celsius. Boy, I couldn't imagine cycling under the sun! After 1 hr of bus ride, we finally arrived at the Changi jetty. The place looks so much better than when I last came a few years ago.

The bumboat ride to Pulau Ubin takes about 20mins and it costs about S$2.50 per person per trip. We were greeted by the quaint 'ulu' streets the moment we disembarked.

Our first stop was to the bicycle rental where we each rented a bike. Only a handful couldn't ride and they took a cab to Chek Jawa instead. Unlike the mainland, we still have got quite a bit of bargaining power here. Because we rented so many bicycles, my colleague managed to get them to charge us S$5 per bike for half a day of rental. A really good deal!

After we settled the bike rental, we proceeded to the Sensory Garden where there were lots of spices and herbs. According to my colleague, the guide, he told us that the garden was set up for the visually impaired. Because they can't see, they can still smell the herbs and learn more about them. And because they can't see, their sense of smell is heightened. When I looked around the garden, I noticed that indeed, there were explanations in braille all around. Cool! The most interesting discovery for me in this garden is this lipstick plant. The fruits were bright red and apparently, people in the olden days used this as their lipstick. Talk about going au natural!

After the Sensory Gardens, it was 45 mins of non stop cycling to the entrance of Chek Jawa. The terrain wasn't easy to cycle and for beginners and weak cyclists, it proved to be quite a challenge. Because we had to wait for a number of students and to make sure that no one was left behind, we got a bit lost for a few times. And when we finally arrived, it started raining!! But surprise surprise, this was what greeted us at the information kiosk - wild boars, and a whole family at that!

When the skies cleared, we decided to proceed with our boardwalk. We were told that we would be able to see many sea grass, crustaceans, star fish and etc. But we were disappointed that none appeared to be in sight.

So much so that when the students spotted a dead crab floating on the surface of the water, they were ecstatic.

The mangroves found at Chek Jawa were much healthier than those found at Sungei Buloh. You can see very clearly that their roots are very clean and thick. But I hate the pungent stench they give out. According to the experts, the stench is caused by hydrogen sulphide. If you are a geography/biology lover, I bet the scenery at Chek Jawa will wow you. It's actually quite nice to stroll and it's all the better to come with someone who can explain the ecological system to you.

Chek Jawa is an important ecological heritage for Singapore, especially when we are building more and more apartments and office buildings. For those who do not know, the vegetation at Chek Jawa is actually ideal for the dugongs to feed on. And it is actually rare to find places like this in the world today.

Towards the end of our walk, we were rewarded with the sighting of crabs. In this picture below, we saw an entire army of fiddler crabs (there are only so many crabs my camera can fit!)

And here, it is a mixture of fiddler crabs and soldier crabs. These are species you don't see very often in the mainland.

And this is the fruit of the nipah tree. Sounds very confusing? For the locals, you will know this as attap seeds, a fruit we commonly find in ice kachang and many local desserts. I have eaten many of these before, but this is the first time I see it in their original form.

And as we bid farewell to Chek Jawa, mummy wild boar also came to see us off. I was told that in their natural habitat, they would have charged at you at the slightest opportunity. These wild boars are considered extremely tamed as they are so used to the presence of human beings in the area that they know that we mean no harm. All we want and ask of, is to take a really good picture of it. No wonder, it is able to pose so well. He he.

It has been a tiring day, with all the cycling, walking and looking out for students. But at the same time, it has been an interesting learning journey for me. I have learnt a lot about Chek Jawa from my colleagues. Without them, it would just have been an aimless and boring walk.