Date: 27 Nov 06
Time: 0830-1600
Meet: 0800 at Changi Jetty
Bring: $4 for bumboat return fares, $5 for lunch, $4 for bike rental and PONCHO because IT WILL RAIN HEAVILY IN THE AFTERNOON.
We all met at the Changi Jetty at 8:00a.m., though some were late (like me:D). Everyone was excited in anticipation as this was the first time we went cycling at Pulau Ubin as a group. As soon as everyone arrived, we proceeded to the departure area and managed to get onto a bum-boat almost immediately as there were 11 of us, just enough to fill the bum-boat. For many of us, this was the umpteenth time we have been taking bum-boats from Changi Jetty to Pulau Ubin, previously for National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) Annual Training Camp (ATC) , however this time it was for a different purpose: cycling expedition at Pulau Ubin in preparation for our Vietnam trip.
The bum-boat ride costs us $2 each. Upon reaching there, we went to look for bicycles for rent. We came across 2 shops as we went in and both shop keepers were promoting their bicycles for rent to us. Initally, both shops rented out their bicycles for $5/day but we bargained and asked for $4/day. One of the shops accepted our price and we went on renting our bicycles from there.
We launched out on our cycling journey, excited and enthusiastic. Our first destination was Chek Jawa. We were supposed to navigate our way through without the use of a map, however one of us actually copied out the map of Pulau Ubin and the way to Chek Jawa from the internet before the cycling expedition. On our way through, many of us encountered technical problems with the bicycles as some of the bicycle chains of some bicycles frequently shifted out of place. We had to manually shift It back into place using our hands and tissues so that our hands will not get soiled, oily and greasy.
The journey through was not smooth at all, with frequent uphill downhill slopes, tarred roads gravel roads and even jungle trials. There were also vehicles moving through the narrow tracks frequently and we had to take precaution to avoid them. Though, we managed to brave through them. With the knowledge of Pulau Ubin and the way to Chek Jawa, we managed to reach the entrance of Chek Jawa pretty fast, only to find out that it has been sealed due to some ongoing construction works. Disappointed, we made our way back and stopped to rest at a hut.
It was onli about 10:00a.m. then, and we were already soaking wet with sweat. As it was still rather early, we decided to mount on another journey, this time to the NPCC campsite. (About my little accident): I was the last cyclist of the group. We were cycling through a downhill slope, rather uneven gravel road, and I was traveling at a rather high speed. I was already lightly pressing on the brakes, but the brakes of my bicycle was somehow not working well, thus, I decided to apply stronger force on the brakes. However, the force applied on the brakes was to strong and the back wheel of my bicycle skidded on the ground. Subsequently, I lost control of the bicycle and was thrown off it, hitting my upper right thigh onto the handle of the bicycle in the process, with my spectacles being thrown off my face too. I was in a daze after the fall, realizing that my spectacles has flew off, I scrambled up to pick it up and put it back on. I managed to stand up and tried to recover my bicycle, however I felt giddy and soon sat back down on the ground. The excruciating pain from the cuts and my knees and elbows started to surface, and there was also pain felt at my upper right thigh area. Seth heard my crash from behind and called the rest of the group in front to stop, however he only managed to get the attention of Joseph. The two of them then helped me in washing my wound and gave me some water to drink. Joseph gave me a towel to dry my wounds and to press on them, so as to prevent blood from continuously oozing out of them. One of them had to cycle forward and catch of with the rest of the group to call them to stop and call for the medic . It took quite a long time for the medic to come as the rest of the group which he was with was quite far in front. The medic then tended to my biggest and deepest wound on my left knee, dripping iodine, as an anti-septic over, and placing a cotton wool over, fastened to the wound with a bandage tied around the knee. The pain was really unbearable. There were a few vehicles that passed-by, and With the assistance of those remaining behind, one helping me to carry my bag and another helping me to move my bicycle along, I walked forward to meet up with the rest who were resting and waiting at a hut in front.
I rested for a long while there. A group which made their way to the beach nearby to view some boars and get some drinks came back shortly after. The rest who have not went, excluding me then made their way to the beach to get their chance to view the boars. While they away, the rest, who came back, there were about seven of them, started playing a game of ‘bluff’ with a deck of poker cards. Laughter filled the hut, as they had fun playing the game. Though I was in much pain, I too laughed quite abit as a spectator of the game. The hut was filled with many different kinds of creatures too: a huge white-coloured hairy caterpillar; a hornet; a cockroach that dropped from the ceiling of the hut; and lizards crawling around. We also spent some time at the hut discussing about details of the coming Vietnam trip too.
After much hesitation to continue on the cycling expedition with my injuries, and much persuasion from the rest of the group, I then tried to continue cycling. Though, there was still pain, it was not as bad as before, and I could bear with it. We continued our journey towards the NPCC campsite. The journey there was dirty and muddy as there were many areas of grounds water-logged, with pools of muddy water. As I had developed a phobia from my fall, the group was moving quite slowly, being held back by me. We took a group photo at the entrance of the NPCC campsite, something that we have never done before, though we have went there umpteen times. We then made our way to the nearby Noordin beach and had a rest there, washing our dirty, muddy footwear at the toilet nearby..
We then cycled back towards the jetty where there are hawker centers nearby to have our lunch. We parked our bicycles at a shelter nearby a hawker center and ate our lunch there. The food there was expensive. Each plate of main course dish costs at least $4.
After lunch, though it has started to drizzle, we continued to set off once again, now towards the Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) campsite. This journey unlike the previous ones, is smooth, with tarred roads and though there are still presence of uphill and downhill slopes, they did not pose much of a hindrance. However, we lost our way on the way, and hit gravel roads. The surrounding vegetation at these roads, tall grasses and bushes were different from those of which we were traveling through previously, tall trees. As such, there were spectacular views which we got especially at high grounds dead-end and at rocky coasts.
We were cycling around to explore the area, cycling till we reach dead-ends, and turning back, continue cycling through alternative routes. We came across the OBS campsite (our destination) on the way, but continued cycling to explore. We also saw Coney Island (as what we think the island we saw is), the island that we kayaked to for our kayaking expedition as part of our assesment for our 2-star kayaking course.
The heavy dark clouds started moving in and soon after, it started to rain. We put on our ponchos and decided to cycle to the nearest available shelter. As we were far away from the tarred roads where there are available buildings as shelters along the roads, we cycled for a long time before being able to reach the nearest shelter. Visibility was rather low and roads were wet and slippery due to rain. It is dangerous to cycle in the rain with these conditions but for most of us, this was a kind of new experience, and it would definitely benefit us in the cycling expedition in Vietnam.
Although the ponchos that we put on were able to shelter us from some rain, however it only effectively sheltered our bags, our bodies and clothes were still soaking wet with rain water. We stood at the shelter we found which was a public toilet and waited for the rain to lighten up. It was really cold. Finally, the rain lightened up and we continued to cycle back to the jetty.
The rain was once again getting heavier. We returned our bicycles and took a bum-boat back to mainland Singapore. Due to the heavy rain, the sea was choppy and the waves were strong, making the bum-boat ride bumpy. Although all of us were exhausted from all the cycling, and there were some injuries sustained, this cycling expedition was still an enjoyable and enriching experience. The experience of cycling through rough uneven terrains would surely prepare us for the cycling expedition in Vietnam and allow us to better adapt to the even rougher and uneven terrain there.
By EDMUND CAI
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