by Sarah Harrison

Created on: September 12, 2008

I sat on a rock and looked through the bright, crowded canopy. The water sparkled with the fragmenting sun bouncing upon it, a deep green from the reflecting trees. I wanted to dive in, break the silence. This was my first time in Singapore, and I was loving it.

Despite being off-season the city was still humming with people and stiflingly hot. Shopped to exhaustion I needed to get away from it all a difficult request in an overcrowded city-state. However, I'd heard of a little known gem: Pulau Ubin. Located just off the coast of Singapore island (though not connected by a cable car as the tourist-filled Sentosa), Pulau Ubin is a tiny island, sparsely inhabited and little visited. I eventually discovered the right bus to take me out to the boat, past the famous Changi prison. Like all of Singapore the bus was clean, organised and full of technology; there were TV screens throughout playing cartoons.

At the dock were rows of little wooden, shaky looking canal-type boats. There was a hut made of corrugated iron sheets, all shut up, standing next to the water. Chickens pecked at the concrete around two vending machines and gas pumps. One of the open-topped little fishing boats was being loaded with oil drums. Once the men had finished loading their cargo they called out towards me and the two others waiting. Unsure what, or who, they had directed this at I looked at the other tourist, who was also obviously confused. However, the Chinese guy walked to the men, gave his money and got on board. It seemed this was the ferry to Pulau Ubin.

As we approached the island, pretty much all I could see were tall trees covering everything. It felt like I was approaching Jurassic Park. There was a wooden jetty protruding far out, behind the jetty was one large construction with a long and narrow, tiled, sloping roof. This turned out to be a stage, creating one side of a small square. Dogs ambled round, cats lazed in corners and a few old men perched on chairs dozing. Looking around I saw few homes. Although there were a couple of houses set back from the square in the trees, and a handful by the water; wooden and tin huts, some built on stilts rising out of the sea. There were two little cafes with tables outside serving food and drinks (I'd heard of the famous chilli crab), and a bike shop. Although you can walk easily around the island's paths, hiring a bike allows you to cover most of the island in one day. Renting a bike, I bought water, and set off.

There are three paths

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