Escape to Ubin on a weekday!

My school declared holiday today due to the good A-level results. As such, I brought along two of my colleagues and we escaped to Ubin as a retreat from work!


Despite the horrible thunderstorm in the early mornings, we were eventually blessed with clear weathers and a cool morning. Our first stop was Chek Jawa Boardwalk. When we reached there at about 10am, we realized that we are probably the first visitor of the day.


Along the coastal boardwalk, we came across a pair of Pacific swallows (Hirundo tahitica) standing on the railing.


I do not have a telescopic lens on my DSLR. However, this bird allowed me to creep a little slower to get a decent shot. :)


Jillian pointed out this mudskipper spitting mud out from its mouth! This is an interesting observation.


Along the way, I came across what probably looks like poo from Common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). So what is so special about the poo?

Civet cats that eat coffee beans will process them within their tummy through fermentation. When excreted out as poo, the coffee beans found within have a special taste when brewed. This kind of interesting coffee is called 'Kopi Luwak' and it is very expensive!


We also came across quite a number of Nipah fruits and flowers that attract lots of bees.


Here is another pollinator on the Jarum-jarum (Ixora congesta) plant.


Jillian pointed out to this snail climbing on a branch standing out from nowhere.


While Meixiu showed me this artpiece of water droplets found on the spider web at the side of the boardwalk.


Cropping out the concrete slab of the boardwalk, indeed it looks very pretty!


Along the footpath, we encountered many and really a lot of these termites. These did not disturb us as much as the red ants. :P


At the House no. 1 visitor centre, I came across two of these newly added stations. It is a touch screen monitor with pictures of Chek Jawa's intertidal marine life. At the side are some specimens displayed for visitors to see.


And thus, we had a look at what this is all about. We first selected sand dollars and the screen showed a brief description about these echinoids.


This machine acts as a E-book where we can flip the books with our fingers. Imagine it as a giant Iphone/Ipad/Ipod....


More marine life featured include the colourful button snails,


my favourite sand stars,


the ever stunning knobbly sea star,


with a more photos of juvenile ones and a bluish star...


and also flatworms. There's quite a lot more that I did not feature here. Go have a look at yourself the next time you visit Chek Jawa.


While leaving, the tame wildboar was out there, attracting attention from everyone as usual. I caught a shot of it yawning. Haha!


While cycling along Ubin's roads, what looks like a jungle fowl ran across the road quickly and hid within the vegetation.


Our next visit was Puaka Hill, Ubin's tallest point. I always enjoy bringing friends here! And I also wanted to check how the path up this hill is like after finding out from Ria's post that this hill is now open to the public!

There is a signboard at the junction of Jalan Batu Ubin and Jalan Endut Senin that had Puaka Hill listed. But the designated entrance to the hill was not clearly marked. The original dirtpath up the hill was blocked and I later deduced that another way up was at this other entrance beside Merbah Hut.


The overgrown vegetation that blocks some parts of the original path were cleared and railing were constructed for an easier climb.


At the peak, we were greeted to a great view of Ubin quarry.


As well as Johor and beyond. This is definitely a great place for photo taking!


A special find along the way while cycling was this loud Oriental pied-hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) yakking away while flying over our heads to this branch. I only managed to quickly scramble out my camera for this feeble shot.


Before it decided to flee away as quickly as it arrived.

As much as cycling and climbing were tiring, we were later rewarded with a sumptuous lunch at Ubin before we left for home. It was a great workout and recharge for the rest of the work week. :)

More photos of this trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/koksheng/archives/date-taken/2011/03/08/