Western Ubin with OBS

A team of us visited the Western part of Pulau Ubin near Outward Bound School. Many thanks to the kind invitation of Alex from OBS, many of us visited this intertidal shore for the first time.

We enjoyed the late afternoon with clear weather and blue skies. This stretch of Ubin is almost untouched and we were looking forward to surveying the shore, which Ria would call it as the mini-version of Chek Jawa.

Slugful day at Ubin shore

We saw quite a number of lovely sea slugs on our trip to Ubin shore last week!

One of the many slugs we saw was this slug with many pretty dots and large feathery gills.

Highlights of trips with Northern Expedition 2012

This is a blog post on some of the highlights of trips made in October that is long overdue. I joined some of the trips with the Northern Expedition at the Mega Marine Survey and we surveyed shores along the Straits of Johor.

My dream of visiting the Western shores of Pulau Ubin was fulfilled as I tagged along the team surveying Tanjong Tajam on the first day. The last time I visited this part of Ubin was as a student as part of the OBS experience. The rock formation at Tajam remains as majestic as ever.

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.

Back at Ubin's other shores

Exactly one year after my first visit, we are back at this Ubin shore. No, we were not at Chek Jawa. There is more to Ubin's marine life than Chek Jawa. :)


The rocks of Ubin are very special, they have vertical furrows or also known as pseudo-karren that were etched by rain over many decades or so. It is not easy to find such a rural and beautiful environment in mainland Singapore anymore.

Chek Jawa boardwalk during Hari Raya

Woke up early to go Ubin with Pamela and her cell group on Hari Raya holiday last Wednesday. Yes, if you want to go Ubin and do not want to be stuck in long queues, it is best to go early and leave early!


While waiting for the rest to arrive at Changi, we had a look at the shrubs nearby and there were many butterflies! Thanks to Soon Chye for identifying, this large butterfly is the Great Mormon.

First time to Ubin's other shores

Given that Chek Jawa is so popular for its marine habitats, I believe that other shores of Ubin do also can be as exciting. Therefore, a small team of us decided to join along to explore a new shore that I've visited before previously during high tide. This is also my first time to Ubin's other shores.


Pulau Ubin and Sekudu is famous and well known for its rock formations. We have a "frog formation" at Sekudu and here at Ubin there is a rock formation that looks like a creature, perhaps a sea turtle? haha. More about these magnificient rocks at Joseph Lai's webpage.

Hornbills at Ubin

Was at Ubin for intertidal walk but before that, it was pleasant to spot many hornbills flying across from tree to tree.


Here's three of them on top of leaf blades. Later on, we saw another two on another tree.

Long yet fulfilling day at Ubin

It has been ages since I've ever explored the terrestrial side of Ubin. The last trip was with Ron, July, Ivan and Justin more than 1.5 years ago.


Finally, I kicked myself out of the bed with sleepy heads to get to Ubin early in the morning before 9am. For what? It is to cycle with Pamela and Ben.

Relaxing Ubin exploration (Part II) -Sensory trail

The last part of our weekend Ubin exploration was the sensory trail. Walking past the journey towards the trail, there stood a rather rare fig tree near the Ubin information kiosk. Their flowers are interesting because they are not exposed but found within the fig itself.


Ron shares with us this remnant of history that has been sort of reclaimed back by another fig tree. It is related to dynamic storing and breakmaking. To know more how they come to be involved with this shed, browse Ron's Tidechaser blog post here.


Opened 2000 by the American Ambassador, this sensory trail allows even the handicapped to enjoy nature.


How does the blind get to enjoy nature then? By their sense of smell. That is why this is called the sensory trail. You get to use different senses to experience the flora and fauna. The sweet smelling pandan gave the area a sweet aroma.


What kind of fruits does this tree produce that can attract all sorts of birds and even humans?


This mulberry fruit! When riped it is sweet and is redish to purplish in colour.


huh? are there henna art services available in the sensory trail?


No of course, but the leaves above can produce red dyes that are used for henna art painting. Interesting isn't it ?


These aloe plants are no strangers to any of us right? We use their product in many different ways like for food, cosmetics etc.


What amazes me again of these wonderful plants is this citronella plant. Break the leaves apart and smell it. Suddenly you felt that you have applied insect repellent. Yes. citronella is one of the ingredients of the insect repellent we use. Now you know what to plant in your backyard to get free supplies of insect repellent. Isn't God's creation wonderful, especially when we know how to harness their uses?


Next we encountered the garlic vine...


What attracted us are these beautiful blooming garlic flowers :-)


Suddenly, everyone's heads turned up as we see hornbills fly past high. Glad I managed to get a snapshot of one hornbill resting on the leaf blades.


Back to trail, we saw many other different familiar plants like these laksa leaves.


The yellow flowers of this interesting toothache plant can be chewed by people to soothe toothaches. I wonder how does people get to know their functions from the start? Do they go around chewing all sorts of flowers and plant parts? Hahaha.

There were huge pomelos growing on the trees.

More familiar plants include this curryleaf tree which gives us the pungant curry taste.

The indian borage...

I like kangkong in sambal.

I always remember this blue pea vine or Clitoria that my secondary school biology taught us. Their blue coloration can be used to make kwehs.

The dragonfruit plant is amazing, it looks like a catcus.

Intruiging and creative scarecrows are over the garden, they might look even scarier at night I guess.

More food related stuffs... this torch ginger plant goes into your rojak!

Need I say more about the jackfruit?

More scarecrows....

This tree has a very wacky name, Midnight Horror. Why? It only flowers late at night attracting lots of insects and bats. Secondly, look at the branches of the tree. Don't you think the ends make then resemble bones? Hahaha.

Ron made a lame remark...Ti tree relating to Terminal 3 of our Changi Airport. Errrh

We had dinner at one of the eating places of ubin where one can enjoy the wonderful and fantastic shots of Ubin in its glory.

I like how they collected and pasted ubin articles on their walls.

After a great dinner, it was time to say goodbye to Ubin. See you on 22 Jan again!

Relaxing Ubin exploration (Part I)

Recently my trips to Pulau Ubin, an isle of tranquility and rustic charm, has been quite stressful ones because I was busy with my Chek Jawa project. This time finally, I could take a Sunday late afternoon off to relax and soak myself in what nature has to offer. With me are fellow nature lovers: Ron, July, Justin and Ivan.


The bumboat arrives at the jetty during low tide and the jetty exposed masses of green mussels scattered all over the pillars.


And these mussels seemed to have grown bigger from the last time I saw them. They are growing evening near staircase of the jetty.


The invasive mussel beds have arrived on the mangrove shore of the jetty. They settle well on the rocks.


We went to the butterfly hill first and Ron introduced to us this native plant called Flemingia strobilifera. These plants have modified leaves called bracts which has little flowers or fruits inside them. He also shared with us that people uses the dried bracts for stuffing pillows and cushions.


This plant that can be usually found by the coast is the sea lettuce (Scaveola sericea). These shrubs have leaves that are large and waxy. The waxy leaves prevent water loss especially when salt sprays and exposure to high sunlight are common by the coast which dessicates the plant. The little white flowers of the sea lettuce also have a unique structure developing into a round fruit.


These flowers belong the the hoya plant. Hoyas are climbing vines or shrubs which have simple opposite leaves. Many species of hoya are popular house plants especially in temperate areas because of their beautiful flowers which can give off strong scents.


A symbiotic relationship can be found in these ant-house plants. The ants tend to live within the hollows of the leaves. The plants provide food or shelter to the ants while the ants provide protection or nutrients to the plant.


By a fence, we saw many of these Tawny Coster (Acraea violae) caterpillars where they are cylindrical, slender, with six longitudinal rows of fine branched spines. These caterpillars however will grow into small leathery winged butterflies which are common in grassland and scrub habitats.


I always wanted to visit the heronry at the quarry and finally had the chance to see it.


Another angle of the heronry.


Appareantly, the dead fall or log of trees become perfect homes for these grey herons.


And we speculated that this special nest on top of the tree belongs to an eagle.


Walking along the track towards our second destination to Puaka hill, we saw quie a number of Golden Orb Web Spiders (Nephila maculata). These spiders though not the largest spiders, make the largest and strongest web. They get their name from the golden colour of its silk. More information on these spiders from Ria's sungei buloh factsheet.


We also came across mangrove portion during low tide.


And on the mangrove flat, there were quite a number of blue-spotted mudskippers (Boleophthalmus boddarti).


This little heron (Butorides striatus) was also on the flats, apparently looking for food. According to Ria's Sungei Buloh factsheet, these birds hunched into a compact egg-shape on a branch over the water, motionless but intently looking out for prey. They eat mainly small fish and crustacea (especially crabs). They also take amphibians and insects and any other edible titbits, including small mammals.


We finally reached the foot of Puaka Hill and started climbing up. Along the way, I saw the nest of weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina). Weaver Ants' nests are among the most complex ants' nests. Interestingly, weaver ants eat any small creatures that they can find, but they are particularly attracted to nectar. Learn more from Ria's Sungei Buloh factsheet again :-)


Spectacular bird eye's view greeted at the highest point of ubin at about 58 metres height.


At the top, we could see Changi Airport at mainland Singapore.

and also Changi beach area. Apparently, it was raining when we were there. Thank God it didn't hit us. The garang team of friends doing cleanup at Chek Jawa got the rain though.

We also can enjoy a scenic view of various areas of Johor coast from the top.

A group photo before we say bye bye to this lovely place.

Wild dogs in Ubin are adorable.

Then we stopped along a longkang or drain. Where we even can find mud lobster mounds by the side. This tree climbing crab (Episesarma sp.) was very shy, it hid into a hole when we approached.

Other than the even-more-shy turtle, there are many fishes in the longkang.

A school of juvenile half beaks were also spotted.

It seems like the whole longkang makes up a good ecosystem by itself, even mudskippers can be found.

Justin couldn't resist the temptation and went down the longkang to discover what it has to offer.

After the relaxing rest from the longkang fun, we heard distinctive bird calls along the way that Ron specifically remembered it belonged to the magpie robin. We scrutinised the bushes that the bird was calling from and indeed, spotted this elusive bird.

To be continued...