Camping at Pulau Ubin

While the PSG KALASAG climbed Gunung Datuk in Malaysia as part of our first year anniversary celebration, I went to camp Pulau Ubin with the troupers, or the Bundokeros -- another group of Filipino mountaineers here in Singapore. Issues, like lack of proper training and internal conflicts which I do not want to elaborate on, were some of the reasons why I wasn’t able to join KALASAG. Anyway I did find a way to enjoy and spend my weekend with other friends.

Pulau Ubin is an island located in north east of Singapore and its literal meaning is Granite Island. It is one of the last areas in Singapore that has been preserved from urban development, concrete buildings and tarmac roads. When you reach the island, the mobile network that will reflect on your phone is Maxis from Malaysia which auto-roam our network provider.



We took a ferry from Changi port to the island. The boat ride was really exciting! It was as if I was back in Sablayan, my birthplace. The campsite was quite far from the port and according to Lem who has been there several times, the campsite is only accessible through walking for hours or riding a bike. It was raining cats and dogs and it was getting late so we decided to buy a poncho for $2 and we rented a bike for $6. I was hesitant at first because my backpack was fully packed with almost 3kg tent, two liters of drinking water as there are no potable water in the area and my personal stuff, plus the kare-kare I was carrying. But then again biking would be much faster than trekking, so with no choice at all we started to bike. It was a tough ride. Aside from slippery roads caused by the rain and the additional weight from my backpack, we also biked on a mountainous range. I almost gave up, but there was no turning back. After 30 minutes, we reached the campsite by the seashore. I was so exhausted by the bike ride, what made it worse was the information from Caloi and Gay who came in earlier with others that they made it to the camp by van for only $2 each. Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!

If not for a good dinner we shared (inihaw na talong, inihaw na pusit, liempo, chicken barbecue, manggang hilaw, kare-kare, and bagoong) I almost killed Lem..hahaha. After we pitched the tents, the socials began and it was again an experience to remember.

We stayed until noon the next day and we went back to the port by van. Thanks to Libert and Elaine who volunteered to take the bike ride back to the port.

sunset at Pulau Ubin

campers

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