Pulau Ubin

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Hey all!
So yesterday I went to Puala Ubin, an island of Singapore off the east coast of the country. My school is on the West Coast of Singapore, so it took about an hour to get across to the other end of the country (which is a mere 18 miles long). Then about half an hour on a small "bumboat" to get to the Island. The Island represents what Singapore once was, as it was not colonized by Britain like the main Island of Singapore. Singapore is noticeably very wealthy with clean streets, fancy buildings, expensive shopping centres, and very advanced technology used on everything from the Public Transit stations, to the toilets and elevators. Puala Ubin on the other hand is entirely different. It is obviously very impoverished, and has a very raw appearance. There are no paved streets, no cars, and the houses are simple wood shacks with tin roofs. The main street of the island is lines with small shops which thrive off of tourism. There are tons of bike rental shops, where you can rent a bike for a mere 2$ a day. The group of us who travelled to the island all rented bikes, and toured around the island for the better half of the day. At one point I found myself going full force down a small path covered in jagged rocks- lets just say my journey to the bottom of the hill was not so graceful. I was launched off the bike and thrown into the bushes. When I got up I heard a high pitched squealing sound- there was a wild pig about 5 feet from me. I screamed, and the 7 others I was with ran over to check it out. The pig just stood there and watched us, completely uninterested. Before the bike ride we ate at one of the restaurants on the main street. I ordered fried squid, which tasted like burnt bacon. I would not recommend it, but i was glad I tried it. I'm pretty proud of myself in respects to food choices. I have eaten things here that I would be afraid to even look at, at home, including fish eyes, pig belly, crab, squid, and even “seaweed salted French fries” at McDonalds, which are a hit here in Singapore. Anyways, I hope all of you are enjoying life back in Canada.
I will continue to update you on my happenings- I am going to Thailand in 2 weeks time for a “Full Moon Party”. We are driving there in the back of a pick-up truck, to the most north eastern part of Malaysia and then taking a ferry across to Thailand, so I’m sure I will have some interesting stories about that!
Miss and Love you all.
Xo- M.

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