Visit Chek Jawa before 2012!

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For all of you who are sick of hanging out in the malls, go Chek Jawa - "one of Singapore's richest ecosystem", "a unique natural area where six major habitats meet and mix"
(nparks 2009)

It's at the southern tip of Pulau Ubin.

Apparently, our government might claim it for state use from 2012 onwards. SO, it's your LAST CHANCE to catch a glimpse of the natural scenery!


What You Can See There
There are two board walks available FOC - coastal and mangrove. As you walk along, you can see:

• sea view, which was extremely beautiful in the evening as the sun set
• coastal forest, which is nice combination of orange clay and green plants
• tiny crabs, crabs and more crabs (e.g. fiddler crab)
• salamandar
• wild boar (we had one dashing across our path and scaring the wits out of us)
• mangrove swamp
• loads of palm trees with gigantic fruits
• bird's eye view of the area (if you climb up the Jejawi Tower)

Click on the flickr badge to see my photos.
Alternatively, see a virtual tour here.


What You Can Do There
If you book nparks' guided tour package priced at S$60, you can wad down the coastal swamp at a very safe and good spot to see the tiny organisms in close distance. (Note that these tours are restricted in order to protect the environment but they're very popular. High demand meets low supply = they're fully booked a few months in advance. If you really want to go with them, you have to check out the nparks website on the 1st of mar/jun/sep/dec for updates on availability.)

If you're there by yourself (just like my friends and I) you can't go to the same spot where the guided tour group will be, 'cause there's a gate with someone guarding it. However, you can still wad into the coastal area somewhere else! There's an opening located at the mangrove board walk, where the mangrove swamp meets the coast. When I was there, the tide was low enough and it seemed safe. **Caution: Please assess the situation before going in on your own.


Tips to Enjoy Yourself Better
Bring:

• sun block
• shades
• covered up shoes (if you're going on your own. if you're going with npark, they seem to provide special boots for the coastal swamp tour)
  
• 10x optical zoom camera (esp if you did not pay $60). trust me, you'll need to the zoom. Also make sure you have good macro mode on your camera.
  
• binoculars (esp if you did not pay $60)
• water
• insect repellent
  
• cap (if you like..)
• CASH (all transportations, boat or van or bicycle, only accepts cash)

Do also check for the low tide timing. you won't be able to see much if it's not low tide. nparks has kindly provided this information on their website too.


Total Cost of Trip?
The cost really depends on how you want to get there and what you want to do.

Option 1: Go with nparks
If you go with nparks, I think you still have to pay for the boat trip to Pulau Ubin yourself. So...

$60 (Guided Tour Package) +
$2.50 x 2 (Return boat trip to Singapore main island) = $65 / pax


Option 2: Go on your own.
If you go on your own, here are some pricings for your reference.

$2.50 x 2 (Return boat trip to Singapore main island)
$4 (Van ride if <7 people in the trip) $2 (Van ride if >7 people in the trip)
$5 (Bicycle rental)
FOC (Walk there by foot)

= S$5 ~ S$$13 / pax


How to Get There?
Simply find your way to the Changi Ferry Terminal at Changi Village.

Buses to Changi Village:

• 2 - from New Bridge Road Int, passes Outram, Chinatown, Bugis, Lavendar, Kallang, Eunos, Bedok, Tanah Merah MRT
  
• 29 - from Tampines Int
• 59 - from Bishan Int, passes by Braddell MRT
  
• 109 - from Serangoon Int, passes by Hougang area
  

Cheers!