Pulau Ubin Warnings Or Dangers

According to the official forest rangers, the Asian Elephant is listed as an occasional visitor in Pulau Ubin. Don't believe me? Well click the list and see for yourself. This might have been prompted by the notorious 1990 incident when they found an Asian Elephant on the island. The poor fella must have lost his way after swiming all the way from the Johor Straits to Singapore. Bet he was aiming for Sentosa...

When you meet with any emergency on Pulau Ubin pls call the following numbers:

NParks Info Kiosk: 65424108,

Office: 65424842/65434734

Police Coast Guard: 63775540/63775542

Ubin Police Post: 65428664/96611591

4 more images

When you are getting onto the boat and alighting, do wait for it to park properly and stabilise so that it is easier for you. Also, do be careful as the steps at the jetty can be slippery due to the sea water, and sometimes there are wave splashes which may wet your shoes and pants.

The path was tarred halfway from the jetty and the rest was not. It's quite dangerous especially after rain when it's wet. Put on the break all the time, especially when going down the slope. Many rocks around. Watch out for vans!

3 more images

You'd be very unlucky if you got hit by a falling coconut, but the number of coconuts littering the ground suggests that this might not be as unlikely as you'd imagine!

You'll see fallen coconuts in the road, on the dirt tracks, in the forest, laying in ditches by the road - pretty much all over the place! I heard one fall in the forest when I was walking on the adjacent road.

Just keep an eye out if you're walking or cycling beneath the coconut palms!

There are lots of lizards on Pulau Ubin, ranging from small ones (a few inches long) to large monitor lizards (up to 2 metres in length).

Despite their sometimes fearsome appearance (the larger lizards do look like small crocodiles!), they are not dangerous to humans.

The small lizards are commonplace, you'll see them all over the place.

I saw a larger lizard while walking along Jalan Durian. It was strutting through the vegetation outside a house. At first I heard a rustling sound and then I saw it move. My first reaction was one of fear (I'd never seen a lizard as big as this before!), but it ignored me and sauntered on into the forest.

I managed to get a photo of it (see accompanying photograph), but it was pretty well camouflaged in the green vegetation, so you may struggle to see it!

Pulau Ubin has plenty of snakes - some venomous, some not.

I couldn't tell one type of snake from another, so I figured it was best to avoid them all. I decided to stick to the main paved road on the island and, by doing so, the only snake I saw was the one in the accompanying photograph.

There are plenty of dirt tracks leading off from the main road and I imagine you wouldn't have to look too hard to find snakes (if you really wanted to find them!).

Stick to the main road and you'll not encounter too many (if any) snakes. If you venture off the main road, make sure you've got suitable footwear and watch your step!

4 more images

There are plenty of big spiders on the island of Pulau Ubin.

I was blissfully unaware of them when I first arrived, and then I spotted one hanging in a large cobweb between two trees. I edged in to get a photo and just when I got close enough to get a shot, I noticed an even bigger spider right next to my left hand!

Continuing my walk, I realised that there were cobwebs (and large spiders!) hanging from practically every tree. I stopped looking for them in the end.

I stuck to the main road (limiting my chances of inadvertantly stumbling into a large cobweb), and this proved to be an effective method of avoiding them......until a spider fell from a tree above me and landed (dead) on the road just in front of me.

I don't know if any of the spiders are venomous, but I do know that they are big! (Big by British standards anyway!).

I've subsequently googled "spiders in Pulau Ubin" and found websites devoted to people who go "spider-hunting" on the island.

If you're afraid of spiders, stick to the main road and don't look for them - you can be blissfully ignorant of their presence!