The island of Pulau Ubin, off the northern coast of Singapore, has been featured here over the past few months – one of the last few refuge for a green and laid-back lung. Relatively inaccessible except by motorized boat (10 mins ride; S$3 each way), we revisited it on an ‘off-day’ in its weekly cycle, when the school kids are back in class, the local weekenders are absent, and a smattering of tourists engage in a day-off from the city-state to revive in a true garden. I last camped in Ubin 40 years ago, when life on the island was real and the homes were lived. Today, as it awaits its fate in a fast changing world, its enduring charm to the city-slickers is more needed than before, for those who can see beyond the immediacy of the present to reflect on life everywhere, and life in abundance.

The wildlife and fauna of Ubin comes to life in this humanity day-off. Both animals and man make their repairs to sustain their way of life, and restore some balance to the nature that they seek to sustain.

(Lumix GX85, January 2018)