Posts Tagged ‘low tide’

 

Ubin abandoned prawn farms – 21. December, 2009

Prawn farming used to be thriving in Pulau ubin. Inland swamps are parceled out with dykes. Sluice gates are constructed to control the flow of water.

Water pollution contributed to its demise. Lease are given up back to the Government and building structures demolished.

From GoogleEarth, one can see its scale by its tell tale remnants.

abandoned prawn farms

With GoogleEarth, we manage to plot our course by connecting dots of white roofs peeking through dense trees canopy seen under satellite. The course or path is then downloaded into our handheld GPS.

It led us first to a swing.

swing

Then a lovely house

malay kampong house

Finally a sweeping view from the remaining sluice gate, also a prime spot for bird watching.

view from sluice gate

Natural swamps are an important spawning grounds for fishes and with young fishes finding easy refuge. The sluice gates continues today as barriers. At low tide, the remaining fish are easily caught by fishermen casting fine nets.

sluice gate

The government should consider demolishing them to bring life back to our natural swamps.

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Ubin tide tables – 20. July, 2009

Chek Jawa is best visited during times when tides are low. NEA provides handy information which is permanently linked on the right of this page. In Singapore, tides are considered high when its above 3 metres and very low when its 0.3 metres and below.

You can also find tide tables prediction for the whole year here.

For campers, its useful also to know about moon rises and moon phases (linked right). We look forward to moonless nights where me get to see stars and exploring the island with flashlights.

Picture by Andy Ho.
Dragon Tail Vine (Epipremnum pinnatum)
Dragon tail vine under full moon.

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Maginot Line – 3. January, 2009

These stakes may look nice during sunset. But can be an eyesore too.

Maginot Line

The stakes were built during the last financial criss to keep illegal immigrants from swimming in. They could wade in during low tide. But most would rather fly by air and overstay instead.

Low tide

Reminds me of the famous Maginot Line

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