They say the must thing to do before you die is to take a Star Ferry ride in Hong Kong. I would also recommend Ubin bumboats to the list. These wooden boats are made to last a lifetime. The craftsmen making them are no more and good timbers are increasing hard to find. Ask any foreign tourist, he will tell you the experience is different compared to going in a fibreglass or steel hull boat. You know you are going for an adventure. The bumboats define Ubin for what it is for many of us. A rustic getaway where our cares and work stress are cast away.
The term possibly derives from the Dutch boomboat, a broad-beamed fishing boat, it first appears in England in 1685 under which scavenging boats attending ships in the Thames were employed to remove ‘filth’ from ships, and also to carry vegetables for sale on board (further links).
No bumboats are built alike. I would stand at the stern feeling the fresh air and getting great angles for snapshots. The paints are all weather worn making them ideal subjects.
Still there are folks who write to the press and complain about them being ‘accidents’ waiting for happen. What isn’t then? Your fancy new car is also a deadly projectile. Boats do sink but these bumboats aren’t exactly submarines. With human factor, even modern boats like Ms Estonia took down 852 lives. They clamor for ‘modern’ ferry service like the one that stopped plying to Sentosa. Who wants to wait for hourly scheduled service needed to fill up such unwieldy boats. Those familiar with Kusu islands remember the snaking queues waiting for ferries.
After ferrying thousands and thousands of passengers, these MPA annually certified boats have no mishaps for the last 10 years. Maintain water vigilance, if need be leave your babies and toddlers with your in-laws and come to Ubin to recapture your childhood as adults. Ubin cannot be redeveloped for everyone without destroying its character which many people find so charming. It cannot be remade like another sterile chinatown or non-starters like Tang village or Haw Par amusement park. Nor does it need expensive life support like Sentosa island. In Ubin, school kids get genuine chance to enjoy outdoors fun and camping in an island with a safe home shore without burning a large hole in their parents’ pockets.
Picture below. Ex-member of parliament Ho Kah Leong painting Ubin fast disappearing scenes (year 2000)..
