A Journey Back in Time

Gazing out at Singapore's modern skyline whose every inch is seemingly cluttered with skyscrapers, high-end malls, and condominiums, it's hard to imagine that Singapore was once a swamp-covered island where tigers roamed until the early 20th century.

Most of Singapore's past was torn down and paved over in the name of development and progress, but there's still a spot just off the north-eastern coast where visitors can glimpse a remnant of the era before the arrival of freeways and Giorgio Armani.

The small island, which is accessible via a short boat ride, is called Pulau Ubin (Granite Island). It's still blanketed by jungle, and still about a hundred people live there in the last of Singapore's traditional kampongs (villages).

The residents occupy wooden houses, relying on well water and electric generators.

Until the 1960s and 1970s, Pulau Ubin served as a major center for granite quarrying. Now the island is known for its rare ecosystem, animals, and plants that remain long after having disappeared from the rest of Singapore.

Every weekend, Singaporeans and tourists alike flock to the 6.3 square-mile island to ride bicycles, stroll on boardwalks that wind along the coast ...

... and just escape the pressure of modern life.

It was quite relaxing spending an afternoon away from the hustle and bustle of my fellow, 5.3 million Singaporean occupants crammed into an area slightly more than 3.5 times the size of Washington, D.C. and to remember that another life still exists outside of the steel and concrete metropolis I currently call home.