This 18-Year-Old S’porean Spends Weekends Living A Kampung Life On Pulau Ubin

For most Singaporean teenagers, a boat trip to Pulau Ubin probably means cycling, exploring Chek Jawa and spending a few good hours away from the city.

For one Singaporean Gen Z, it's practically going home.

Isaac, 18, a Republic Polytechnic student studying Design in User Experience, has been splitting his time between Pulau Ubin and mainland Singapore for most of his life.

"I mainly live with my parents on the mainland during weekdays, and on weekends and holidays, I live with my grandparents on Pulau Ubin," Isaac shared in an episode of Gen Z Crash Course, where he gave host Zhu Zeliang a glimpse into his life on Pulau Ubin, where only around 30 residents are said to remain.

And he's been making that journey for years.

"The bumboat fare used to be $1.50 when I was young, but now the bumboat fare is $4," he shared.

While most Singaporeans can simply turn on a tap or step into a shower, things work rather differently at Isaac's grandparents' home in Ubin.

Their water supply comes from a well, with pipes connecting the taps around the house.

"If I turn on this tap, all the other taps in the main house will have very little water pressure, like drips of water, as all the piping is connected," Isaac explained.

"For bathing, we'll first boil the water then pour it into a big tub of water, then we'll use a pail, scoop out the water and pour it over ourselves as we have no shower head," he added.

And forget about blasting the air-con when the weather gets unbearably hot -- Isaac relies on two fans to keep himself cool.

There's also no Wi-Fi at the house, though mobile data has made things easier.

"So what do I do here when there's no Wi-Fi? Luckily nowadays data is cheaper, so I use my own data to do my schoolwork or go through social media. Back when I was young, data used to be quite expensive, so it's a huge inconvenience for me," he explained.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Isaac's weekends is the family business. His grandparents run a provision shop on Pulau Ubin that Isaac says is more than 100 years old.

"My great-grandparents started it for tourists," Isaac explained.

"We sell snacks, drinks, coconuts and ice cream. But for the residents, this is more like their mini-mart. We have rice, canned food, soap and all their daily essentials. And they also come specifically for my grandma's coffee." 

And when weekends get busy, Isaac helps out too.

"From 9am onwards, the island is full of people. So I help out watching the store, collecting payments, and making sure the monkeys don't come and steal anything," he said.

Wait, monkeys? Seems like keeping an eye on the cash register is the least of Isaac’s worries.

Growing up on Pulau Ubin also means Isaac has known many of the island's residents for most of his life.

"Everybody watched me grow up from young, they treat me like their own grandson," he shared.

And there's something about the slower pace of life that he appreciates.

While his peers might head to malls or cafés to unwind, Isaac has an entire island to explore.

"On the mainland, it's all concrete and everything, but in Pulau Ubin you just walk five minutes and you get all these nice views. That's why I started photography," he explained.

He often heads to places such as Chek Jawa to take photographs, including pictures of planes flying near Changi Airport.

But even with all that nature around him, Isaac admits he occasionally feels lonely.

"Once in a while. I mean, I've been calling my friends a lot more to play online games with them," he said.

As much as Isaac loves the island, living there full-time isn't quite so straightforward.

For one, there's the daily commute.

"Right now, with all the work and everything, it's really troublesome if I have to travel by ferry every day. I have to wake up like two to three hours early," he explained.

But Isaac isn't ruling out a future on Pulau Ubin either.

When asked whether he'd consider taking over his grandparents' provision shop one day, he said: "If given the chance, I would definitely like to take over the shop. I would keep the kampung style, but I'll definitely rebuild the house a bit, because it's a bit too old, needs some maintenance work done," he said.

And there's a reason he's so attached to the island.

"Sometimes, the same view, but it's like... it's my love for the island that keeps me coming back here. It's my passion, like I want to really preserve this place. It's not very often you get to see this type of really rustic, not built-up places," he shared.