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| Kapas Keeps Us! - <b>Pulau Kapas</b>, Malaysia Travel Blog Posted: 18 May 2011 12:00 AM PDT We left for Pulau Kapas on the 4th of May, due to a lack of internet no blogs have been written but I'm going to try and summarise the last 14 days as best I can. Waking up in Marang we packed what little we had unpacked in one night and went to speak to the Marang Guesthouse owner to see if we could get a lift to the jetty, which the night before he had offered. Once again he agreed but also began writing out two boat tickets. Nicely we told him we were going to look around the jetty for a cheap ticket and would not be buying it here… but can we still get a lift?…to which he replied 'NO'. So we walked the 15 minutes in the heat with our bags to the jetty cursing the man. When we arrived we found the cheapest option to be with a company called 'MGH' - in case you already figured it out - yes this is the same company who own Marang Guesthouse . We bought the tickets and cursed ourselves for not getting the lift.The boat takes about 25 minutes and before we knew it we could see the white sands of Kapas. I jumped out of the boat soaking my shoes and pants, covering both in sand. Boff used the ladder and came away dry, the ladders did look precarious though . We got dropped off just outside a place called KBC (Kapas Beach Chalets). The Lonely Planet had stated this place was decent and cheap so the drop off was handy. We headed inside and were directed to the reception, there we were met by Dan an English guy working in Malaysia for the season. Dan showed us a nice twin room so we quickly dropped our bags, signed the necessary forms (Boff now knows his passport number off by heart) and jumped in the crystal clear sea. From our first arrival to the day we left are days remained mainly the same. We sat on the porch and devoured books, played in the sea in rubber rings, ate at the KBC restaurant and got to know the people a little better. Kapas is a beautiful quiet island, no roads just jungle, clear sea, white sand, scorching sun and fish . The beauty of KBC was the people.Now its too hard to explain what we did every day for 14 days but I can let you know about the people we met and the fun we had so that's what I will try and do. Firstly we met Ciaran and Claire an English couple on a 2 week holiday in Malaysia - good choice. Ciaran taught us how to play back gammon which we then played every day until we left, so a big thank you is needed there. Natasha and Gek who work in the restaurant taught us to play two sided connect four - I think you regress when you travel, you do nothing all day but play. Natasha is from England and similar to Dan has worked at KBC for a few seasons. Gek greeted us every morning with 'Good Night' and Natasha shared her drink and travel stories willingly. Then theres Dan and Nisa. Dan is English its his 4th year in Kapas and taught Boff how to play 4 chords on the guitar - The two Dans got on very well. Nisa Dans girlfriend is Malaysian, she also works at KBC and taught me how to speak Malaysian (Awa Macham Bunga Nisa), a game which name I did not get and she serenaded me on the guitar . We spent most days hiding in the shade of the 'Lazy Lounge' with Dan, Nisa and Kayan talking, listening to music and having good times all round.Patrick was a French Gentleman who loved to dive and snorkel, he went everyday without fail - some of the things he saw… many sharks and two turtles mating, we therefore nicknamed him 'Shark Man'. When you got Patrick drunk or even just during the day on a whim you can put on The Rolling Stones and Patrick would do the chicken dance, a great laugh. Patricks parting words - "You can be rich with money but with travel your rich in life". Cristina had been on Kapas for 3 weeks when we arrived she had made herself right at home. Shes fiery and Spanish, cooked everyday and shared it. She also shared her treats with us - biscuits, nuts and chocolate and I even got a great back massage when we agreed to stay for two more days - the second time we agreed to stay longer that is. Rebecca arrived later on in our stay. Strangely we recognised her from the bus to Tioman, she stayed at beach shack with Paul and Tori. Becca also new Matt Gilford who we met in Manali, India . She has just spent 5 months there - it's a small world. Becca is from England - a northerner who never stopped making us all laugh.Last but by all means not least is Kayan. Kayan owns KBC, he may possibly be the most chilled out relaxed guy you could ever meet, not only this but generous. He bought copious amounts of alcohol and shared it with everyone until we were all VERY drunk. Patrick danced like a chicken and Me, Nisa, Marisa, Boff, Patrick and Anthony swam in the sea - fully clothed. Kayan always seemed to be offering some form of biscuits or cake, again to anyone who wanted it. He held a film night and set up the 'Lasy Lounge' like a cinema. He never stopped giving, even to the point where we got a free nights stay. Needless to say after meeting such wonderful people we extended our stay from 10 days to 12 and then to 14, we couldn't leave. We played games in the day and talked about anything and everything. We went on a group snorkelling trip and a fish bit my leg. We played games in the sea diving through hoops, doing rollie-pollie - the usual. We drank too much and sang around a fire on the beach while Nisa played guitar. When we left it was like leaving home all over again we had become a family - and that was the wonderful Kapas. Hot, sandy, sometimes stormy but always a friendly face. The morning we left again people said "don't leave" I nearly gave in but we knew we had to keep on moving and see more of Malaysia. Our next destination is Pulau Perhentian, another island of the East coast further up North. |
| <b>Pulau Perhentian</b> Kecil - <b>Pulua Perhentian</b> Kecil, Malaysia Travel Blog Posted: 04 Apr 2011 12:00 AM PDT A lot of the guesthouses were full the day we arrived, so we stayed one night at Shari-La which is a nicer place with more amenities (a/c, TV, fridge), but a higher price tag even after negotiating (100 RM; ~$33 CDN). The next day we changed to Maya Guesthouse, which have longhouses, with a much nicer price tag (50 RM; ~17 CDN). A lot of the island only has electricity during parts of the day. For example, at Maya Guesthouse, electricity is available from 6:30pm to 8am, and from 12 noon to 3pm; which is more than you need, since you aren't in the room during the day anyway .We took a walk to the other side of Kecil island to Long Beach. It has a larger beach, but prone to bigger waves, so we are glad to be staying on Coral Beach where the water is calm. We met a really great couple- Reed and Liz from California, who are staying in the room 2 doors from us. Just behind Maya Guesthouse is a little pond where Riley spotted some huge monitor lizards (nose to tail ~5 to 5.5 feet long). They are the largest lizards we have ever seen, and it is amazing to think that the Komodo dragons we will see in Indonesia will be even bigger. On Wednesday we went on a day snorkelling trip around the two islands (Kecil and Besar). We went to a total of 4 snorkelling stops, and the fishing village for lunch. The highlight was seeing blacktip reef sharks (the biggest was about 4 feet long), as this was our first shark siting ever (snorkelling or scuba diving). Some of the other fish we saw were big puffer fish, lots of clown fish ("Nemos"), different color angelfish and butterfly fish, parrotfish, and needle fish . We also saw a couple blue-spotted stingrays, beautiful coral, and huge colorful giant clams. It was a great snorkelling trip and only cost 35 RM (~$12 CDN) per person and included breakfast.The next two days included a total of 3 dives with Quiver Dive Company at a cost of 70 RM (~$23 CDN) per dive. The first dive was to "Sugar Wreck", which is a 90 metre long, 3500 ton, cargo ship that sunk in 1999 carrying sugar..... hence the name "Sugar Wreck". This was our first wreck dive ever. It was a good dive, with a max depth of 18 metres. Visibility was pretty good for most of the dive. Lots of schools of fish, really big puffer fish, and loads of sea urchins. We got to dive through some swim-thrus within the wreck which was fun. The next dive was to "Temple of the Sea", which is a pinnacle rock formation, and is regarded by many as the best dive site in the area..... and it did not disappoint. We had great visibility, and went down to a maximum depth of 24 metres. Saw quite a few bamboo sharks (still quite small at ~2-3 feet long), that hang out under overhanging rock and coral. Saw a few more blue-spotted stingrays, a big trigger fish, puffer fish, and lots of schools of fish (ie. yellow snappers, golden travelle, etc). Riley spotted and got our attention, to see a white-eyed moray eel swimming . We also saw the infamous 3-legged hawksbill turtle swimming along. He is a good size, and the story is that he lost his back left leg from a boat hitting him, as his shell is quite damaged.The third dive was to "T3", also known as the "The Three Brothers", or "Terumbu Tiga". This is a large dive site with lots of swim-thrus, and can be a favorite when conditions are good. The visibility at the start wasn't very good, and there was a strong current. At one point we swam through two rocks where the current was brutal. We were all swimming quite hard, but barely moving. Rochelle was at the back of the group, and got trapped in the current, and watched everyone get further away. She was sure she lost everyone, and was already going through the safety procedures in her head for when you lose your dive group. After getting to a spot with less current, the dive master did a head count and realized he was missing someone. Luckily, Rochelle saw that the group turned left, so she went over the one rock, and was able to pop up over top of the group.... surprising and relieving them.... especially Riley. We went down to a maximum depth of 21 metres, and saw a big trigger fish that was blocking one swim-thru, preventing us from being able to do it. We did do another swim-thru, where the entrance was quite small and dark, but once through, it opened up and the visibility was good. Mainly due to the visibility, we enjoyed the first two dives more .The next day (Saturday) we chartered a boat to do a snorkelling trip with two other couples (Reed and Liz, and a couple from France). It went to Rawa island- north of Pulua Perhentian Kecil. We went to 2 sites in this area, and stopped at a beach to have a snack. In some spots, the current was quite strong, but we still saw some great fish! Some highlights included seeing a small school of 8-10 green humphead parrot fish (that were ~4 feet long), more blacktip reef sharks, and trigger fish. Since it was still early, we also stopped at a beach known as "Quiet Beach", on the northwest end of Kecil island. This was the best snorkelling location so far, as the visibility was great, and had lots of fish. There were lots of colorful coral and giant clams. Our favorite encounter here was with the two white-eyed moray eels- a small one that was just poking his head out of a hole in the coral, and a bigger one which was swimming around. Our last two days we did a bunch of snorkelling. On Monday, we rented fins and snorkelled around Coral Beach. We saw lots of schools of fish, a box fish, and some fish we have never seen before. On Tuesday, we went on another snorkelling trip (we love exploring the waters....if you can't tell..) that Maya Guesthouse operates . They are the only one that brings an underwater camera on the tour, and will give you a digital copy of all the pictures for a mere 20 ringits (~$7 CDN). Luckily it was a small group of us- only 6. The other 4 were two couples from Australia and had their own underwater camera, so the guide- Mann, mostly swam with us, and took pictures with us. At the first site- Shark Point, we started to see blacktip reef sharks almost immediately after jumping into the water. Before we knew it, about 6 were circling the area around us, and at least 2-3 were always in our view. A few times they would get as close as 3 feet from us. This was incredible, as in some spots, the water was only a metre deep, so the visibility was great! On a few occassions, we would dive down and be eye level with them. We stayed swimming with them for almost an hour.At the next few sites, some highlights included a huge turtle that was way at the bottom of an area that was probably 6 metres deep. We had to swim down to see him, as the visibility wasn't as great in this spot. Riley did three different swim-thrus (which are like tunnels through rocks or coral). One which was not much bigger than he was, so it was a tight squeeze. A good size blue-spotted stingray, scorpion fish, puffer fish, and another humphead parrotfish were also highlights of these snorkelling sites. We had an incredible last day, and entire stay on Pulau Perhentian Kecil. What was supposed to be a 4-5 night stop, ended up being 9 nights due to enjoying ourselves so much. Tomorrow we head back to mainland for a short bus south, to then take a boat to Pulua Kapas- another small island that is supposed to have aquamarine water and beautiful beaches. |
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