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Published: September 4th 2007
My beloved balcony
I spent many hours on this balcony reading and watching life go by, for lack of anything else to do in Cherating!I wrote a blog entry before I started this trip about finding the perfect island...I think I just found another one! Pulau Kapas...
But before I continue about this little piece of paradise, let me backtrack...
I said goodbye to mum and dad at Mersing bus station. Off they went to Kuala Lumpur to catch their flight, and off I went up the coast to Cherating, supposedly a total travellers' hang out. Lonely Planet made it sound like a wonderful place to spend a few days, "Cherating waylays visitors with a woozy concoction of sunshione, seaside charms and an infectiously leisurely tempo..." Leisurely, indeed, there was absolutely nothing to do!
It didn't help that 5 minutes before I arrived on the bus, it started to pour down in buckets. Happily, about 30 seconds before I arrived, it stopped again. Now was time for a mad dash to find accommodation. About 30 seconds down the dirt road, the clouds cracked again and the rain came down even harder than before. By the time I arrived at the first guest house, I was completely soaked to the skin! The guest house consisted of several wooden bungalows arranged around a increasingly
The beach at KBC bungalows
A stone walkway conveniently connected the three inhabited beaches. wetter field. There was no sign of life and it looked very grim, so i decided that, seeing as i was completely drenched anyway, I might as well press on. The next place I came to was lovely. The friendly staff handed me a towel to wipe the blinding rain from my eyes and held an umberella over me (there was no point at this stage, but it was a nice gesture!!) while I checked out the rooms. I was sold instantly! The big patio windows and balcony made the place look bright and cheery even through the downpour, and most of all, there were signs of life on the other balconies.
As the rain continued through most of the evening, I didn't do much apart from each dinner at my hotel and then grab a quick over-priced beer with an English guy I met.
Next day, I got up bright and early to finally explore the woozy seaside charms of Cherating...what a disappointment! The beach was dark and uninviting, and I could never imagine wearing anything other than long trousers and a T-short on it, and the sea was shallow but rough and equally uninviting. But wait,
Baby Turtle!
Zai, owner of a local beachfront restaurant, took me canoeing to find the baby turtle hatchery on nearby Pulau Gemia island. there's more... the town itself seemed like a ghost town. Most of the bungalows were abandoned and fallen into disrepair, the cultural center was closed and looked like it wasn't due to reopen any time this century, and 90% of the restaurants were always closed. It was as if it were off season, but it is in fact high season! The only real attraction was the turtle sanctuary at Club Med, where I set free a baby turtle into the ocean along with the English guy and a Canadian couple.
I was supposed to be picked up by a taxi at 6:45am the next day to meet my 7:30am bus up the coast. However, I waited and waited, and in true malay late fashion, by 7:05 the taxi still hadn't arrived. Worried I had already missed my bus, I quickly rushed down to the ticket office who had arranged the whole thing and hammered on the door. Within a few monutes, a half-asleep and dishevelled owner rushed down, bundled me into his car, and drove at breakneck speed to the bus station. We arrived at 7:28am, with only 2 monutes to spare! It didn't matter as it turned out
as, true to malay tradition, the bus was of course late, lumbering out of the station at 7:50am.
Upon arriving in Marang, I got a boat for the short 6km ride to Pulau Kapas. I could immediately see it was a gorgeous island, but was somewhat disheartened when I looked at the dorm room I was planning to stay in - it was going to be me and about 15 local Malaysian men! Not my idea of fun! Luckily, I found a room at a Dutch-owned place on the next beach called Kapas Beach Chalets (KBC). The staff here were so friendly and welcoming, that I immediately felt at home.
Now about my paradise island...it truly is a gem. Only 6km from the mainland, it is amazingly undeveloped. The accommodation is on three main beaches connected by cute stone walkways. However, go north of these and you have whole beaches to yourself, complete with powdery white sand, swaying coconut palms, and warm clear water. There is even decent snorkelling! I spent most of my time here swimming, snorkelling, exploring, and lazing. In the middle, I broke it up woth a trip back to the mainland to do internet
and visit an ATM (yes, the island really is quite undeveloped!).
Unfortunately, the inevitable happened yesterday. Our beloved underwater camera sprung a leak. It seemd to be only minor, maybe only one drop, but you know how corrosive salt water is...well, it is completely dead. Hence, I reluctantly dragged myself away from paradise two days early and I am currently making my way up to Bangkok via overnight train (starting tomorrow) to try to find an Olympus store to see if there is anything they can do to help. I very much doubt it, but I have to try. If anyone has any experience with this kind of thing, or can offer suggestions (other than, "Just ditch it and buy another," which tends to be the general concensus) I would be glad of them!
Wish me luck, and enjoy the final underwater photos! (Given the short life of the camera, I calculated that they cost about $4 each - Grrr!!!)
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Andi
non-member comment
Bummer!
August is definitely not the month for underwater cameras. Our's meet a painful death when Paul accidently dropped our beach bag over the side of a cliff. We spent ages trying to find our camera case - the strap had caught on a tree, and the camera was dangling above our heads. It looked totally fine, but on closer inspection was totally buggered. Luckily it happened on our second to last day, although I'm not sure our insurance company will buy the fact that it broke on practically the last day of a six month trip!