"Aye Aye, Captain" on Puala Kapas Paradise

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For the first time, since starting to blog our travelling experiences, weve encountered a dilemma. Should we a) Say that the Pulau Kapas was just alright, nothing out of the ordinary and not somewhere that we would highly recommend or should we b) Not say anything or c) Tell the truth.

The reason for opting for either of the first two scenarios would mean that we would not be contributing to the relatively little amount of web material that exists and so in a small way doing our bit to ensure that the Pulau Kapas would remain relatively untouched by mass tourism - for selfish purposes of course.

The truth is (option c) that the Pulau Kapas were everything we had hoped they might be. Stretches of soft white sand, crystal clear waters and some of the best - if not the best - snorkelling weve encountered. Throw in a crazy eccentric captain at the helm of a typical Borneo longhouse along with his one man crew and you have a recipe for a great island experience.

After seemingly two months of constant city hopping, we left Kuala Lumpur in desperate need of sand, sun, sea and fresh air. So desperate in fact that we almost for went our trip to the Pulau Kapas after checking the weather forecast for the area and seeing that thunder storms were expected for the next three weeks. On a whim we headed to KL airport to get a flight to Padang in Sumatra where we could head to the Mentawii Islands instead. Fortunately for us there were no flights that evening and so we set off for the Pulau Kapas.

After a sub zero overnight aircon bus experience to K. Terrenganu, we arrived pre-daybreak and took a taxi to the jetty at Marang. Arriving in the darkness with three hours to wait until the first boat we had little by the way of amusement with the exception of the host of jetty cats who were extremely interested in us - or more likely our tuna and sweetcorn sandwiches. Finally, the fast boat arrived to take us to the island, but not before the cats had manipulated our weaknesses and scoffed about 90 percent of our breakfast.

The speed boat glided over crystal clear waters and brought us straight to shore at the Captains Longhouse. We arrived just in time to sample Asharis (The Captians first mate) apple pancakes - they we
e out of bananas. Asharis pancakes would become our staple breakfast for the duration of our stay. The set up at the Captians was very relaxed and he promoted a communal, almost family like atmosphere. Most nights the Captain would cook up a huge family dinner of chicken or seafood curry, various veggies in oyster sauce, prawn crackers and on some occasions barbecued fish. It was a great way to end a day that generally consisted of nothing more than stepping from the longhouse to the beach and alternating between the sand and the sea. After dinner it was time to kick back and let the food settle on the communal veranda at the front of the longhouse with a book or if we were feeling really energized we would play a game of Jungle Speed. What can we say? Its a hard life at the Captains.

We originally intended to stay no more than a couple of nights but we ended up staying over a week. Only leaving the confines of the islands shores to make an ATM run to mainland. Although we were pretty lazy during our stay we did partake in a few activities including a snorkelling trip around the island with Ashari - which was outstanding. Chris was pleased that he spotted a baby shark and I was pleased that I didn . We also took a sea canoe around the island - well two thirds of it anyway - stopping off at various stretches of deserted beach without a person or building in sight and managing to get our legs sun burned in the process.

We met a great bunch of people during our stay, with whom we enjoyed our evenings discussing how little each of us had achieved that particular day. One afternoon the English guys accompanied the Captain on his weekly run to the mainland for supplies bring back a load of fruit including bananas for the mornings pancakes and a load of beer and rum. As relaxed as ever the Captain left us to our own devices as we manned the bar and built a beach side bonfire under the watchful eye of Ashari - who I can confirm was more inebriated than we were.

All in all the Pulau Kapas was truly amazing and we have it ear marked for a couple of weeks next time we pass through. Hopefully it will be as untouched as we left it.

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