Pulau Kapas - Malaysia
5/14/05 to 5/15/05
The trip to Pulau Kapas was long but comfortable. From Cameron we took a bus to Tapah where we arrived around 4:30 P.M. and spent time in the night market trying many different things. They use a lot of steaming for cooking and we tried a couple of rice coconut desserts, all delicious.
At 09:30 PM (5/14/05) we took another bus to Marang, the fishing village where the ferry to Kapas departs. We arrived there at 07:30 A.M (5/15/05).
We had to withdraw money before going to the island but the only ATM available in the village didn't work. We had to take another bus and go to Terengganu, which is the next village 18 kilometers away, just for the money. :(
On the way back to Marang something unconceivable in the western world happened. The bus driver stopped to do some personal paperwork. First he had to figure out which building he had to go in the city and then the whole bus waited for around an hour until he was back to resume the trip.
It is like if the bus driver going from NYC to Boston drives to the DMV to renew his driver's license while the passengers wait for him to take the test. I just couldn't believe he was doing that. When he was back in the bus he looked at us and said a 'sorry' with a nice smile in his face.
Another thing that surprised us was the fact that none of the other passengers seemed to be really bothered for the delay. Nobody got angry, shouted at him or any sign of offence, well ...
Eventually we got to the ferry and arrived in Pulau Kapas around noon.
Wow, what a place. There are no facilities here, just a few bungalows, the beach and the forest. The beach is around 500 meters long and the whole island had maybe not more than 10 tourists.
It was very very very very hot, so the first thing was to fall in the water.
At night the owner of the hotel made a barbecue with fresh fish, squid, lamb and chicken, there was also orange juice, salads and fruits for dessert.
We met a Scottish guy that also left his IT work to rover the world. He biked for 5 months in India and was on his route in Southeast Asia.
5/16/05
The second day in Kapas is easy to describe, it was completely devoted to the art of relaxing.
The only thing going on to see was the huge iguanas in the swamp behind the hotel trying to catch their lunch.
5/17/05
Here we met more interesting people doing some serious travelling, a couple made of a German (but son of Portuguese couple who moved to Germany) and of a French girl who also travelled 2 months in India and 10 other months in Southeast Asia. Another couple, an Indian guy and a Japanese girl are moving from country to country since 1991, wow, I dare anybody to beat this two. :D. The last couple was a Dutch girl with a Malaysian guy and their baby. In summary, we were only international couples!
The rest of the day was again serious relaxing.
Malaysia is very cheap, with an excellent transport system, interesting food and it is so beautiful, I don't know why it is not a major destination for vacation.
5/18/05
Paradise time was over by now, we had to leave for Kota Bharu and then Thailand.
The trip to Pulau Kapas was long but comfortable. From Cameron we took a bus to Tapah where we arrived around 4:30 P.M. and spent time in the night market trying many different things. They use a lot of steaming for cooking and we tried a couple of rice coconut desserts, all delicious.
At 09:30 PM (5/14/05) we took another bus to Marang, the fishing village where the ferry to Kapas departs. We arrived there at 07:30 A.M (5/15/05).
We had to withdraw money before going to the island but the only ATM available in the village didn't work. We had to take another bus and go to Terengganu, which is the next village 18 kilometers away, just for the money. :(
On the way back to Marang something unconceivable in the western world happened. The bus driver stopped to do some personal paperwork. First he had to figure out which building he had to go in the city and then the whole bus waited for around an hour until he was back to resume the trip.
It is like if the bus driver going from NYC to Boston drives to the DMV to renew his driver's license while the passengers wait for him to take the test. I just couldn't believe he was doing that. When he was back in the bus he looked at us and said a 'sorry' with a nice smile in his face.
Another thing that surprised us was the fact that none of the other passengers seemed to be really bothered for the delay. Nobody got angry, shouted at him or any sign of offence, well ...
Eventually we got to the ferry and arrived in Pulau Kapas around noon.
Wow, what a place. There are no facilities here, just a few bungalows, the beach and the forest. The beach is around 500 meters long and the whole island had maybe not more than 10 tourists.
It was very very very very hot, so the first thing was to fall in the water.
At night the owner of the hotel made a barbecue with fresh fish, squid, lamb and chicken, there was also orange juice, salads and fruits for dessert.
We met a Scottish guy that also left his IT work to rover the world. He biked for 5 months in India and was on his route in Southeast Asia.
5/16/05
The second day in Kapas is easy to describe, it was completely devoted to the art of relaxing.
The only thing going on to see was the huge iguanas in the swamp behind the hotel trying to catch their lunch.
5/17/05
Here we met more interesting people doing some serious travelling, a couple made of a German (but son of Portuguese couple who moved to Germany) and of a French girl who also travelled 2 months in India and 10 other months in Southeast Asia. Another couple, an Indian guy and a Japanese girl are moving from country to country since 1991, wow, I dare anybody to beat this two. :D. The last couple was a Dutch girl with a Malaysian guy and their baby. In summary, we were only international couples!
The rest of the day was again serious relaxing.
Malaysia is very cheap, with an excellent transport system, interesting food and it is so beautiful, I don't know why it is not a major destination for vacation.
5/18/05
Paradise time was over by now, we had to leave for Kota Bharu and then Thailand.
posted by Adriano and Angie | 5:32 AM
1 Comments:
Oi
e pensar que a Angel teve que passar o Ano Novo aqui em Ipanema Beach, com a gente, hehehe!!!
acho que ela já estava pensando em estar ai na Malásia e chorava quando via a rua principal, perto da praça da igreja, não é ??
Abraços.
Junior
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