I believe the whole island couldn't be more than one hundred
feet high. Later that day we had the chance to explore and find that
out for ourselves. For now, we wanted to check out the pier.
It was situated on a cove where the waters made hardly a ripple.
The emerald green waters lap right to the shore. There was a jetty
jutting out into the water. We grabbed our bags, our lunches, and
off we went onshore, hurrying to find a shady spot to park our belongings.
We were quick, and claimed a choiced spot to ourselves.
The walkway connects
to the jetty. |
Much of the island was linked by wooden walkways, making
trips from one end to the other less of a clambering experience.
At regular intervals are pondoks where you can have a rest while studying
pictures of corals and fish posted on the wall.
In many places, there was no shore at all, but only a cliff that dipped
right into the water, so the walkway served its purpose. There was
a platform stationed off the shore. It belonged to Sriwani, the agency
which Looi used. Further away was another smaller island, but I didn't
know the name. |
View from the coast looking
towards another nearby island.
After a short rest, I took the first of many dips in the sea.
The water was heavenly, and astonishingly clear. Astonishing, I said, because
with its proximity to Penang, I would have expected the water to be as
murky as what we have back home. But no. You can see straight
down to the bottom here.
From the shore I swam under the pier and onwards to the floating platfom.
On my way there I saw clumps of soft corals, complete with clownfish, two
giant garupas, and forests of deadly sea urchins. I got to the platform
and clambered aboard.
| Looi and gang have just arrived there and were
getting ready to go into the water. After much adjustment and indecision
of whether to use snorkles or goggles, she decided on goggles -- my own
choice also, since in my opinion it provides greater flexibility in the
water.
There were hundred of fish all over the place, and some even nimbled at my
back. I had to shoo them away.
From the platform, Looi and I swam towards the shore. I was glad
that even her daughter could make the trip without much trouble.
When we got to shore, I bade Looi farewell, as I had to get back before
my other group start wondering where I was.
Lunch consisted of salad, rice with chicken and curry shrimps, agar-agar
and washed down with bottled water. After that, it was time for my
camera and me to further explore the island. I found a magnificent
tree growing on the cliff that yielded blue flowers.
|
The tree with blue blossoms. |
Chai joined me, and together we explored as far as we can to the eastern
tip of the island. Here the beach was replaced by a rocky coastline.
The rocks were very slippery, so we decided to turn back.
After my team have had their lunch, we decided to explore the other
side of the island. A jungle track goes up into the hills. Going
up was quite an exhausting experience, even though there were stone steps
to help us. Up, up we went, until we came to a clearing, with a shed
to rest -- and a most breathtaking panorama!
Here it is:
From the top of the hill,
we could see a promontory which juts straight into the Andaman Sea.
Down below us,
the waves break onto
the rocky coast.
There was no path going down, and in fact, the cliff made a sheer drop
into the sea of torquoise and emerald. We got back to our base camp,
and I decided to make a final swim. The advantage of swimming is
that it takes you to places you couldn't have gone on foot. In this
case, it's the eastern tip of the island, which Chai and I have had to
turn back because it was too rocky. But by sea, it was no problem
getting there. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring my camera with me
into the water, so you'll just have to do with my description here.
| It took a bit of effort to swim all the way
to the rocky eastern tip, but worth the while. Over here, you find
the calm waters of the cove merge with the surling tide which rolled in
from the other unprotected side of the island. But the rocks here
were so slippery that I actually fell once with a terrific bump.
And what was the time? It suddenly dawned on me that I have been
so engrossed with exploring the island that I totally lost track of time.
What if it was time to go back, and they were looking for me?
|
Just see how clear the water was from the side of the cliff. |
I hurriedly swam back. Still, it took quite a while to get back, as I have
gone further than I had expected. But luckily, got back in time I did. We
packed our stuff, taking with us the remains from our lunch -- we had earlier
been advised not to leave them lying about. What a good idea, to keep
this place pristine for our next trip!
Our boat left the jetty at 3:30pm, and after a trip similar to the earlier journey,
we got back to Port Swettenham in Penang at precisely 5:00pm.
It was a marvellous end to a memorable Sunday!
