What makes you tick on weekends when you are away from home? I went island hopping after a week-worth of honest work. The plan was to wake up bright and early on Saturday morning to catch the first available boat out on an island-hopping adventure. I was quite determined to quelched the fear of drowning and go snorkelling. At this juncture, I should mention that I DO NOT know how to swim but I figured that as long as I kept the life jacket firmly belted and fasten every available strap, I should be fine. Afterall, if you are meant to die, you will die no matter if you are just soaking in the bathtub. Right-o.. That sorted, I set my alarm clock for 5am.
At the appointed hour, I was up like a bolt and rushed straight for the curtains in my hotel room. To my dismay, it was raining like a typhoon has hit KK *sighs* There goes my determination to conquer my fear. Oh well... I suppose it's "die another day" for me. I called up my colleagues and after a moment of lamenting, we decided that we shall wait another couple of hours before really calling it quits. So waited we did..
Miraculously, at 7am, the sun came out shining in full force (the sun rises half an hour earlier in East Malaysia). The sky turned brilliant blue and there was nary a cloud as far as the eye can see. Alright man! This is it. I called up my colleagues and we packed up and checked out of the hotel in 30 mins. A short cab ride away from our hotel and we arrived at wharf (can't remember the name) and had to wait until 9.30am for the next boat so we passed the time catching another 40-winks.
Our boat was a small aluminium boat with a roof and an out-board motor. Twas a bumpy ride for the 12 of us sitting on either side. We got splashed and the wind whipped our hair against our faces. But it was invigorating. At one point, one of our travelling companions lost his cap to a gust of wind and it landed in the middle of the sea. We thought that was the end of it but the boatman very deftly turned the boat around and not only did he manage to spot the cap bobbing in the waves but was able to bring our boat close enough alongside for its owner to fish it out of the sea. No special implements required. *clap clap clap!*
The first island we landed on was Pulau Manukan (or Manukan Island). It was heavenly. The waters were so blue it made you feel relaxed just looking at it. There were a million little fishes of all shapes and colours darting about the stilts supporting the jetty. It was such a pleasant welcome party.
There was a matter of paying a small conservation fee at the tourist centre and it was off to the snorkelling area we go. Fitted out with snorkels, face masks, flippers and life jackets, my colleagues and I trundge the short distance from the jetty to the designated snorkelling area. We had an hour before heading off to another island.
After a quick briefing by the lifeguard and the all important tip: "always breathe through your mouth!" I was ready to hit the waters. First, I swum the shallow end, well within the lifeguard's line of vision. Once I have gotten accustomed to breathing through a straw (it honestly felt like it), it was time to venture into the deep.
The experience was TOTALLY OUT OF THIS WORLD! Truly. The world under the surface of the blue waters is from another planet. To start of, everything was in a nice blue-green tint. Here and there, you can see shaft of golden sunlight filtering from the surface. And the underwater community was thriving! As it was still early morning, the day was just starting for the denizens of Manukan waters. There were parrot fishes of every imaginable colour (I like the purple and green ones), corals of various shapes and sizes (I could only identify the 'Brain Coral'), sea urchins (they have eyes!!), little fishes, not so little fishes, big fishies (ummm... sashimi!) and laid-back starfishes in yellow, green, red and blue (up until that moment, I've always thought that the souvenir shops dyed the starfishes which just goes to show that you learn something new everyday) Them starfishes were draped on the surfaces of rocks and corals and somehow I imagined them to be saying,'"Hey dude! Ssup?" They just gave me that vibe.
Time stood still. I tried to look at everything and as much as I can but then I noticed that there will little white flecks before my eyes. Oh no! Could it be that I'm passing out from the lack of oxygen? No wait.. Could it be?? OMG! They are PLANKTON!! You've only ever heard of plankton on documentary shows and learning about them in science books but to actually see it? It was stupendous. If I were a cartoon, you'd probably see giant exclamation marks right above my head!
All too soon, it was time to go. Our next destination was Pulau Sapi (or Sapi Island). Pulai Sapi was less commercialised than Manukan and our boat operator assured us the waters are unspoilt with more to see. We headed off in anticipation. I was doubly elated because I finally conquered my fear of the water and went snorkelling! Oh such wonders under the sea!
Sapi is a much smaller island. Hence would explain why it was lesser developed than Manukan. It was here that I encountered 'Nemo'. You know.. the orange clown fish with white stripes that kiddies in our time will forever refer to as 'Nemo'. There was nemo in search of food, nemo playing hide-and-go-seek, nemo hiding within the fronds of the anemomeneh *haha* etc.
The little fishes in Sapi are a friendly lot. I suppose they are accustomed to human snorklers feeding them. I gathered this from the way they converged around me when I remained stationary while watching the bigger fishes scavenging for food. There was this one particular medium sized black fish who gave me quite a fright when it swam to eye-level. I swore that it looked me straight in the eye and when I lift my hands to touch it, it BIT me!! It didn't hurt but it still startled me no less. When it didn't get anything to eat, the fiesty little one ATTACKED me! I swear that it pecked my mask. No kidding! I later found out that this fish (not sure if it is the same one) also attacked my colleague when he didn't feed it.
We had a plane to catch at 6. So at 2pm, we dragged ourselves to the jetty to wait for our ride back to the mainland.
While passing a wide expanse of sea, our boat hit a piece of driftwood and started taking in water. We were quite clueless about the accident but I did notice that our boat driver was frantically bailing bucket after bucket of water from our boat. In the end, he decided to land us at Pulau Gayang (the biggest island in Pitas Bay) and called back for help (it was a good thing there was mobile coverage there!). At this juncture, I must tell you about Pulau Gayang or rather the notorious reputation it has.
Pulau Gayang is home to more than a hundred illegal immigrants who proclaim themselves as 'Malaysians' whilst living amongst the local fishermen community. It is rumoured that there has been mysterious disappearances of visitors to this island in the past. Needless to say, we were a tad apprehensive about being stranded on this island with no means of escape but we were soon captivated by the natural beauty of the island. Our boat driver chose to beach at a secluded patch of sand, cordoned off from the populated parts of the island by fierce undergrowth and trees. So we got to enjoy a quiet moment of calm reverie while being lulled by the pleasant ocean breeze. The picture shows an outcropp of rocks which is part of Pulau Gayang and in the distant horizon is KK town.
All too soon, help came. We were herded onto a bigger speed boat but not before gathering some peebles as momentos of our perilous (yeah, right!) boat ride and being stranded on a notorious island sans the head hunters (we ARE in Sabah after all) and cannibals.
A friend of mine just came back from 'vacation' in Sabah. He's an avid photographer and the photos you see here are his handiwork.. Well.. All except for that self-shot piccie of me looking quite 'stoned' :-p
