Pulau Kapas Day Trip (Part II)

The fun doesn't just stop at the previous post, there are more in this post. Do continue reading! ( ´ ▽ ` )

After the getting used to the basics of snorkeling and stuff, we headed to the Long Beach by speedboat, which was approximately a 5 minutes ride from Makcik Gemuk Resort.

Here, we are! Another long stretch of sandy beach accompanied by crystal clear green light blue sea water 

It is advisable to wear a life jacket if you don't how to swim, I still put it on although I can swim cause we will be heading quite far out in the sea, I don't wanna die young HAHA Without further adue, I put on the life jacket and my snorkelling gear and started swimming to the middle of the deep blue sea and snorkel. It was indeed a wonderful experience cause I was so close, like this close *showing a distance of 1cm using my fingers* to nature (˘⌣˘) It was totally different than watching it on the National Geographic Channel, you can feel it for yourself and the feeling is simply ahhhhhhmazing! I tell myself, this will not my last time, I belong here, I think I'm falling in love with snorkelling #confession Sadly most of the coral has been destroyed so there are not much colourful reef and coral to see, but I was still lucky enough to see many kind of beautiful marine life within the vicinity of the island, especially clownfish aka Nemo(!) and mini Nemo, parrotfish, angelfish, giant clams, colourful sea anemone, tons of sea cucumbers, sea urchins and a big fat ugly looking fish that scared the hell out of me and Joean . God's creation is indeed marvelous! ( ^ ∀ ^ ) We are not allowed to step on any of the corals as it will destroy them so make sure you keep yourself afloat most of the time and be careful of the sea urchins, you don't wanna get pricked by them >.<

People from other resorts who came to snorkel as well at the shallow water. 

That's Joeann bringing Steffi snorkeling in the middle of the sea (:

Enjoying the cold sea water over my feet; sheer bliss! 

Since the food at Pulau Kapas is a bit costly, we cooked and brought food from home! HEH 

Such a pretty place, don't you wanna stay here, lie down and just forget the world forever? (´▽｀)

I picked this sea cucumber from the sea and bring it to the shore just for the sake of taking photo :P Sorry, Mr. Sea Cucumber! 

It's kinda gross to even touch it but more to say hold it for 2483092 secs! Die die also must take photo with it HEHE

It's sucking on to the coral ~ 

So tired after almost 3 hours of snorkelling ε-(´・｀) We didn't even realised it was that long, way too engrossed in the beauty of the underwater life I guess.  

Prove that I was here in Pulau Kapas; 6th April 2012! 

After snorkelling, we were brought back to Makcik Gemuk Resort to rest before visiting Pulau Gemia next. In the meantime, camwhore again while we can \m/

Kash, Aleen, Joeann and Muguntha <3

Group photo of the day #1 -- Taken by Dave, he was kind enough to help us to take photo :D

Group photo of the day #2

Sorry to disappoint cause there's no girls with bikini xD

Around 2pm, we headed to Pulau Gemia which is 10 mins away and we were accompanied by the person in charged to see those cute little baby turtles. Visitors are not really welcomed on that island unless you're staying at the island itself so we only managed to stay there for a while.

The chalets and swimming pool at Gem Island. 

Weeee, baby turtles! (*⌒∇⌒*) Aren't they adorable? I was so excited or should I say jakun to see one since I've never seen a real one before. 

Each of us had the chance to even take a photo with it ♡(´ε｀ )/span>

Hey there, little fella! :D

Guys, meet my new pet! HEHE 

Bits and pieces of Gem Island, very peaceful and quiet with privacy to the max since it's quite relatively isolated! It can be one of the best place to hide yourself from the real word #justsaying

Group photo #3; Of course we didn't miss a chance to take a photo at Gem Island (: 

Drop dead tired after a long but fun day! (-_-) zzz If it's not for the scorching hot weather, I can just fall asleep on the beach. 

♥ Corals and seashells ♥

Since we still have an hour plus, we spent the remaining time dipping in the sea water~ 

Love the feeling of being drifted away by the sea water, so relaxing. 

Talking business LOL 

At 5.30pm, it's time to say goodbye )': wish we could have stay longer or even stay overnight there. If it's not for the presentation we had to do the following week, we would! LE SIGH till we meet again *waves*

Speedboat is on time to fetch us, leaving with a very heavy heart. 

On the way back (: Thank God it was a smooth sail back, nothing compared to the morning bumpy ride. 

The Marang jetty. 

Scenery taken at the jetty, loving the blue sky ☁

Last group photo #4; Can we not say goodbye? Spot my T-shirt? I love Terengganu yaw B)

This is the row of shops that offers different packages I mentioned earlier. 

I would highly recommend Makcik Gemuk Resort, friendly and excellent service! You can always try to negotiate with them. 

Between May to August and other local holidays are the best times to visit especially May which is the squid jigging season. During this period of time you can go for squid jigging activities which can be arranged by any one of the local chalet here during the evening. Too bad we were there during April, or else we would give squid jigging a try!

So I guess that's all about my Pulau Kapas Day Trip. For those who are tight on budget yet still wanting to go for an island trip, I would recommend Pulau Kapas as it is less crowded and its laid back atmosphere is ideal for relaxation, perfect for a peaceful getaway during the weekends. It might be quite boring during the time as there is not much activity, but you can always find something to do (: So yeah I'm alrdy dreaming thinking about next island to visit, totally can't wait for it! Now, who's with me? :D

xx

Pulau Kapas Day Trip (Part I)

Terengganu have always been famed for its beautiful islands with dazzling clean and white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters; simply breathtaking. Thus, how can I afford to miss the chance to visit one of the islands during my stay in KT. Due to budget and time constrain, we chose to visit Pulau Kapas, a smaller and less crowded island compared to the other well known islands such as Pulau Redang and Pulau Perhentian. We were obviously in dire need of pure peace and relaxation after a few hectic weeks in the hospital and some drama going in the house. Pulau Kapas would be more often visited by the locals compared to tourists due to easy accessibility and they would normally go for a day trip.

Thank goodness it was already April (post monsoon season) that time, so it is said to be safe to visit the island yet the weather had to go against us that day. During our entire stay in KT, it never rain but it just had to rain on that lovely morning when we were heading to the island by taxi. Taxi normally costs RM25-RM30, less than 30 mins drive from the town or you can directly take a taxi from the airport at the same price as well. Once we arrived at the Marang Jetty, the taxi driver brought us directly to one of the agents, Mak Cik Gemuk Beach Resort (I suppose he knows them). There is actually a row of shops with different agents so you'll get to choose which agent that offers you the best price and etc. Then off we rushed to the jetty cause the speedboat was about to leave already and we were so lucky to bumped into our colleagues, students from KKM in the same boat. Only 6km away, it takes 10 minutes by speedboat to reach the island or 30 minutes by slow boat. Due to the bad weather and strong waves, the speedboat ride was terrible! Even worse than a roller coaster, I felt that my heart almost fell off.

Almost all the girls in the boat shouted every minute throughout the bumpy ride. I was literally lifted up from my seat and it scared the shit outta me, I tell you! 

Told you the weather doesn't look so good（´＿｀） 

After that crazy 10 mins ride that felt like a year(!), we safely arrived at Pulau Kapas; the haven for those seeking for a good time in the sun, sand and sea. 

Welcome welcome ☆ﾐ(o*･ω･)ﾉ So since we've bought the package from Makcik Gemuk Beach Resort, we were brought directly to their resort instead of the jetty. 

There are about 9 main resorts in Pulau Kapas altogether; Turtle Valley Chalet, The Light House, Duta Puri Island Resort, Kapas Island Resort, Kapas Beach Chalet, Makcik Gemok Beach Resort, Qimy Chalet, Kapas Garden Resort and Harmony Camp Site. Chalet, dorm and room rates ranges from RM20 to RM300 per night.

Once arrived we were greeted by Amir, the man who's in charge of Makcik Gemok Resort and we were asked to wait for the weather to settle first before heading to Long Beach for snorkelling. It was raining at the other side from we came from. Since there was still plenty of time to kill, we kept calm and camwhored!

One of the thing that I love the most about Pulau Kapas is their sand, fine and smooth! Totally different from the sand of the beaches I've been too. That's the reason how Pulau Kapas (Cotton Island) inherited its name from the natives because of its incomparable white sandy beaches which looked like 'kapas' or cotton as symbols of paradise on earth. 

Surrounded by crystal clear ocean, it's such a perfect niche to laze on, forgetting the hustle and bustle of city life and indulge in the quiet natural retreats with bountiful supply of sunshine and crisp clean air. 

See, someone just couldn't sit still and wait :P 

They have shady palm trees along the beach for shade from the sun. *cues California girls by Katy Perry*

This could be para para paradise ♪( ´▽｀)

The colourful and striking hut that store all the equipment for beach activites. 

Besides snorkeling, you can go for swimming, scuba diving, windsurfing, fishing, kayaking or even jungle trekking around the island. You can also head over to the another neighboring island known as Gem Island (Pulau Gemia) to see baby turtles! Sadly, motorised activities such as banana boats are not allowed here. Our package of snorkeling costs about RM25 including the rental fee for mask and life jacket and also the boat transfer fee to the snorkeling area and an additional visit to the Gem Island.

The girls <3
L-R: Aleen, Muguntha, Kash and Me (:

In the midst of enjoying the sea breeze that it made me flew up so high LOL

Joeann and Muguntha :D 

You can also play beach volleyball since there's a net provided (:

Love the cool and clear blue water, three different layer of colour (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) Am I dreaming? *smack self*

You can find tons of corals and seashells along the sandy beach. 

Leaving footprints (＾▽＾) 

Fret not for those who aren't staying overnight, they do provide booth with benches to keep your stuff and rest. 

YAYYYYERS Finally the sun is out!

Getting ready to snorkel \m/ We were lucky to have Dave and Amir to help us out that day!

That's Amir on the left, that I've mentioned earlier. He is really friendly and funny. He was the snorkeling instructor and the boat driver of the day :P   Not forgetting Steffi and Ruran with Joeann (: 

Joeann helping me out to gear up or should I say SUIT UP! and yes I was ready to rock the sea :DDDD It was my first time snorkelling so I was a tad nervous. It took a while to get used to breathing in and out through my mouth with the mask. 

That's Dave (He's a frequent visitor of Pulau Kapas from Aussie but he has been travelling around Msia for 2 years and he still love Pulau Kapas the most) on the left helping out Huda who can't swim. We were given some basic snorkeling 101 lesson in the shallow area first.

Me warming up and posing for the camera HAHA lol and we actually brought along a waterproof analogue camera but the photos didn't turn out that great, I'll post a few in the next post. 

...Abrupt ending IKR cause I need to pack. So I guess I'll continue the rest of the story on the next post since this post is quite lengthy already, I've been on it since 2 hours ago O_O Anyway, stay tuned then!

xx