I know, I know. What's with Pulau Ketam. I hear you.
It's like this. My maid wanted to visit her sister who is working in Pulau Ketam or, in English - Crab island.
I have not been to Pulau Ketam and was a little embarrassed to admit to her that I had never been there.
But, well, I had to be honest but that did not mean that I did not know where it was or what Pulau Ketam was all about.
I was curious about her sister's job. I found out that she works as a maid in the day and as a restaurant helper in the evening and through the night. Same employer.
Modern-day paid slavery! I told my maid so but she said that her sister did not mind.
"Good money?", I asked.
Apparently so, I was told. Ok. It's her life.
Off I went to Port Klang on Saturday at about 11am to send my maid off.
Accompanied by my daughter, Shaira, I drove from Taman Tun Dr Ismail and headed towards the NKVE.
Took the Port Klang-North Port route. Some 45 minutes later, we arrived at the end of the route, -- the jetty.
Took the ferry. I had envisioned a f e r r y. You know, more or less like the same one I took years ago from Langkawi to Rebak Island -- big and nice.
Now this one's really a powered long boat which has been improvised. Ok., I am not a boat expert so I maybe wrong.
It was covered and airconditioned.
Shaira didn't like it because inside, it smelt of "minyak tanah". But, she enjoyed the ride because the seats were just at water level. Freaky at first for her. Then, it was exciting. Something she can tell her friends or write about in her essay or "karangan".
Ticket costs RM6 per person.
You pay for the ticket inside the ferry/boat. Kind of like in a bus where the bus conductor makes his/her way along the aisle and says "tiket, tiket".
The 1pm ferry makes a stop at Sungai Lima where some passengers get off.
Then it makes its way to Pulau Ketam. All in, about an-hour's ride. If there's no stop, the ride is about 20 minutes.
There is entertainment on board.
The one I was on had a video clip of an evergreen (read: not young) female Taiwanese artiste performing in Malaysia, I presume, because she sang in Mandarin and said "terima kasih" at the end of her performance.
Pulau Ketam is known for its sea food restaurants, so Shaira and I decided to sample some there.
But, nothing looked promising because most of the restaurants were closed.
We thought we should head back to Port Klang.
We stopped to buy some dried (sea) food stuff.
Shaira was hungry and bought some packed sotong.
Took the ferry back. The same one in which we came. So same music, same ticket conductor.
I am sure there's more to Pulau Ketam than the jetty, the police station, the hotels, the medical centre and the Islamic centre. I could not stay back to explore the island. Another time, maybe.
Meanwhile, here are some pictures of 1. houses on stilts at Pulau Ketam, 2. Passengers embarking on to ferry at Port Klang and 2. boats at Port Klang.
7 comments:
first blogger to reach pulau ketam, ena?
heh. it must be an adventure for shaira. when i was about 10, my late dad took me on a boat trip to pulau belakang mati in singapore. i remember white sandy beaches and a little malay kampung. not a single tourist, at least not on that part of the island. of course, the boat was not airconditioned and had no entertainment. years later, i would go back to the island when it was renamed Pulau Sentosa, first by ferry and then by cable car. years from now, Shaira will remember that boat trip with fondness. of course, she will be able to read it here on your blog, too.
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Pulau Ketam smells like fish to me. That is my memory of it, anyway. I went there many years ago by police boat. No, I was not in trouble. It was a family outing. :)
We had lunch at one of the restaurants. Later, I needed to use the bathroom. No flush toilet. You do it right into a hole. Yes, right into the sea.
As we walked out, I saw children playing in the water near that restaurant and all I could think was "ewwww".
I am sure Crab Island has more to offer now. This was way back in 1984. Do let me know if you ever find something interesting when you revisit it.
rocky,
yep..shaira aint never gonna forget it.
truth be told, she didn't and doesn't like the little that she saw on Pulau ketam. Ok ok.. she doesnt like pulau ketam.
she thought it was going to be like pulau langkawi. hahaa.
she doesn't like the smell, how it looks.. she just doesnt like it and she doescnit want to go there again.
actually, can't blame here. quite kotor-lah. a little stinky.
but...shaira will go there when she's older when she becomes a lawyer (like Malik or Haris or Karpal & sons), a journalist (like you, shamsul akmar, rokk, elizabeth john, pang hin yue, and some others i dont remember right now) or someone like jed, le tsin, eli wong, daphne, juneE.
So Pulau Ketam is a real pulau, unlike P. Duyong and P. Tikus. Why did our forefathers named places Pulau something when they are not? Am I displaying my ignorant (buta huruf pasal sejarah) here? Oh thank god the ferry operator didn't play video clip of wrestling for "entertainment".
aMiR
aMiR,
surprisingly, pulau ketam is an island. more than a century ago, villagers from the mainland (Klang) used to catch crabs there.
you're right, thank God, no wrestling or I would've jump out of the ferry.
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