Pulau Aman & Kuala Gula~

Lucky Shadows of Fairies~

During the end of May 2010, we organised a day trip to Pulau Aman and Kuala Gula. Pulau Aman (Peace Island) is an island situated right at west of Batu Kawan, Penang Mainland. 5 out of 6 Fairies took part in this whole-day event: Machine, World, Auntie Yang, Nini Global, and myself.

jelly fish that was washed up the shore of Batu Kawan~

mud-skippers~

We started our journey early in the morning, first heading to Pulau Aman. The plan was to have brunch there and then head for Kuala Gula (Sugar Marsh). So it was that we took the speedboat from Batu Kawan jetty to Pulau Aman which still cost RM6 to and fro. Upon reaching the island, we first headed for the "heh kor" (mantis prawn) as they sell fast. Late but a little and none will be available. We bought about 50 mantis prawns at rm1.50 each. I did mock my friends saying that it would be rm1 each in Kuala Gula. Then we went exploring the east coast of the island before heading to the restaurant for brunch.

Pulau Aman from afar~ very aman (peaceful)~

map of Pulau Aman~

where we bought mantis prawns~

heh kor (mantis prawn)~

RM6 fried rice~ price increase, amount of prawn decrease~

mee rebus RM6~

heh kor chuey (steamed mantis prawn)~

After brunch, we moved on to our next destination - Kuala Gula. I was one of the most excited because I wished to see some migratory birds (though it wasn't actually the migratory season). Along the way, we passed through Nibong Tebal, Parit Buntar, Simpang Ampat, and Kuala Kurau. I remembered seeing the map showing a bridge connecting Kuala Kurau and Kuala Gula, so we looked for a bridge. We found one but as we got closer, we realised that it was for motorcycles only. So we looked for another bridge and finally found one bigger one (fuck the road signs & Garmin GPS !@#$%^&*).

There were a few places of interests in Kuala Gula, i.e. charcoal factory, shrimp factory, temple, bird watching, and fireflies. However, we managed to actually visit the Hua Seng Keng temple only because the factory visits require us to be in a bigger group in order to arrange a visit. We drove through the "town" of Kuala Gula without even noticing that it was the town as there was only a row of shophouses.

Hua Seng Keng Temple~ quite big~

Hua Seng Keng Temple~

the 5 fairies~

In the attempt to see some birds, I insisted on driving through the trail which actually led to nowhere. We saw no birds because it was not the migratory season (migratory season is from September to March). The trail was kind of narrow and what's terrifying was that it was very near to the sea and it was high tide. Many houses were we because the seawater overflowed into their houses.

narrow~

so near the sea~ scary~

After the fruitless attempt driving through the trail, we explored the fishing village there and found that the ground had a strange bright orange colour, like red ground but it was too orange. When we looked closer, we were actually surprised to learn that they were actually dried shrimps. If one of my aunt sees this, I can actually imagine how she would bend down and pick these shrimps up one by one. There were also mounts of cockle shells every few metres away. We were then told by the people there that the number shrimps and cockles on the beaches of Kuala Gula outnumber the population of the village about ten times. This statement was accounted for the piles of cockle shells and the production of dried shrimps there.

heh bee (dried shrimps)~

dried shrimps at the house of one of the villagers~

We had dinner at Ai Tee seafood restaurant which was situated in "town". The famous food there was the crab beehoon. There was a red huu in the restaurant, but of course, can see, cannot touch. After a full dinner, we were briefed by the local tour officer, Mr. Tan, about Kuala Gula and fireflies. We learned quite a lot about fireflies and their distribution around Malaysia. Unfortunately, it was going to rain that night so he didn't bring us to see the fireflies of Kuala Gula. We then distributed the mantis prawn evenly so that we wouldn't have to repack them again when we reach home. Big mistake. One uncle on motorcycle passed by and saw us with the mantis prawn. He turned his motorcycle around and headed towards us and saw the mantis prawns. Then, each and every passing villager turned to look. Even young teenagers did. He then said: "ane seh ciak nia, 3 puat chee 4 puat chee pun boh lang ai," which meant, "so small only, 30 or 40 cents also nobody wants." We bought it for RM1.50. So much for the RM1 mock.

claypot fish head~

crab bee hoon~

lala~

Night came and we said goodbye to Kuala Gula. We thought of taking a shorter route home but the GPS sucks, and fuck the road sign~ it was suppose to lead us to Parit Buntar but it led us to a dead end. In the end, we took the route which we came by earlier. When we reached Nibong Tebal, World World then said that she now felt that Nibong Tebal wasn't really that bad after all. Then only we began to realise that there weren't any 7-Eleven at Kuala Gula, let alone Queensbay Mall. What's even more interesting is that, there wasn't a single traffic light in Kuala Gula. I don't even remember seeing one at Kuala Kurau as well.

心情好or心情坏

有什么好假装

反正天若真的塌下来我自己扛

天气好or天气坏

有什么好紧张

反正下一秒钟的我

开始开始流浪

我要一个人去东京铁塔看夜景

我要一个人去威尼斯看电影

我要一个人去阳明山上

看海芋拍偶像剧

我要一个人去纽约纯粹看雪景

我要一个人去巴黎喝咖啡写信

我要一个人的旅行

一个人透透气

向右转or向左拐

有什么不一样

反正每一条未知的路都有未来

我和谁在谈恋爱

有什么大惊小怪

早已早已离开

我要一个人在希腊梦见苏格拉底

我要一个人的通宵

看完鲁迅的背影

我要一个人呆呆的在浴缸里

思考阮玲玉

我要一个人的北京探望孟姜女

我要一个人的书局和志摩谈情

一个人彻底

一个人的旅行

一个人的行李

一个人的空气

一个人没有你