I woke up very early at 7am to check out of Lavender Lodge. I know to some of you, 7am is not considered early, but to a night owl like me, it was just too damn early! I had to check out early because I was afraid I would not be back on time. Their check out time is 12pm.
Leaving my luggage with them at the counter, I left by foot to Jesselton Point. It was a brisk 15-20 minutes walk from Lavender Lodge to this ferry terminal to the islands surrounding KK.
After passing the Royal Customs Office on my left, I saw this big welcome entrance to Jesselton Point.
The ticket counters were inside the building on the immediate right after the entrance. Walking around, I saw these very unique telephone booths!
I don't believe I have seen these phone booths anywhere else in KK. Unless I am wrong. Any resident from KK reading this? Please confirm if this is true.
There were also many restaurants here. As I looked around, I could not help but noticed that the sky had turned dark. Oh no! Please don't tell me it's going to rain! It would surely be no fun going on an island trip in a storm! I was thinking of cancelling my island trip. Maybe I should just visit some other places instead.
But I could not think of anywhere else to go, so what the heck! No rain was going to stop me from enjoying my day at the beach! With my mind made up, I went into the ticketing building.
Now, there are five islands which made up this popular marine park known as the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. The five islands are Pulau Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Mamutik and Pulau Sulug. The largest is Pulau Gaya, but the most popular is Pulau Manukan.
Since I would be leaving KK in the evening, and I had to reach the airport by 3pm, I decided that the time was too limited for me to go island hopping. So following the recommendation of those nice people at Lavender Lodge, I opted to go Manukan Island.
But I was in for a surprise when the friendly staff at the ticketing counter told me that the ticket is for a minimum 2 pax. In other words, if only one person were to go, he would have to pay the price of 2 people! I guess this must be one of those disadvantages of traveling alone!
So I forked out RM34 for the ticket (RM17 per person) and RM6 for the tariff fee. I don't exactly know what this tariff fee is for - anyone knows?
I was expecting it to rain as I walked out of the ticketing building, but surprise! The sky was blue and the sun was shining down hot. Where did those dark clouds go? They were there just a moment ago! It was then that I came to my second realization since my trip to KK.
My first realization is that the sun rises and sets earlier in KK than in KL.
My second realization is that the weather in KK can change in an instant. One moment it would be hot and sunny. The next moment, it would be raining like nobody's business.
I think reading the weather forecast is practically useless in KK. Maybe because of its close proximity to the South China Seas? I really don't know. Anyone who knows, please enlighten me.
At the jetty, a man checked my ticket and led me to a speedboat. There were already many people sitting inside the boat waiting for it to fill up.
The photo above was not taken during my boat ride to Manukan Island. Instead, it was taken on my way back from the island.
I did not have the opportunity to take any photos during my boat ride to the island as I was not sitting at the back. All the seats at the back were already taken, so I had to sit at the front (head) of the boat.
And, oh boy, if you have ever sat in the front of a speedboat, you would understand how it feels like!
The entire 20 minutes ride was a painful experience! At least that's how it was to my poor ass. I was practically thrown up and down like a toy!
And I was not alone. A Korean lady sitting next to me kept shouting "Ouch!" every 20 seconds. I am not joking! Some people sitting at the back were laughing aloud over her shouting. I myself could not help smiling even as I winced from the pain as the boat continued to bounce up and down mercilessly.
I could not believe I did this, but guess what? I counted how many times the Korean lady shouted "Ouch!" and it totaled 47 times!! LOL!
That was really a heck of a ride and I promised myself that on the return trip, I must make sure I sit right at the back! I really doubted my poor, sore ass could take a second beating! Haha!
To be continued...
FIRST COMMENTER
No comments:
Post a Comment