Kapas

I arrived at the jetty to questioning looks. "You want to take your bicycle to Kapas?" Yep, I didn't fancy leaving it on the mainland. I would come back to an empty space. Dude! Where's my bike??

So, I dragged it down the beach to The Lighthouse. Stuck at the end of the beach, The Lighthouse is a longhouse raised on sticks. A friendly little place, where the pace of life threatens to grind entirely to a halt. The next night a Swedish guy, Johan, and his girlfriend were leaving after the Lighthouse after three months! The free booze flowed freely, and the owner, Dean, demonstrated his ability to dance like a rubberband on the bar. It was good to be at a place with decent music for a change!

Kapas is just a small island with a series of coves, connected by bridges over rocky outcrops. About 15 minutes walk from one end to the other. Somewhat strangely there are no real shops, just restaurants that sell odds and ends. Still the only people that live here run the restaurants or guesthouses. I headed into the jungle interior and began following a trail which was signposted, but after not long I'd lost the signs and ended up lost in the the jungle. Luckily I have my S3$ watch compass! So I beat my way due West with a big stick, with the exception of coming across a large yellow striped spider whom I gave a wide berth. Eventually I returned to the track and retraced my steps, but not before going down the wrong path and wondering what that gentle humming noise was. As I got closer I saw a flowering tree, where the sounds got louder & louder, I soon realised it was the buzzing of hundreds of bees around the flowers. Retreat! Retreat! I made it back our dripping in sweat, as the jungle humidity is intense. I also got lots of insect bits for free. Another route was along the coast and up along a ridge, here the path dwindled out into lots of plants. Back down at beach level, a snail posed for a photo, also the rocks were kind enough not to move for their photo, just like the leaves also!

On my last night there was a barbeque of fish, squid, chicken, pork chops & mint sauce, salad & chips. A Malaysian guy with the energy of a kid's TV presenter, appeared named John. He kept proclaiming he didn't know how to dance followed by a forward somersault and the splits. hmmm. "Come on people, let's dance!", he enthused to five BBQ bloated people slouching lazily in their chairs.

That night it was thunder & lighting & heavy rain. Given that the longhouse has a tin roof, not a quiet night. The storm moved closer, so that the thunder was no longer rumbling in the distance, but loud, make you jump, ripping, crunching thunder that made the room shake barely prededed by bliding flashes of light. Eek!

I also had a few games of badminton on the beach, just a knock around as there was no net, and not many people!

The next day it was off for a quick hours cycle north to Pulau Duyong in Kuala Terengannu.