Kapas Island, Malaysia

 Notes from the journal:

8/6

  • Landed in Kuala Terengganu and walked to the bus stop but while I was waiting I realized I really had to use the bathroom so I used a little bit of Malay and hand motions to ask a shop employee where I could use a bathroom and a family let me use theirs at their restaurant next door
  • Caught a bus to a terminal, where I had to wait for awhile and a Malay man came up to hit on me in front of his wife and daughter, which was a very uncomfy situation
  • Took the last bus to my hotel at the Merang Jetty and the mosque next door was all lit up
  • It was really nice to be in a hotel instead of a hostel

8/7

  • Met Sophia in the lobby of my hotel, where she had arrived after taking a night bus and was sitting with the staff, talking and eating Nasi Lemak
  • Went to jetty to buy ferry ticket and pay fees
  • Arrived to the island on a busy beach because there was a school group there, couldn’t check into hotel so sat in the dining/patio area for awhile to wait out the heat and pass time
  • Checked into our room, took a short nap, then walked along the beach to explore and swim during golden hour/sunset when we couldn’t be burned by the sun
  • We found a cute little empty beach with pretty rocks that we had all to ourselves and we “snorkeled” with goggles (lots of coral, sea cucumbers, anemones, clownfish, and big blue clams)
  • Went back to our room to have snacks for dinner since the food at the hotel was more than we wanted to pay

8/8

  • Set our alarm for sunrise and got up with the school group who were all going to pray at sunrise
  • Swam at our little beach in the early morning light, snorkeled, and then went to a bigger beach further down where I swam out to Gem island for fun
  • School groups had arrived on the beach when I got back so we left and went to sit in the dining area again to have tea and chill
  • Took a nap and then went for our evening swim/snorkel

8/9

  • Took a morning swim and then packed up and went out to wait for our ferry. Headed back to the mainland on a wild ferry ride and then made our way to a bus stop on the side of the highway, where a bus to Jerteh picked us up. We took a Grab taxi from Jerteh to the Kuala Besut ferry terminal and quickly bought a ticket for one of the last ferries of the day


Read if I referred you to this post:

If you’re in the area, Kapas Island is worth a stop, especially considering the empty beaches at sunrise and sunset with beautiful water.














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