Carey Island #1

Recently, I went on a family outing to Carey Island for seafood. We used to go there often when my brother and I were younger (and not working), but family excursions have got less frequent with the onset of age and jobs. Unsurprisingly, I was pretty happy about the outing, and was looking forward to taking some good pictures for the blog.

Carey Island is situated south of Port Klang, just off the mainland, about an hour’s drive from Petaling Jaya (through the LDP and Kesas Highways). It apparently is a huge island, alleged to be almost the size of Singapore. Its land has been used for agricultural purposes: my mother said she visited it when she was young to view the tea plantations and manufacturing procedure. More recently, Golden Hope Plantations has had its palm oil plantations on the island. For as long as I can remember, the island has been closed off from the public, although there is a bridge from the mainland to the Island.

The journey there was much faster than I remember it to be. It could be because we had opted to take the LDP and Kesas Highways, instead of the usual route of the Federal Highway, and later on through Klang. I finally discovered where Kota Kemuning and Bukit Rimau were (shameful, I know). The roads from the Kesas Highway to Banting was greatly improved, and incredibly had no toll stations at all (pic above). There seemed to me to be less palm oil estates about, and more residential development going on. There were also a great number of abandoned ‘kampung’ houses along the way, like the one in the left photo below. Of course, the thing anyone would see the most are palm oil trees (left pic).

We finally reached the restaurant, which is on the mainland along the river facing Carey Island (right pic, above), I discovered that the road and bridge leading to the island were not barred any longer. Vehicles driving freely on to the island, with no sight of any barrier or guard house along the coastline. When we had settled down at the restaurant, I quickly took leave to grab some shots of the areas surrounding the restaurant. I later on asked the restaurant proprietor what the name of the river was. She said it was the “Pulau Carey River” – I knew this was highly unlikely. Later on, when I asked my parents, they said it could be the Langat River, or possibly the Jugra River. Anyone?

 

It was when I could not bear it any longer, and practically exclaimed “Where’s the beach?”, when casuarina trees popped up out of nowhere along the road shoulders, a definite sign that the beach was near, my mother assured me. And she was right, because after a bend, there was the beach. My father’s reaction: “it’s like Morib”. My mother’s response: “Morib 40 years ago”. We parked our cars, and I gleefully jumped out to take a few pictures. The tide was out, and the beach looked filthy. I could see some huge ships on the horizon, obscured by the haze. I can’t remember what Morib looked like, but it was a place to file away for later discovery.

My father and brother mooched around a few shacks by the beachfront. They bought some steamed peanuts, and pondered on whether to buy some crabs (they opted not to). At that point in time, it suddenly became overcast, and within a minute of getting into our cars, it began to rain.

After getting home, I did some research on the island. I discovered that Carey Island’s aboroginal community, known as the Mah Meri, are very well-known for their unique culture and way of life, and especially for their votive sculptures, fashioned from a kind of swamp hardwood known as “Nyireh Batu”. I found a website, Khong’s Walkwagon (he has a really nifty volkswagen!), which had a much better travelogue on the island than mine. It also has motivated me to spend more than just an afternoon on the island. There definitely will be a Carey Island Part 2. Stay tuned.