Monsoon island

I woke up early this morning to prepare for our trip to Perhentian Kecil. Feels a little bit like playing Russian roulette. We might be hit by a bad storm in the middle of the journey, we might not.

Anyway, we packed some supplies – veggies, ikan masing, fishing hooks, fruits, water – and by 10 am were already in the boat. There’s the four of us – Lan and his assistant, Awie and me. There were feelings of apprehension, excitement, foreboding.

Shh! Artist at work

The journey was surprisingly smooth. Weather was calm, the waters were as still as glass. But you know what they say about the calm before the storm. Heh.

When we landed on the island, not a single tourist was in sight. Jetty was deserted. Lan’s place looks like it hand been abandoned for years instead of just weeks! The chalet I stayed at the last time has been smashed during the first monsoon. Seems like we landed on adventure island!

Halfway on the journey here, we stopped to fish. Oh, seronoknya, The last time I fished like this was like some 13 years ago! We caught kerapu and kerisi for dinner. Fresh fish is divine!

One of my watercolour pieces

So, I’m safe on the island. No monsoon, though. Some of the local folks are saying that the monsoon might arrive late like last year, in January or February. We’ll see.

In the meantime, I’ve got fresh fish to fry!

More pictures here.