We can all agree that the novelty of a three day weekend pretty much trumps all else. So when Hari Raya Haji fell on a Monday, we were very much committed to making the most of it. We quickly found out that the rest of Kuala Lumpur had the same level of dedication. However, through hard lessons learned, the pending Asian-mob mentality was not lost on us, so we prepped accordingly. To make the five hour journey out of KL with the plans of catching the first boat to Kapas we were ready to leave at 3am. As we all congregated in the parking garage, watching club goers stumble home (thinking "Is that what we look like!?") we all agreed that it was a bit mad to be leaving in the middle of the night. As the old saying goes "Crazy loves company" (ok I just coined that..you heard it here first!) we were stopped within half an hour by a traffic jam for probably 2 hours. A bumper-to-bumper traffic jam at 3:30am for TWO HOURS. During that time there was certainly wavering from members of our two-car convoy (Ahem, Hutchy&Bing) whether or not we should continue...but we were in it to win it. We ventured on....to the next traffic jam. Another hour an a half waiting to get through a toll booth. Throughout the 7-8 hour drive we kept wondering why, on a highway we could just be stopped...like all the time?
Not really expecting to find a logical explanation to an Asian 'why' question, I Googled it. Based on various articles (which I am not going to reference, nor can verify the validity of the research... which may have taken place in the last 1-3 years) Malaysia, and in particular Kuala Lumpur has a pretty high car to people ratio. So just in KL there are 3,332,767 registered four-wheeled vehicles (excluding motorcycles). With a population of only 1,720,000 it seems that every man, woman and baby enjoys themselves a Sunday drive. That, coupled with small highways, continuous toll booths incapable of maintaining high volumes of cars AND a rare long weekend, I can sit here with a smug, knowing look on my face. A look I was certainly not wearing while sitting in a car for a 16 hour round-trip.Ok, so those who enjoy the cliche "It's all about the journey, not the destination" are usually not trying to get the most out of a three-day weekend (On the half-full, sunny-side of things- spending some long hours in the car gave us the opportunity to chat, laugh with and get to know new friends Ellie and Kenny). We were all beyond happy to arrive on Kapas Island, settle into our campsite, pour a drink and chill out on the beach. On an island with only 100+ people, things got very relaxed very quickly. We were a group of seven so at any point there was company to snorkel, eat, drink, dive or nap. We brought the fixin's for a killer BBQ (nice job boys!), did the island jungle trek, played poker and bon fired on the beach. Even as the stormy season threatens Eastern Malaysia, the water was clear (better visibility snorkeling than diving) and the beaches were clean. As lovers of camping, it was a great change of pace (and cheaper) from the guesthouses we usually stay in. And camping! Who doesn't love chilling out around the picnic table, making the classic bacon and egg breakfast in the morning? Especially when the campground provides, sets up and takes down your tent for the mere price of $5/night. What a little slice of heaven!
Although the islands on the Eastern coast of Malaysia are entering into their stormy months (and are generally considered to be 'closed'), we are looking forward to returning to Kapas in the Spring!....Collectively agreeing that we will either fly or take the bus to get there.