Pulau Aman

There's a pulau south of Penang island called Pulau Aman. Legend has it that a restaurant there serves good mee udang. It's true. Don't expect to taste heaven, but by my standards, the mee's good.

To get there from Penang island, you must first get to Batu Kawan on the mainland. You can walk, but I seriously suggest you drive. From Batu Kawan, you look for this jetty.

This one.

The ferry ticket to the island costs RM6 (2 way). You have to pay this sum if you don't intend to swim across. Unless you're a fish, I don't recommend swimming.

Here is where we board our ride across.

Enjoy the ride...

The ferry ride only lasts 5 minutes, give or take a little. You have to shout at your friends while on the sea, 'cuz the engine is so loud you wouldn't notice if an asteroid crashed behind you.

Welcome to Pulau Aman!

Pulau Aman is basically just a small island with an even smaller fishing village on it. The people there live simple lives, with fishes, prawns and poultry as company. The best way to explore the island is to go around on foot, although I heard there were bicycles for rent somewhere.

What are these folks doing by the beach?

Earning their catch!

The Pak Cik told us they were after little fishes and prawns.

I realised that the beaches on Pulau Aman were different from Penang's. In Penang you get sand. On this Pulau, all you get is pebbles.

Lots and lots of pebbles.

A walk around the coastline will lead you to a hiking track. Along the track you have an old Makam (tomb/graveyard in Malay). No pictures of that in case I snap something that isn't really there. You also get the Telaga Emas. Gold Well!

But where's the gold...

While hiking, watch your step and don't lean on any rocks.

Be observant and you'll notice some (crab?) traps the locals left in shallow water.

Now, makan. There you have to buy your own seafood from a middle man (he buys from the fishermen). Then you take your fish and prawns or whatever to the restaurant.

Regrettably, because of a fiasco involving some Hong Kong tourists booking all the mantis prawns on sale, I was too distracted to take photos of the mee udang. There are 2 types of noodles there: wet and dry. Both RM6 unless you have additional special requests.

This is the restaurant I'm yapping about.

It faces the sea.

Most people planning to have a feast there go for mantis prawns priced at RM40/kg. Those prawns are about 8 inches in length. However due to Hong Kong's big appetite, there were none left. So a kind fishermen gave Shingun a bag of a dozen small prawns (3 inches only) for free. Lucky us.

The restaurant will steam your seafood for you, and promptly bill you for the service.

 Before.

After. I don't know why we had a stray crab there.

The mantis prawns, though small, were very, very, very sweet. The large ones must have been really good. Too bad our visit clashed with the tour group.

It's best you plan your visit on weekdays. According to the locals there, weekdays = less tourists. Less tourists = more seafood. More seafood = happier tummy.