For a day trip adventure that takes you across land and sea, you may want to make a visit to Pulau Ketam.
Pulau Ketam, literally translated means Crab Island. The island is located off the coast of Klang. The trip from town to Pulau Ketam is about 45 minutes to the Port Klang Jetty. From there, you take a ferry across to the island. Ferry rides cost about RM7.00-7.50 (RM4.00 for children) for one way, depending on which vendor you take from. There are also covered (with air-con) and non-covered rides. Please refer to the Pulau Ketam website for more details of the ferry time table. There are independent operators who don’t follow the schedule and you may end up waiting for the ride to fill before it departs, so inquire first before going on board.
Ferry Ride
We chose the non-covered ride for the experience. It was fun, but very hot and took about 1 hour 15 minutes one way. The covered boats provide a slightly shorter ride of about 45 minutes. Along the way, we passed by mangrove swamps which are not inhabited. There were also quite a number of fishing boats going about their way. Most of the population of about 8,000 are fishermen.
When you arrive at the Pulau Ketam jetty, most visitors just head straight for the nearest restaurant to feast on the fresh seafood. Make no mistake about it, the seafood here is fresh and that makes it tasty, so when choosing crabs, you may just go with the steamed version instead of drowning it with sauce. The food itself isn’t really that tasty, no one has had a good recommendation of a particular restaurant so far, nor is there is a signature dish recommended.
Pulau Ketam is however famous for its fresh fishballs. I am no fishball lover, but the ones here are good. There are also many “fried la la” stalls (small clams omelette style) which visitors should try. Muslims also have alternatives which are halal but mostly non seafood.
If you’re adventurous, the food choices available here are quite interesting. A MUST TRY is the fried ice-cream, sold by an old uncle outside a shophouse just after the police station. There are also many vendors selling homemade ice shavings of various flavours. It is hard to pass on these when the sun is shining down on you, and it does provide temporary relief for the heat.
We took the rest of the afternoon to walk around the village. You’re basically walking past everyone’s houses as the whole village (including the police station) is built on stilts 1-10 metres above sea level. Even the prayer alters are also built on stilts! In the center of the village sits a temple, which seems to be the main square.
We saw many fascinating old shophouses with antique wooden doors and many bicycle shops. By the way, there are NO cars on the island as there are no roads. Main transport is the bicycle. There are homestays and hotels available for those keen to spend the night.
While walking around, you can purchase dried seafood, pricing is reasonable compared to the city, not cheap, and the vendors also sell fresh fishballs.
To prepare yourself for the trip bring along:
1. Sun tan lotion – the sun is scorching and there is little protection except for when you are inside the shops.
2. A broad hat – 3 of us went and 2 of us had sunstroke after so better stay covered.
3. Lots of water for drinking. There are a lot of vendors and restaurants there selling drinks as well, but nothing like H2O to keep you hydrated.
4. Camera – to capture true island life.
5. A strong stomach – we were surprised at how dirty the village/island is. Everyone throws rubbish just outside their own homes and toilets drains thru the village. It is actually quite unhygienic. Hopefully the younger generation does something about this in time to come.
Thinking about a trip to Pulau Ketam? Find out what to do, eat and see there http://t.co/gNSn2ISR #holiday #daytrip