I thought I wouldn’t visit this paradise island again.
Tucked away somewhere in the vast expanse of the South China Sea is a tiny, idyllic isle that sparkles in its crystal-clear, turquiose waters. The sun is often shining there and its sand are amazingly fine and white. Fringing the beaches is a belt of coral reef teeming with colourful reef fishes, and as you might be wondering, Nemo and Dory are its residents too.
Darling had been desiring to see Rawa Island after hearing me raving about it. His Pulau Medang stay was so disappointing that he must had felt the need to redeem the bad experience. I have been to a few pleasant beach resorts in the South East Asia and hence suggested Rawa Island Safaris Resort.
Rawa Island, or Pulau Rawa, is a privately run resort (owned by a royalty in Malaysia) and therefore its natural beauty is relatively unspoilt as compared to many nearby, commercial ones. Not a cheap vacation for 3D-2N stay, we decided it was worth the money afterall. So I made an online chalet reservation and also arranged with a local travel agency (Five Stars) for land transportation.
Thank God that the weather was fine throughout our stay on Rawa Island. The weather forecast for that region was thunderstorm and lightning actually. In fact, the weather was so bright and sunny that darling dearest got sunburn just after our first hour on the island! Next time, better not dare-devil and skip the sunblock.
Anyway, it was a small price to pay I’m sure. I was glad that darling found the trip to be worthwhile as he enjoyed the clear (& clean!) waters and lush vegetation. He had a great time shooting away with his SLR, mini-cam. and video-cam.
Since this was my third time visiting the island, it was not surprising that the newness and excitement were somewhat lacking. However, I had a fantastic time snorkelling – for I was braver this time. Thank God that I didn’t panicked or freaked out as much when I see any jelly fish swimming towards me or felt a sense a fear for the unknown waters out there. Thank God that the rented snorkelling equipment was in a better condition and somehow I was able to breathe through my mouth conscientiously.
I was encouraged to see many hard corals growing healthily: solitary Fungia sp. (mushroom type), digitate Acropora sp. (branching type in red, purple and pink branching out so beautifully), table Acropora sp., corymbose Acropora sp., foliaceous Leptoria sp. (brown bracket corals with violet trimmings), massive Goniastrea sp., Platygyra sp.(new orange-green brain coral growing near the jetty where traffic was high), clams in hues of blue sprouting in the rocks, different species of sea anemone housing their unique species of clown fish, a delicate and pretty yellow ribbon flat worm, a crouching stonefish / scorpion fish (ha, I can see you), spider conches, huge wavy top shells covered with algae, crabs, catfish, black sea cucumber, black sea urchins, parrot fish, half-beaks, many other fishes with iridescent colours (I don’t know their names) and of course, jelly fishes.
OK; I’ll continue in the next entry tomorrow.:)
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