Perhentian Island Squid Fishing…..a short family trip..Part 3

OK I’m back for Part trois….

I once caught a squid soooo big that........yeah right...ueeeekkkk!!!

Squids or Calamari (Spanish word) are not the most favourites of seafood in Europe…In Malaysia they’re a delicacy, we call them ‘Sotong’. They come in various species and sizes. Another meaning for ‘Sotong’ in Malay is Queer…go figure..

From the Nerdiest website on earth aka Wikipedia: Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles. Squid are strong swimmers and certain species can 'fly' for short distances out of the water…but who is interested anyway??

My question is: If they’re not a fish, then why do people ‘fish’ squids?????

Somehow…my Dad always has his fishing gear ready…apparently he already had Squid on his mind….he actually brought brand new squid jiggies with him!!

This is the weighted jig...u need to skewer or squeer??  a fresh fish through the stake (Ooohhh now i get the it, the link of Sotong with queer...)....the Squids will hold on to the fish with its tentacled and the fine pins will stick through the squids as you pull up...

The lighter jig but much more attractive...the colours are to attract the squids, it glows when shone by the bright light from the powerful electric bulbs

The plan was to leave just before dusk, …fish or squidging the whole night and come back early the next morning before dawn…

Gettin on board...

 I have been fishing since forever with my Dad…whenever I have a chance, I try to spend quality time with him. As a fast growing teenager, my Dad told me that a young man should do 3 things in life and they all start with F, Flying, Fishing and F……, Hmmmm I don't remember the third one lah….

Daniel and the ship's Captain, looks like Papa and son eh?? Hehehee

Unfortunately whilst fishing is right up there among my most favourite of hobbies….sea-sickness has always been my kryptonite. I for whatever reason just cannot stand being on a swaying boat for more than 5 minutes, I will be so sick that I will vomit my intestines out!! 

But I never learn….I once lost a brand new Nokia on the coast of Pulau Kapas in the late 90’s because of this problem….somehow I have almost forgotten all this until I stepped onto this traditional wooden boat at Perhentian… A boat whilst still in motion, moving forward is OK, but the moment it stops and starts to sway like Michael Bublé, I turn green…

A very excited Dad getting ready with his gear...

Eureka!!! Moments before the green face effect....I never learn..

One for the album.....and moments after this I was puking more often than an anorexic hollywood teen star, my face was plastered on the wooden boat's railing just like a Carpenter....Karen Carpenter to be exact...

Man made light vs the beauty of nature's wonders...sunset view, South China Sea

In this trip, Dad, me, my nephew Daniel, my sister and Intan, my lovely wife followed. The wife followed???....Bad mistake…knowing that I will turn into The Incredible Hulk and be spewing all night long will only give my wife priceless ammunition to make fun of me for the rest of my living days…in the future, whenever the word ‘boat’ or ‘fishing’ or ’squid’ comes up during any conversation with friends or family….to her, I shall be the green faced clown who fertilized South China sea with my innards  … Dang!!

Here we go.....Uuueekkk!!!

 We arrived at the fishing spot….The moment the boat stopped, I felt nausea…Nothing has changed and yet everything seems different….within a few minutes….all hell broke loose!! And the waters were quite choppy!! They all had a good laugh…..in the end I did not catch a single thing but poured my heart away to the sea, I would like to think of it as giving the best bait for the squids and fish…Daniel kept his cool a wee bit longer than me and Aida had to give in too in the end….My Dad was having a whale of a time and my wife was laughing all night long…We…or rather they caught a few squids only, maybe due to the fact that I was down ill…u see…there may be plenty of fish in the sea, but to catch them, you must first become a Master Baiter…..gettit?? hehehee

At least Dad is a happy man....

The weather was turning for the worse, apparently a storm was coming in…..not that I gave a bloody damn!! By this time my head was permanently over the side of the boat… The news that we were heading home…to dry land…to firm unswaying land was the best news by far!! We got back to the jetty just after midnight…all in all, it was just about a 7 hour trip…6 hours of agony for me!!

Spike Milligan once said…’A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree’…Yeahhh tell me about it…

I hate that grin at the bottom right of the pic.....

Guess what did we have for breakfast the next morning??? Grilled Perhentian Squid!! No marination, just fresh, brimy squid by the pure white sands of Perhentian….Priceless…

Extremely satisfied

 

Everybody had a whale of a time (apart from the seasickness laa)...nobody really wanted to leave but reluctantly, we all had to....we waved goodbye to Abdul's thinking one day...we will be back...definitely...

Notice the life jackets??...we insisted...

As we drove off from Kuala Besut heading south, we stopped at a famous beach stall to eat the delicacy of Terengganu…fried fish and squid in batter….Yummmm…

So if you are immune to seasickness…..Let’s Jom!!!!

Perhentian Island Snorkling Heaven…..a short family trip..Part 2

OK I’m back for Part deux….

Abdul’s Chalet however basic it maybe ….it’s really interesting…imagine staying at a 6 star butler serviced luxurious hotel in the roughest part of Bogota….Well, Perhentian is the exact opposite….what the nature provides is heavenly….the chalets and infrastructure needs help..

A typical fisherman's castle on Perhentian Island

Most people just want to tell the world that whenever/wherever they go for a holiday they would stay in a superb world class resort. Not a place like Abdul’s Chalet. For them, announcing to the people at a dinner party you stayed at a no frills Abdul’s Chalet is like telling them you've got the ebola virus and you're about to sneeze. Not me…I would not have enjoyed the nature as much if I was staying at the Perhentian Island Resort.

Just a few feet from our Chalet

Water as clear as crystal, to my amazement, all sorts of marine creatures immediately gathered around my crotch area until I realised……. I had a piece of bread in my pocket. No wonder Stevie Wonder lah!!!

The life jacket is a saviour

So we did not waste time the very next morning as we prepared to go with a guide on a small boat snorkling around the islands. 

Just to show that every single corner is beautiful....

What was promised to us by the guide were the gloriously beautiful corals and marine aqua safari, but the biggest attraction by far would be the black tip sharks and sea turtles…Boy!!! I was so excited and can’t wait to get myself wet….I was like a Nun in the Carrot section at Tesco’s !!!

 

My parents were planning to just roam the Big island and maybe skip across to the Small Island for some localize bonding. It has been and will always be my fathers’s hobby to explore the local market of the world….anywhere he goes in the world hot or cold, high or low, dry or wet, the local markets are to him the most interesting of places… even though History was his major at University as far as he is concerned, a tour to the Museum is as interesting as reading the obituaries on a Sunday morning. I….fortunately have caught on the same bug!!

They're everywhere!!!

The best dive sites was around the east side of the Big Island, that’s where we saw Giant Clams, loads of corals and soft corals housing families of Clown fish which were not nearly as funny as Merlin or Nemo. 

Giant Clams

It is here that I had my first encounter with a 7 foot black tip shark which actually gave me the heebagajeebees as it swam just below me….I was soooo shocked that I’m sure I pissed in my pants!! So during the period I was there, I hereby would like to apologize to all the other tourists if the seawater seems a wee bit more saltier than usual!!

 

A typical Black Tip Shark

This reminds me of a story my friend once told me about his experience of getting caught…. He got caught pissing in the swimming pool one day.The lifeguard shouted so loud that he nearly fell in!!! Muhahahaaa….

The area in front of the Perhentian Island Resort is where u can see the turtles…apparently this area is where sea grass are abundant..a favourite snack of the turtles of Perhentian..I wished I had an underwater camera with me…cause the French and Italian ladies swimming around me in their skimpy Speedo’s were gorgeous!!!

Turtles of Perhentian

We then proceeded to the northern part of the Small Island..past the famous Bubu Resort…here the freshest spring water flows straight into the sea…. The cold fresh natural mineral water is soooo amazingly sweet, cool and refreshing…maybe its  just mind tricks after hours of soaking in the overly saltish water of the ocean (No thanks to the shark…)

Natural fresh water spring...flowing into the sea

A picture speaks a thousand words. But with photoshop it tells a thousand lies...I photoshopped myself over Brad Pitt's little toe...u missed that didn't you??

We visited the main town at the Small Island for a snack and to stock up with some supplies….to our surprise, we found our mother relaxing at the jetty with a cold drink in her hand, talking to the locals. Surprise, surprise…my dad was already missing in action….upon tracing his footsteps, with the help of a local man who pointed confidently with his slightly bent index finger to the direction of the local MARKET, we found him deep in conversation with a couple of fishermen.

The Jetty at Small Perhentian

Local kids deprived of PSP, Xbox and Playstation...

Dad back from the market.....

They hailed from Newcastle! aka Kota Bahru, the capital of Kelantan, the neighbouring state and as tradition for over 100 years, Perhentian has always been the shelter for these ships/boats from bad weather. Being the natural sociologist with a statesman persona, Dad had struck a deal with one of the fisherman to take us out for Squid fishing or ‘Mencandat Sotong’ in Malay. They were on a rest period and instead of sleeping away for another night, he agreed to accept a couple of hundred ringgit while we would have a time of our lives….so I thought…

To be continued in Part Trois….

 http://travelslippers.blogspot.com/2012/03/perhentian-island-squid-fishinga-short.html