Back to Kapas Island after the 2008 Market Crash.

just back to paradise,,,,,,,,,kapas island.

hi guys,,,,

hoped that you guys had followed my earlier advise to sell just before the market crash !!!,,,in fact, I managed to recover from loosing too much myself. .....Darm,,,,was just a bit late but not too late in disposing my stocks & shares. However still lost about 28% of my total investment to-date.
Should have retired much earlier-lah, i.e. way back in 2006 but unfortunately kept myself busy playing around with the market since I was so called gainfully employed and in constant contact with Investors and Investment opportunities,,,,geeeee if only I had retired as planned and cut-off any link with the out-side World then.
Anyhow, am now preparing for some interesting yet hard survival life style back on Kapas Island and will be there during the existing monsoon season which will last until end Feb' every year.
Had stayed on the island many years ago during the monsoon season with my workers while building the Capt's Longhouse. Ferried across not less than 70 tons of timber and building materials ,,,,,,,yaaa but my body was much younger then too. Now, I have to again bring across many many tons of building materials,,,,and may hire a barge this time round with a forklift rather than using manual strength as done before.
Whatever, I will be looking forward to this new project of mine i.e. to built a mini Malaysia village onboard the island. Guess the 'slowly slowly catch the monkey',,,,,strategy should work but guess the monkey would somehow turned up as a gorilla as per many times from past experience !.
Keep track of my blog if you guys are really interested to know more about the old pirate at Kapas Island since I hope to keep it up-dated & current there.

Hi again,,,,

I have a bone to pick with Shell Malaysia because the Company had clawed back from the Company's Retirement Benefit Fund (RBF) all the amount that the Company contributed plus interest into my EPF fund. As such, here itself I lost another approx. RM750K which we are now fighting against the Company in the Federal Court.
Talking about Pirates,,,,now I know where this pirate mentality comes from. Am working with one-lah.
Fixed Deposit itself might not be safe if the Bank is not stable !. Bonds worst still. Stocks and Shares not recommended at all at this time of day.
Guess, am thinking of investing in a fishing boat,,,,,some kind of liveonboard plus fish for food lifestyle i.e.,,,,,,,,,after being on the island for too long ?. In fact, island living is almost similar if am not wrong to liveonboard.
Am also stuck with properties,,,,,,not able to sell at the price am asking for. What to do ??? Relax-lah,,,take it easy.

Yes,,,,,its the Pirate lifestyle that awaits me !!!!!!,,,,,,,beware the PirateKing of South China Sea will be back alive and kicking.

Yo Ho Hoo.

Islands off Trengganu from one Mr Trengganuman

ISLANDS IN THE SUN
Now to the subject of islands in the South China Sea off Trengganu kita. ,,,,,,,,, Ok, lets start from Kuala Terengganu. The capital is always a good place to start anything. There is a pulau right in town. It is called Pulau Kambing even though only one part of it has a large body of water which is the Terengganu river. Probably a long time ago, it was an island and inhabited by goats. (Indeed there is a new island off pulau duyong, being built up after deeping of the trengganu river recently, where-by many goats are living happily) Pulau Kambing now is the "industrial" part of the town with factories and godowns. The first ice factory is near here.

Further up we have the sweetest island in Trengganu, Pulau Manis. We also have the lightest island in the state, Pulau Sekati. The metric system hasn't affected its name. Nobody wants to call the island Pulau Sekilo.

Then we have Pulau Rusa. In the coffee shops of Kedai Payang they are still debating whether to translate this "island" as Deer Island or Lonely Casuarina Island.

In the river opposite Kuala Terengganu we have small islands like Pulau Wang Mbong and Pula Wang Mang named after its owner or the early inhabitant.

Pulau Duyong, the big island nearby, the famous boat-building place was probably named after the mythical mermaid which Terengganu people call ikang duyong. Awi Yellow house is located here.

Now we go past the river mouth and if you look right, you can see Pulau Kapas (where the infamous Kapas Pirate King stays nowadays after his Sarawak sting) and a smaller sibling, Pulau Gemia. There is no cotton grown on Pulau Kapas. The only cotton you can find would be the cotton buds left behind by untidy visitors. Legends has it that long ago, when the people of Marang looked across the sea, they saw the island (which was unnamed then) covered in soft fluffy white foam. They thought it looked like "kapas" (cotton wool) and they decided to call the island Pulau Kapas. As for the smaller island, there was a gemia ( a thumb-size sour fruit) tree on it so naturally it was known as Pulau Gemia. Afterthe resort was built, the island is sometimes called Gem Isle in advertisments. Sometimes its also known as Sultan's Island, apparently the Royal family has a share and owner of this gem of an island.

Further right, in front of Dungun, there is a bigger island called Pulau Tenggol. I am not sure what "tenggol" means. I am afraid to ask. The island has nice diving spots although the currents can get pretty dangerous sometimes. Perhaps there are many ikan tenggol there too ?.

If you look to the left, you can see many more islands. There is Bidong Laut which used to be a center for Vietnamese refugees. Bidong Darat is a big hill on the mainland, facing it. Old people in Merang used to tell me that the island and the hill are part of the stuff carried on the yoke (kandaran) of Sang Kelembai, a giant. Sang Kelembai dropped the load for inexplicable reasons. One became the island, the other became the hill. Right.

In front of Pulau Bidong is a small island called Pulau Karah. Turtles that Terengganu people call Penyu Karah used to land on this island for maternity reasons. Behind Pulau Bidong are two islands whose waters are infested by sharks of various temperaments. So, they call the island after these creatures. The bigger one is Pulau Yu Besar (Big Shark) and the smaller one Pulau Yu Kecik. Indeed, there are lots of hammerhead sharks there if you are interested about getting to know more about sharks.

To the right of Pulau Bidong ( looking from the mainland) you can see Pulau Redang. For those newsreaders, Redang is pronounced as ray-dung and never rur-dung. They always make me radang with the wrong pronounciation.If you want to pronounce it the native way, say ghe dang. Redang is named after a tree, so I have been told.

Then there is Lang Tengah. There is no Lang Tepi so I have to find out the origin of the name. Maybe it was named after a a midlle-born lang (eagle).

Further up, nearer to Setiu, there is a lump of rock in the sea called Pulau Gelok (The Jar Island.) On a hazy day, it looks like a jar.

Then nearer to Perhentian Island, there is an island still untouched by greedy developers. I used to fish here. Cik Awang, my guide told me the island is called Susu Dara which may or may not mean a virgin's breast. But I hope and pray the island will remain dara (virginal) for a long time. Then nearer to the mainland, just across Bukit Keluang in Besut is Pulau Rhu which used to be our place to stop for prayers during our fishing trips. Pulau Rhu has a lot of snakes and the beach has a lot of dead corals.

The last (but not least) Terengganu island would be Perhentian. Perhentian means a stop, a station. Fishermen used the island as a refuge from bad storms. One of the smaller islands in the Perhentian group is called Pulau Pinang. Do not expect nasi kandar here though.

Early days and about retirement.

Capt's Longhouse has left a new comment on the post "Early Retirement? ":

Retirement is not in my vocabulary !. As long as I can earn a living i.e work for it, guess I will continue earning-lah. Its not so much for the money but rather than just staying around doing nothing, its better to work on something worth while. Being paid may not be in terms of cash, having fresh air and friends around might just be it.

Indeed, I started very early in life to earn the money for my survival, in fact at the early age of 6 years old, I was selling cat fish and bring back cash to my mother !. I was the only child that would go out into the dirty drain behind the house to hunt for cat fish !. Ikan keli was marketed at the local toddy shop by me-lah. Selling it beside some babi hutan meat sold by my friend's father in Ipoh.(Kinta Road near the main Ipoh bus station) I was so good in selling ikan keli, so much so I skipped schooling at times at the early stage. Only learning to read and write in standard 4 onwards !!!! cas. for not attending proper classes. Guess its another interesting story to write about my early days yaaaa????.

PirateKing

The Kapitan of Cotton Island

Capt Mohamed Shariff Abbas [Executive Summary]
Currently serves in an Oil Exploration & Production MNC as Logistics Strategist and Planner. Double-hating as EPA GLMS Project Implementation Manager. Holder of ATPL Helicopters DCA, Malaysia.Qualified Helicopter Instructor UK (RAF) and Qualified Helicopter Examiner DCA Malaysia. Had served for 22 years including as Head of Aviation & Aviation Advisor in SMEP, Shell Malaysia. Incorporated Aviation HSE-MS in SMEP Flight Operations and for Aviation Contractor, MHS Aviation Sdn Bhd. Line Training Captain for MHS Aviation Sdn Bhd and Bristow Helicopters Company Ltd. Head of Operational Conversion Unit in Kuantan & Kluang Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Formulated the Emergency Response Coordination Centre for Sarawak Shell Bhd. Act as Company Rescue Mission Coordinator plus Oil Spill Coordinator. Qualified Aviation Management and Human Factor Management from University of Southern California, UCLA, USA. Attended numerous in-house Financial, Technical and Managerial Courses while in service with the Company. The focal point as in-house Logistics Consultant and Advisor to green field projects plus Aviation Specialist to Shell Operating Units in Asia Pacific Region.

Supports the skipper for Miri RTW solo yachting challenge 2008/2009. Tested an IRC Class Yacht ULUMULU's Skipper's readiness on a yachting voyage Miri-Labuan-Miri from 30th Apr to 03rd May 2008 during Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar very badly. On Post NRD till 30th Sep 2008. Owner and part time operator of Captain's Longhouse Resort on Pulau Kapas, Marang, Terengganu, Malaysia. Owner plus as Managing Director of Sabbas Excellence Sdn Bhd and also as Consultant for Logistics Excellence Services.

More about Capt's Longhouse ?.

Write up about Kapas island and Capt's Longhouse or The Lighthouse !

The Asian Pacific Post: Tue, May 17 2005
Marang where you take boats to Pulau KapasA little island not more than 20 minutes away by boat from the sleepy village of Marang, on the east coast of Malaysia, Pulau Kapas (Cotton Island) basks idyllically as it has for over 270 million years.This little haven in the South China Sea is a pleasant getaway for locals during weekends and the intrepid traveller who shuns the trappings of luxury for a soulful sojourn.Pulau Kapas is a small island, just over 2 kilometres long and 1 kilometres at its widest point.On the edges of the island, colourful reefs extend out into the deep, blue sea where a host of marine life continues to build and live in these rich , exuberant gardens of the sea. Pulau Kapas began to take shape some 270million years ago when the sea level was way below what it is now. Over a long period of time, sedimentation from the land was washed out into the sea, adding layer upon layer, which then formed a strip of elevated land. Eventually this area formed into an island and seeds and pollens that drifted along with the wind and the sea, settled on the drier grounds, giving life to a complete ecosystem as we see on Pulau Kapas today.The coral reef probably started its life in the early beginnings of Pulau Kapas. It is this beauty that for so many years people have come to enjoy. As a marine park, the coral reefs and its marine inhabitants have been given full protection from any adverse activity that may destroy their habitat, and that includes fishing.This is the place to really indulge in snorkelling. There is a wonderful snorkelling spot around the rocky outcrops just to the southern end of the long stretch of beach. The water here is shallow and it is best to wear a lifejacket. In some places the water level at low tide may only be as shallow as 2 feet.For the advanced snorkellers, a dip in the coral gardens is a delight especially on nights when the moon is full. The entire scene transforms itself and introduces a host of nocturnal marine life that are rarely seen during the day. The corals extend their feeders out in full bloom to capture tiny plankton washed in from the open sea, the nudibranchs leave their hiding place to feed on the coral polyps and squirrelfishes come out to play.It is here that in March every year, The Lighthouse opens its doors welcoming nature lovers from all over the world. The Lighthouse is a backpackers delight.www.journeymalaysia.com/islandkapaslight.htmIts owners, according to "caretaker" Nordin Hamdan or simply Din, are Canadian-German entrepreneur Yan Neuhoff and his Malaysian partner Sharif Abbas. For the three of them, The Lighthouse is not a money-making venture, rather it's a revered lifestyle.What started as a getaway for themselves and occasional lodging for families and friends, The Lighthouse gradually received paying guests from 1992, "and I've been taking care of it since then and it's like my own home," says Din with a passion. With his sun-burnt skin and unkempt long hair, 44-year-old Din is a typical backpacker. "But I've even been mistaken for an Orang Asli (native)" he quips.The common area in this hideaway is called the Tropical Hut, with the soft sand as the floor and abstract batik cloths and flags from all over the world as the "walls".There's a dormitory sandwiched between two rows of four rooms on each side. The dorm has 24 single beds. At the back of the house are common toilets and bathrooms. Water for bathing is pumped from the ground while fresh water for drinking and cooking is brought from Marang on the mainland. Generator sets supply the electricity. The place adopts the concept of a Borneo longhouse and Malay kampung house. The kitchen and dining area is in a separate airy bangsal (shed).Activities in Pulau Kapas centre around the island's main jetty about 350 metres from The Lighthouse. Two stalls near the jetty provide respite for hungry visitors.Batu Tenggara, Harmoni Beach and Batu Berhala are part of the island's Long Beach. Beyond it, are Batu Payung, Safari Beach and Derdak Beach, altogether spanning some 3.5 kilometres. Across Safari Beach and just five minutes by speed boat lies the secluded Pulau Gemia or Gems Island. The sea in between is home to stunning coral gardens and other marine life.Trekking for about 45 minutes through untamed jungle will take one to the uninhabited side of the island to the unspoilt nature and to the many birds that have claimed the area as their sanctuary.In the open sea, divers will come across the Shark Point and Turtle Point. Those into wreck diving will find the waters surrounding Pulau Kapas intriguing.Japanese boats and boats plying the route from Singapore carrying rice sags during World War II have sunk in the area.So how did Pulau Kapas get its name The cottony white sand After all, kapas means cotton.LINKShttp://www.malaysiasite.nl/kapaseng.htmhttp://www.pulaupulau.com/kapaspac.htm
Posted by The Islomaniac at 7:13 PM

Paradise at Capt's Longhouse, Kapas Island

Indeed, Capt's Longhouse unique lifestyle is based on the Iban traditional culture. The Iban lifestyle and living within the longhouse need for cooperation and equalitarian behavior of its member in-order to harmonies and care for each other as a family staying under the same roof. Longhouse living and the bilateral kindred system give rise to the need of cooperation, group conformity, sharing and equality among the Iban, hence the value of equalitarianism as practiced in Sarawak is also practiced at Capt's Longhouse at Kapas Island. The value of independence and self sufficiency is what you will gain while staying at Capt's Longhouse.

Paradise at Capt's Longhouse, Kapas Island

Capt. Shariff Abbas, the Pirate King of Kapas island; 012-3770214,,,,,,,,Capt's Longhouse Kapas Island, off Marang, Kuala Terengganu.
If you want to visit paradise, just book a place in Capt's Longhouse, Kapas island, Terengganu !. Room rate just RM60/- per nite and Rm25/- for Dorm stay. Beautiful ladies and great guys at our beach bar or just hang around the beach front for fun in the Sun and parties & BBQ at nite.
We are fish freindly, so no fishing allowed but snorkeling is great. Scuba lesson available but you need at least 4 days to get your PADI license as an open water diver. It will cost you RM950/- but its worth it cas. now you can be as fishy as you want to be for a least 45 minutes per dive !. However, jelly fish is not in the list for protection,,,ooochh !!!. watching turtles laying eggs ?,,,,,,yes, everynight or more so early morning, these crying mother turtles come digging in the sand to lay their babies all along the island beaches. Come help save these babies by collecting them and rebury them at our turtle sanctuary !. We have collectively help raised more than 25,000 little turtle babies since we started this special programme !.
Capt.