Idyllic Islands Part II

The chalet ground in Kampung (Village) Selat Bagan Nyior. Notice the big net? It's for ajuk burung (bird trap).

Ajuk means imitate and burung means bird(s) in Malay. Ajuk burung, usually done at night, uses a huge net (imagine a badminton net and times 3, some even bigger) with taped bird's chirping played on a speaker to attract other birds. Birds trapped on the net usually end up in a pan/pot.

The chalet owners built the chalets themselves using local wood, cement and some second–hand items. This window, for instance, used to be a boat's window. The wife weaved the walls herself.

The chalet (left) and owner's home

The walls were made of mangrove wood. Mangroves are abundant in this part of Langkawi.

Dawn, taken from the chalet's veranda.

The next morning after prayers, we took a bike ride around the islands. If you'd like to buy some breakfast on these islands, leave early as breakfast meals would be gone by 7.30a.m.! We went to five restaurants before we could get some take–out food.

The many buffaloes on Pulau Tuba

Pulau Dayang Bunting (left), Pulau Langkawi (middle) and Pulau Tuba (right).

I love the shades of blue and green. Idyllic, don't you think?

We stayed at chalets in Kampung (Village) Selat Bagan Nyior on Pulau Dayang Bunting. A unit costs RM50 per night only with basic facilities excluding food. The units that we stayed were stilt–likes located by the beach. It offered beautiful views of sunrise, sunsets and Pulau Tuba opposite, as well as continuous sea breeze throughout the day.

Currently, there are no hotels on Pulau Dayang Bunting and Pulau Tuba, only chalets or homestays. You can also bring your own tents if you feel like camping.