Pulau Kapas (Cotton Island)


I was honestly looking forward to this trip to Pulau Kapas. The whole idea was for me to relax, rejuvenate and spend intimate time with God and myself. The reason was that I was working so tirelessly for the past 6 months; staying up late all day and sometimes up to more than 24 hours in the office, working on the weekends and public holidays, and slowly losing myself along the way. When I decided to leave the job (when I finally came to my senses), I told myself that I would treat myself with a getaway. Away from the city and work, just me, myself, God and nature.

It didn't turn out to be an "alone" trip though (as much as I wanted it to be), a few of my other friends were part of this trip too, which I'm definitely not complaining because it was still really good! I got to spend some time alone, with God and with my friends :) It was still really nice.

All in all, this trip was really really refreshing. I tasted freedom again, I rediscovered my passion, my plans for the future and I understood so much more about God and what I really want.



We took a plane to Kuala Terengganu, and then a boat ride to Pulau Kapas. Pulau Kapas is a really lovely place. It's not commercialized but it's known for backpackers and campers. Life there is so chilled and carefree.

My kawan :)

We stayed in a tent. Totally forgotten to pack a tent fan, it was soooo stuffy in the tent. But it definitely protected us from all the mozzies. I did try sleeping by the beach with my sleeping bag, but there were just too many mosquitoes that I moved back into the tent.

I absolutely loved waking up to the sound of the ocean and this view.



We didn't do much on the first day as we arrived in the evening. We just watched the sunset, some of them swam in the ocean, and we just admired the sky and ocean. The night sky was so breath-taking. We could see so many stars, and I think we even saw shooting stars.

One of my favourite memory was lying by the beach, playing the guitar and worshiping. It was so easy to be connected to God when you're being surrounded His rawest creations.

I think we ended the night by chasing after crabs or chatting away :)

This view.

We hiked up a trail, planning to catch the sunrise. I think we started the hike around 6am? We didn't expect it to be such a long and tough hike! It took us more than an hour and halfway through it, the sun has already risen. The view was still amazing though. It was worth the adventure.

On the rock with this fearless one.

Snorkeling :)

We saw a turtle! It was so much fun being in the waters. So many fishes and the water was so clear. One of the most tiring thing we did was swimming to another island. It was like close to a 2 hour swim. Boy, it was tough! We swam to Gem Island which was opposite Pulau Kapas. Gem Island is a smaller island with private resorts. A more exclusive island I would say. It was beautiful though. While Chelsea, Daniel and Julian continued to snorkel on the other side of the island, Kent and I took a nap on a hammock while enjoying the scenery.

We didn't want to swim back to the island again because 1) it was a very long, tiring swim 2) the walk back to our camp involved many stairs and long distance 3) we were just really tired. So, a boat brought us back to our accommodation :)

My love for hammock! #hammocklife


There's a lot of firsts in this trip. I got to experience canoeing in this trip. One thing I love about this island was that we could do whatever we want and go wherever we want to! There's absolutely no restriction, which scares me at first cause I was thinking, if our canoe turnover in the middle of the ocean, no one would know :o


Canoeing was so much fun. I love it. It was a little terrifying at a few times as I'm afraid of the ocean. But I really enjoyed it. So unforgettable :)



The crew!

Pulau Kapas was the beginning of my break from work and the transition to uni life. It was so significant because looking back (coming from the future me: Jessie in August 2016), so many things have changed and grown. Who would have thought that I'd end up in Singapore? Definitely not me.