Looking For Things To Do In Port Dickson? Jeff Ramlee threw caution to the wind and went on a snorkelling trip with some mysterious locals. Was it brave or foolhardy?
It was our second day on the coastal town of Port Dickson. We didn’t get to bed until late because our resort was holding a small bonfire party on their private beach. It was well after 11am when we finally came crawling out from under the bed covers. After our showers we headed down to the dining area to tuck into a buffet breakfast. I must admit, I’ve tasted far better breakfasts in my time, but after a heavy night of drinking, as long as it was edible, it was going in my belly!
We actually started out in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Such an amazing and lively city. We hired a Hyundai SUV for our whole trip. The drivers in Malaysia are a little crazy, but if you’re going to get the best experience out of the trip, your best bet is to hire some wheels. After a few days in the smoggy heat of the capital, we took to the expressway and headed to the city of Port Dickson. It took us about 1 ½ hours to reach our destination, the Bayu Beach Resort. A great place to stay if you’re travelling on a small budget. However, if you’re looking for a classy room with a modern en-suite bathroom, then you had best stay away from this place! We were there mostly to explore and chill on the beach, so our accommodation just needed to provide us with a place to rest and have a wash.
There are bus services that will take you from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson, if you prefer to relax and have someone else do the driving. However, we did look into it and decided against that route. I’m assuming they stop at a number of locations on the way, because the bus schedule states that the trip would take roughly 4 hours! Just keep in mind that the average day temperatures over there easily exceeds 30ºC, for some of you, that’s a whopping 86°F, and the humidity is equally insane! Having experienced a similarly sticky bus ride not long before that while in Santa Marta, Colombia, there was no way I was going to put myself through that again!
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Strangers On The Beach
Back to that day on the beach, we were looking like lobsters, having already been baking on the beach for 3 hours, when these two fellas approached us. The beach wasn’t all that busy that day, and there was no signs of any form of watersports business in the area, however, these guys were asking my partner and I, if we were interested in going on a snorkelling trip. We didn’t even know where they came from, if they were working for the hotel, or if they were even legit, but we had the whole holiday mentality thing going on, and decided to just go with them.
They walked us over to their little boat, powered by what looked like a twenty year old engine. We jumped aboard, excited for what was ahead of us. The younger guy of the two, tugged at the engine chord a good few times, before the engine finally began to roar. We were given no life jackets and there were no rails to hang on to, so we were pretty much grasping onto the edges of the boat for dear life, as we recklessly jetted over the waves, into the distance. I swear, a few times it felt like I flew 5 feet into the air! It was like a roller coaster ride gone wrong! I was already regretting going on the ride. In my mind, I was only seconds away from being flung overboard.
The waves eventually calmed down as we headed further into the horizon. ten minutes had already gone by. Looking back, we could no longer see our resort. I couldn’t help but begin to remember stories about pirates kidnapping unsuspecting tourists like ourselves. I asked one of the men twice, where we were going and how long it was going to take, but was silenced on both occasions with the same answer, “just wait”.
After about twenty minutes of cruising the sea, the boat’s engine finally cut out. We had arrived at a really small coral reef island, in the middle of nowhere. It was breathtaking! The boat ride from hell was definitely worth it. The men handed us a pair of masks and snorkels, and we just dived off the side of the boat. The water was so much clearer, compared to the waters of our resort. There was all kinds of sea life action going on under the water. I even saw a seahorse, which for me is a rare sight, but the older guy was telling me that they are really common in that area. The one thing that I was glad not to come across, which was unusual considering how notorious they are to the coast of Port Dickson, was jellyfish! On our boat trip to the little island, we must have gone past hundreds of them creatures. Perhaps they are mostly present in the deeper waters. Even while we were on the beach of our resort, I must have only seen a maximum of two jellyfish, one of which was up on the dry pathway, possibly dead. I didn’t really want to confirm that.
We spent a good full hour snorkelling before the guys called at us to return to the boat. We were specifically told not to remove anything from the area, so unfortunately we had no stunning souvenirs from our mysterious snorkelling adventure. When we returned to the shore of our resort, the men didn’t even ask for any compensation, it was as though it was purely out of their good intentions to take us on that incredibly surreal adventure. However, I insisted that they accepted some of our Malaysian ringgit as a means of showing our appreciation.
We still think back to that day and whether or not it was foolish of us to wander out to sea with a couple of strangers. In the future we would definitely make sure we knew who we were being guided by, whether it be with members of a snorkelling company or staff from the resort. However, we do not regret it one bit, as had we not gone along with the two guys, we may never have had the opportunity to experience the incredible beauty of that mysterious island off the coast of Port Dickson.