If you have been to Pulau Pangkor, you will probably have gone to Pulau Giam as well. Pulau Giam is actually just a stone's throw away from the bigger Pulau Pangkor. Getting to Pulau Giam from Pulau Pangkor is really easy and you do not even have to swim or hitch a ride on a boat. You can even walk to Pulau Giam from Pulau Pangkor. Yes, you can get there on foot!
Walk To Pulau Giam From Pulau Pangkor During Chinese New Year
For the uninitiated, Pulau Giam is actually a very small island that is located off Pantai Teluk Nipah on Pulau Pangkor. There were several tour operators who could bring you to the island and back using different boats with prices ranging from RM70 to RM130. We thought it was not worth it as it was really near to the beach where we were playing. The distance between the beach and Pulau Giam is around 385metres only and that means you just need around 10 to 15 minutes to walk to Pulau Giam on foot!
Distance Between Pulau Giam and the beach at Pulau Pangkor-385 metres
You can only walk to Pulau Giam during Chinese New Year!
Halfway there. See so easy 😁
All year round, the only way to get to Pulau Giam is via boat. However, on the new lunar year usually during Chinese New Year month, one can easily walk to Pulau Giam due to the extremely low tide. We saw quite a lot of people who walked to the island. Eventually, I invited my father-in-law and my son to walk to Pulau Giam. Since we were there at the right time when the tide was low, we could walk to Pulau Giam with the seawater level at our knees. It was pretty easy to wade through the water to get to the island.
Make sure you wear your shoes while walking to Pulau Giam
Make sure your bags are waterproof like my Hypergear backpack and waist pouch.
Bear in mind that you need to wear your shoes or suitable footwear when you walk to Pulau Giam. Do not walk to the other side without wearing anything or bare-footed like me. If you walk bare-footed, be prepared to get your soles pricked. Thank goodness my thick "Hobbit feet" could withstand the sharp stones and dead corals that I stepped on. From afar, it might look like I was dancing a little bit.
We have arrived at Pulau Giam
It was quite fun to walk on dead corals and protruding seashells 😂
Honestly speaking, we were really thrilled the moment we set foot on Pulau Giam. It was an achievement or sort to be able to walk across the sea to go to an island. Jordan boy was elated to unlock this achievement of his as well. I have to commend his boldness as he had decided to join us instead of staying back with his mom and sister. Then again, he was on his float 90% of the time. Still, it was the effort that counts, right? LOL 😁
Let's explore Pulau Giam
There's a huge rock for you to take your epic photo as well!
Pulau Giam was indeed a beautiful island despite being really small. The sand was powdery white and the water was crystal clear. The sight and view from the island were really breathtaking, to say the least. Still, it was not worth the fares paid to travel there via boats. And if you are expecting to see a resort on Pulau Giam, there was none if the dilapidated little house was not counted. We just needed a mere 10 minutes to leisurely stroll around the island. Yep! Pulau Giam is really that small.
Don't forget to take your selfie with Pulau Giam
We will never forget this priceless moment!
I couldn't recall seeing anyone was snorkelling around Pulau Giam. Perhaps I was not paying attention. But I did see lifejackets and snorkels for rent. After loitering and sightseeing on Pulau Giam for around 30 minutes, we decided to head back to the mainland of Pulau Pangkor. By then, the tide had risen a little bit but it was still easy for us to wade through the water to return to Pantai Teluk Nipah. This time around, our journey back to Pulau Pangkor was a little bit different.
Picking Up Sea Cucumber at Pulau Giam
En route to the mainland, we noticed quite a lot of "black" creatures lurking underneath the water. Being a marine biology enthusiast, I immediately could make out that they were "sea cucumber" or scientifically known as echinoderms. Of course, locals will fondly call these sea cucumbers "gamat" or in mandarin, it is called "Hai Shen" (海参). I have seen these sea cucumbers so many times, so I do not have any problem grabbing them whatsoever.
Enjoying Themselves at Pulau Pangkor
Where's your sandcastle?
Jordan boy trying to act cool!
Later on my father-in-law, kids and my wife were also intrigued to hold these smooth jelly-like sea cucumbers. Usually, sea cucumbers will spit their sticky guts out as their defence mechanism. So we were really gentle when we were handling them. It was really an interesting sight to behold these mystifying creatures from the ocean. Luckily, none of the sea cucumbers that we took out from the sea momentarily was startled in any way. They were then released into the ocean again.
Hopefully, we could return to Pulau Giam
It was a fun trip to Pulau Giam for sure!
All in all, we really enjoyed our walk to Pulau Giam from Pulau Pangkor during Chinese New Year. Hence, it is only during the lunar month (Chinese New Year) you could see the sea split into a pathway for you to walk directly to Pulau Giam. Otherwise, you will need to swim there or take a boat. It was indeed a priceless, unforgettable experience for our whole family especially my father-in-law, Jordan boy and me. So have you walked to Pulau Giam before?
How to get to Pulau Giam, Perak
P.S.: This trip of ours from Pulau Pangkor to Pulau Giam took place in 2020.
I wonder how long the tide will rise again?
ReplyDeleteNot entirely sure...give and take...2 to 3 hours? :D
DeleteI went to Pulau Pangkor, seafood paradise! But no, I did not walk to Pulau Giam. On the other hand, I did go to Giam waterfall, here in Sarawak, near Kuching.
ReplyDeleteSo there's another Giam in Sarawak? Guess...their names couldn't be any more similar huh.
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