Went fishing last week at a kelong off the east coast of Johore. A kelong is a wooden structure built over the water which provides shelter for anglers like me who wish to fish day and night on a relatively stable platform. It looks small from a distance but is actually quite a huge structure.
It was only a 15 minute boat ride if you travel by speedboat but if you take of one these bigger boats, it takes about 40 minutes from the jetty to the kelong.
The sunrise was breathtaking when viewed off the deck. Across the horizon is Pulau Sibu or Sibu Island, a very popular tourist resort with the Singaporeans.
They had pictures of previous visitors with their big catches displayed on the notice boards in the kelong. I'm wishing that my photo will be included at the end of the visit.
Did I mention that the facilities are very basic? The toilets are just holes that lead into the sea. There are areas for dining, games, and a TV lounge for those who don't fancy fishing but are there to enjoy the fresh marine air and food with family members.
For the rest of us, we didn't have time for TV, mahjong or sleeping. We were outside fishing day and night....until our arms ache from holding the fishing line, not hauling in fish.
We were given 4 meals a day including supper, and fresh fish was on the menu in every main meal. Coffee and tea were available all day. I could use my handphone but unfortunately could not connect to Internet. Anyway it's a good place to catch up on my reading. Some lazy anglers spent their time sleeping in the shade while waiting for the big fish to take the bait.
Others preferred to fish in the shade wearing fashionable attire. It looked difficult to fish wearing high heels but surprisingly she managed to catch a fish!
I caught a bucket of small fishes and a huge squid. Sorry, no pictures of the squid as it was caught at night. As for this little fella, it was returned to the sea to grow bigger for my next visit.
It was only a 15 minute boat ride if you travel by speedboat but if you take of one these bigger boats, it takes about 40 minutes from the jetty to the kelong.
The sunrise was breathtaking when viewed off the deck. Across the horizon is Pulau Sibu or Sibu Island, a very popular tourist resort with the Singaporeans.
They had pictures of previous visitors with their big catches displayed on the notice boards in the kelong. I'm wishing that my photo will be included at the end of the visit.
Did I mention that the facilities are very basic? The toilets are just holes that lead into the sea. There are areas for dining, games, and a TV lounge for those who don't fancy fishing but are there to enjoy the fresh marine air and food with family members.
For the rest of us, we didn't have time for TV, mahjong or sleeping. We were outside fishing day and night....until our arms ache from holding the fishing line, not hauling in fish.
We were given 4 meals a day including supper, and fresh fish was on the menu in every main meal. Coffee and tea were available all day. I could use my handphone but unfortunately could not connect to Internet. Anyway it's a good place to catch up on my reading. Some lazy anglers spent their time sleeping in the shade while waiting for the big fish to take the bait.
Others preferred to fish in the shade wearing fashionable attire. It looked difficult to fish wearing high heels but surprisingly she managed to catch a fish!
I caught a bucket of small fishes and a huge squid. Sorry, no pictures of the squid as it was caught at night. As for this little fella, it was returned to the sea to grow bigger for my next visit.
