Pulau Aman Things to Do Tips by SLLiew

Boat trip to Pulau Gedong

The neighboring island of Pulau Gedong is isolated and uninhabitated.

You can arrange with the local fishermen for a group trip round the island. It will be more interesting if you are into fishing.

Apparently, a local made a lot of money from selling large plot of land on this island to the late rags to riches Penang millionaire Low Boon Siew. At one time, there were plans of using the island as second home for Japanese retirees though today, the island is still very much "unused".

There are a few legendary sites of the island of pirates, lairs, magical wells and rocks.

You will get a closer view of George Town, Penang Island and Penang bridge too. There are several fish farms in the distance.

Looking for the oldest tree

In Pulau Aman, I was surprised by the many breadfruit trees (sukun in Malay) grown.

Apparently some of the trees are very old. Not sure how old and you may wander to find the oldest tree that has a sign written claiming it so. I did not find it as we were in a hurry.

The leaves of the tree are fleshy green, wavy and unique in shape. They provide excellent shade. It was not fruiting season yet.

Did however found a fruit on the ground and took a picture to show what it looks like.

Digging for shell fish at the beach

On departing Pulau Aman, you can see the happy faces of children and some parents with their plastic bag harvest of the day - a bagful of small shell fish (bivalves) which the locals call "siput".

It is a fun activity of two or more digging into a hole into the sandy or gravel beach near the water line, exposing these small bivalves and spoting them and catching them before they escaped deeper into the sand.

These bivalves are great joy to catch and to eat too. You can soak them into water to wash out the sand and brine and then fry them for a tasty dish.

The local Malaysian Chinese called this digging of bivalves "Oar-see-put"

For avid anglers

Many regular tourists come here for fishing. Do bring your own fishing gear and bait. Did not see any "tourist" shop for fishing enthusiasts. Most are busy out fishing or repairing their nets.

You can arrange for boat fishing trips around Pulau Aman and the next-door Pulau Gedong.

Or just fish off the boat jetties. The new boat jetty is hardly been used as it is a good 15 minutes walk from the village. It is built over a long stretch of the sea as it is shallow at low tide. Hence it a popular place for line fishing.

Also on the mainland side, near Batu Kawan new jetty, there are anglers too.

Walkabout the Island

You can walk around the village and go by the houses. There are no fences and the locals are friendly. You can see them repairing their nets or sleeping on the hammocks.

There are no cars on the island. The paths do have road names and many of the houses have the names of the owners displayed on signs.

As the island is quite small, you will not get lost and will meet again those "strangers" on your boat arrival who are "familiar friends" by the time you depart the island.

Kampung Pulau Aman

The flat land area of Pulau Aman is quite small and limited to the north east corner of the island.

The village (kampung) is built on land unlike some like Pulau Ketam (in Selangor) where the entire village are built over the sea.

The village population is less than a couple of hundred and increased with day trip tourists.

Originally the island was called "Pulau Kera" (Monkey Island) and then renamed to "Pulau Aman" (Peace Island).