Pulau Aman Things to Do

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As you see the Pulau Aman Map, there's a Telaga Emas (Golden Well) along the island. According to the history, a villager around 1789, dugs a well and found a tempayan (large earthernware jar for storing water) that turned into golden tempayan. Then the British in Penang heard of the golden tempayan and came to dig and dig the well but they cant find any golden tempayan but a lot of golden coloured pebbles. I guess that why the beach are full of beautifuls pebbles..

The well is situated next to the beach, and yet the well's water taste very fresh and with a lot of large tadpoles inside the water, haha..I dont want to drink that water but used it to wash my hand and face for good luck.. and time for snacking...

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Step foot in Pulau Aman, you can see a lot of Buah Sukun Trees greeting you.. What a lovely tree with large leaves and the fruit looks like a green cannonball.. Almost every kampung house have this tree.. On my way to Telaga Emas, there's an old Buah Sukun tree that was planted around 1890 by a Tok Guru Al-Quran - Tok Awang Bin Akid. Even though the Buah Sukun tree is almost 120years old but it still bear a lot of fruits.. Amazing tree..

Delicious for making fried fritters, crisps and cucur udang.. I think I will one day cook this Buah Sukun myself and post the recipes here..

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There are about 245 populations of 40 families in Pulau Aman. Majority of them are Kaum Melayu, and most of them workes as fisherman and some of them have small industry of process belacan, dried fish and shrimps, Buah Sukun crisps and Homestay.

And I am there like a lost chinese girl in Pulau Aman..haha.. (Cina sesat)

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.

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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.

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"

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.

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.