Carey Island is a large flat island off the west coast of
Peninsula Malaysia in the Hulu Kuala Langat district of Selangor state. It is huge, about 32,000 acres or roughly a fifth of the
size of Singapore. Although technically an island, it does not really feel like
one since it is only separated from the 'mainland' by the Langat River which is
not that wide in places.
Oil Palm Plantations
Carey Island is named after a successful British coffee and
rubber planter called Valentine Carey who cleared much of the natural
vegetation for agricultural uses just over 100 years ago. Today it could be called Sime Darby Island because that
company's oil palm subsidiaries dominate the landscape. Sime Darby, which is the world's largest palm oil producer,
has pioneered environmentally friendly practices in their plantations such as
reduced use of herbicides, using barn owls to control the rat population and
planting the fringes of plantations with natural vegetation to allow beneficial
insects to thrive.
MahMeri Wooden Carvings
From the tourist's point of view the main attraction on
Pulau Carey is the aboriginal community, the MahMeri, one of 18 Orang Asli
tribes living in Malaysia (orang asli means original people). This community of around 1400 people is famous for its
unique wooden statues and masks carved from a rare red swamp hardwood called
Nyireh Batu which belongs to the mahogany family. There are said to be around 25 craftsmen and they can
produce over 100 different designs, each with its own significance and purpose
in their culture. The best place to see them is Kampung Sungei Bumbun where there
are a couple of stalls and a newly built craft centre which has never been open
on my two visits. If you do not have
the time to visit Pulau Carey yourself but would like to buy a carving you can
also find them at KompleksKraf Kuala Lumpur (Handicraft Complex) on
Jalan Conlay.:)
Seafood
Most Malaysians going to Carey Island are only interested in
the food, namelyscrumptious seafood. Most popular seem to be a couple of
seafood restaurants on the banks of the Langat River immediately before
crossing the bridge onto Carey Island. Kan Guan Seafood Restaurant for example
serves dishes like meehoon with lala (clams), stir fried crabs with ginger,
deep fried prawns, crispy squid, sweet potato leaves with garlic, seafood fried
rice and so on. You can even bring a fishing rod along and try your luck while
waiting for your meal.
Beach
There is actually a beach on Pulau Carey. It is not the best
in the world - it is strewn with abandoned tyres and other rubbish since it is
facing the busy sea-lanes of the Straits of Malacca. I doubt that the water is
suitable for swimming but there is a patch of white sand, there are fresh sea
breezes and plenty of shellfish to find on the mudflats.
How to get there?
If you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, take the E5 expressway headed towards Pulau Indah. Before you reach Port Klang, exit when you see a sign for highway 5 towards Banting. When you reach Telok Panglima Garang follow the signposts to Pulau Carey. The seafood restaurants are next to the bridge crossing the river onto the island. Once on the island keep going straight. The beach is as far as you can go on this road. If you want to see the carvings, you will see a sign for the orang asli village (Sungei Bumbun) on your left.
If you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, take the E5 expressway headed towards Pulau Indah. Before you reach Port Klang, exit when you see a sign for highway 5 towards Banting. When you reach Telok Panglima Garang follow the signposts to Pulau Carey. The seafood restaurants are next to the bridge crossing the river onto the island. Once on the island keep going straight. The beach is as far as you can go on this road. If you want to see the carvings, you will see a sign for the orang asli village (Sungei Bumbun) on your left.