Pulau Ketam

Crab Island lies in the mangrove off Port Klang, and the settlement on it - founded by Hainanese and Teochew fishing families in the nineteenth century - is built entirely on piles over tidal mud, with plank walkways and concrete causeways instead of streets and not a single car. Bicycles and small motorbikes do everything. Underneath the houses at low tide is grey mud, mudskippers and crabs; at high water the whole village sits over the sea. The economy is fishing and aquaculture, the food is seafood and it is the main reason day-trippers come from the Klang Valley, along with the Chinese temples, the murals painted through the lanes, and the simple novelty of a town with no ground under it. There are basic guesthouses for those who stay.

History

The island's two mainly Chinese fishing villages were founded around 1880, and because the island floods at high tide their houses stand on wooden stilts 1 to 10 metres above sea level (Wikipedia, Pulau Ketam).

What you'll find

• A village entirely on stilts - plank walkways over tidal mud, no solid ground.
• No cars at all - bicycles and small motorbikes only.
• Seafood restaurants - the reason most day-trippers make the crossing.
• Chinese temples and murals - through the lanes between the houses.

When to go

All year; weekdays to avoid the crowds. A day.

Before you go

At low tide the mud below the houses smells strongly and looks bleak. Weekends are packed with day-trippers. Facilities are basic and the walkways are narrow and uneven.

Nearby

Port Klang is the ferry port; Klang town and its heritage walk are inland.