Wonders of the Sky Mirror: A Detour that Enriched a Day-Trip to Sekinchan

13 October 2019

After two aborted attempts to visit the padi fields of Sekinchan, Pat and I finally made it there yesterday – or did we?

Our day started with every intention of heading straight to Sekinchan for breakfast and thereafter visit the padi fields. Due to the rainy season, we intended to arrive back in Kuala Lumpur by 4pm so as not to get caught up in the anticipated torrential rains.

On our drive to Sekinchan, I informed Pat about a place called the “Sky Mirror” (a.k.a. Sasaran Beach) that was on the way to our destination but read that it is apparently advisable to make an advance booking to see it. Pat decided that we ought to take a chance and see if we could see the Sky Mirror without a booking. That was how we ended up adding the stop on our navigator and landed ourselves in Kuala Selangor – specifically the Jetty where we could take a boat to see the Sky Mirror.

Lo’ and behold, we were able to get tickets to see the Sky Mirror for RM80 per pax! The catch was that we had missed the earlier 8 am trip to the Sky Mirror and we had to wait for the next one at 11.00 am. This meant that we had about one hour to kill. We therefore decided to have breakfast in Kuala Selangor instead of Sekinchan.

The person manning the ticket counter recommended Auntie Foo’s Café that was apparently just around the corner. So, we decided to head there by foot.

On our walk to Auntie Foo’s, we saw the foot of Bukit Malawati (Malawati Hills). The fortress on this hill is said to have been built in late 18th Century to defend Selangor from the attack of the enemies, with the high ground providing a vantage point of view to enable the monitoring of ships that passed by the Straits of Malacca.

On our way to Auntie Foo’s, we also saw a colourful tram passing by and a free bus. These modes of transportation certainly piqued our interest. Our next day-trip perhaps?

Auntie Foo is an air-conditioned traditional kopitiam (café). We had nasi lemak bungkus, which was really good, and two coffees – one black; one white. The total bill for the both of us came up to RM6.90. Pulau Ketam can certainly do with one of these affordable hipster cafes!

After breakfast, we walked back to the jetty and there, our adventure began.

The organisation of the Sky Mirror tour was a little haphazard. It may also have something to do with the fact that both Pat and I were absolutely clueless about what to expect!

When people started queuing at the jetty, we did the same – only to be told that we had to go back to the waiting lounge to wait for our names to be called by the crew members who were assigned to take us to the Sky Mirror. So, we followed their instructions and enjoyed the scenes – a parade of people from the earlier 8 am tour returning and those going on the 11 am tour. It was also pleasant to see senior citizens being well looked after by younger tour guides.

After waiting for about an hour, our names were called. We were given life-jackets and were then ushered into the speed boat that was assigned to our group of 10. We were told to take off our hats and hang-on to our belongings (phones, glasses, handbags, etc.) and off we went at great speed around 11.50 am.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 40-minute-plus ride to the Sky Mirror! The scenes by the Straits of Malacca were similar to those on the way to Pulau Ketam, except that this time we were moving at a much greater speed.

When we arrived at the Sky Mirror, our boat docked at sea, and we had to step down into knee-deep waters. Fortunately, we had noticed that everyone was wearing slippers (while we were both in walking shoes). Pat had made the wise decision of purchasing a pair of Japanese slippers for RM6 at the convenience store in the waiting lounge of the jetty, while I had packed a pair in my backpack just in case we ended up on the beach in Sekinchan.

Unfortunately, there was nothing much we could do about the fact that we were wearing long pants/jeans. So, we just had to fold our pants/jeans up and walk to the shores of the Sky Mirror. No wonder most people wore shorts or short pants!

The Sky Mirror is essentially a vast expanse of sand in the middle of the Straits of Malacca. There is nothing to see but crustaceans - primarily baby crabs. The Sky Mirror “disappears” into the Straits of Malacca during high tide and reappears during low tide. This happens twice a month i.e. during full and new moon periods. So, Pat and I were rather lucky not only to have been able to get a seat on a speedboat without booking in advance but the timing of our impromptu visit also coincided with the low tide season.

Tourists visit the Sky Mirror mainly to take advantage of the mirror-like photographic opportunities that it presents. This explains why most people on the tour wore really colourful clothing! Photos taken with colourful clothing turn out better because of the reflection.

The RM80/pax includes the cost of trained crew members who would “set the stage” for you and then take the photographs for you. They will later request for your Whatsapp number and will then transfer the photographs to you for free.

Pat and I, together with the other eight members in our group, took our fair share of photos. However, everyone in our group felt that it was way too hot and decided to call it a day after an hour or so. When we left, other groups were still going really strong and continued to stay on the Sky Mirror for a little longer.

We ended our Sky Mirror tour just before 2.30 pm. As part of the cost of our ticket, we were given water, some snacks and a small pack of nasi lemak. Question to ourselves - do we head to Sekinchan or do we head back to Kuala Lumpur?