It’s the year 2020 and domestic tourism is all the rage! … Or rather, it’s 2020 and domestic tourism is all we can do with the borders all shut.

I haven’t been anywhere beyond a 15km radius of my house this year and after six months shut in the house, we decided to make a 3D2N trip to Rawa Island, Johor, which houses the prettiest beach and perhaps the most pristine waters on Semenanjung Malaysia.

The first thing anyone should know about Rawa Island is that you’re not here for luxury, and the hospitality does not even come close to even the cheapest islands you can find around the Thailand/Indonesia/Phillipines region. Malaysia really has much to work on the hospitality front, but we are blessed with nature instead.

While you might not get luxury bedding, a night life or spas, what you get instead is a small silver of nature and the illusion of a private island, even quieter now that there are no foreign tourists. In any case, Rawa Island was wonderful enough for me and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice my stay was.

There are only two hotels on Rawa Island, the full service Rawa Island Resort and the basic non-airconditioned Alang Rawa. Most people stay at Alang Rawa because it’s a beachfront view for much cheaper, but I personally am glad I chose to stay at Rawa Island Resort. Most facilities on the island belong to Rawa Island Resort and I’m sure the food options for the Resort were better. The bar sure was fantastic, with cocktails at only RM25 (cheaper than KL prices!), though normal beverages were quite pricey.

We booked the noon ferry from Mersing and despite the rainy gloomy skies, we were stepping onto white sand a mere 20 minutes speedboat ride later. Check-in was painless and we were immediately ushered to the resort restaurant for a buffet lunch.

They had a fairly decent spread that had even me, the pickiest eater you might meet, satisfied through my stay. There were 20-something options of both local cuisine and western delights, a surprisingly good selection of salads and free basic drinks of coffee, tea and juice in the mornings.

I booked the cheapest room on the resort, the Frangipani villa at RM3,610 for three people, full board. Usually beachside villas tend to be a bit on the sandy side so I was surprised to see just how clean this room was. The airconditioning was so chilly that I was immediately glad I chose this instead of Alang Rawa.

The room didn’t really matter though, because there was still an island to explore!

We decided to take a short walk around the islands first and it was an easy 30 minute hike up and around the mountain through thick vegetation.

Halfway through the hike, we came across the cactus garden but somehow didn’t manage to find the owl habitat and lookout point. I took another walk up the hill twice the next morning and still didn’t find the promised lookout point.

When we came down from the hill all sweaty and huffing, we were greeted with the other side of the resort, also accessible without the hike. This is where most of the Instagram posts I saw were taken, a rugged wooden path leading into clear blue seas.

At the very end of the island is the Rawa Island Resort’s Sunset Bar, and further down you’ll find the island’s diving centre, the only other establishment on the island aside from the two resorts.

Circling the island only takes a little over an hour if you stroll slow and we had enough time to take a dip in the sea. First of all, let it be known that I am terrified of fish. You can see a variety of fish right at the shallowest part of the beach – brilliant for a diver or snorkeler, terrible for someone like me.

I’m not sure if you can see coral, but from the number of excited tourists I see far, far in the ocean, I would think so. You can also rent a paddleboard or a kayak, all at a small fee. No other watersports is allowed to preserve the reef.

Islands truly turn magical when the sun sets and casts a romantic glow over the beach. It was nice to just sit with my feet in the sand and the breeze in my hair and for the first time in months, just… not think. For a brief moment, the world was not going through a pandemic, I was not worrying about keeping my job and there was just me, the beach, the sunset. It grounded me.

Post-dinner drinks made me feel even lighter, though it might’ve been more the endless sky of stars than the alcohol in my drink. When I squint into horizon, I could see lights from the straits of Johor and it was strange to think that just 20 minutes away, I was here in paradise.

The next day was just as relaxing because there really is nothing much to do. I went for a swim and took a few tumbles down the famous slides (and gulped more than enough seawater). Climbed up the hill and placed my pokemon in the pokemon gym (!!) at the deserted badminton court.

I read a book on the pier and watched people snorkel past.

Played with the resident puppy at Alang Rawa. At night we had a BBQ dinner and more drinks, and that was the end of another carefree day.

Leaving the island the next day felt extra sad because we had to put our face masks back on. Just that act of covering our faces felt weird. For a weekend, I thought things were normal again but we were just heading back to the new normal of social distancing and heightened hygiene.

Still, it was a good to have a small getaway. Possibly the last getaway I’ll have for a very long time but at least I had a glimpse of paradise before the world ended.

Goodbye, Rawa! I hope you remain beautiful for much longer!