NOSTALGIC MALAYSIA 1992/1993 – PULAU RAWA

Pulau Rawa or Rawa Island is a coral island in Mersing District, Johor, Malaysia. Nearby islands include Harimau and Mensirip. “Rawa” is the local term for white doves, which are abundant on the island. Rawa is a relatively small island. There are no proper roads, only a few walkways.

To get there you take a boat from Mersing on the east coast of Malaysia and this takes around 45 minutes. Accommodation on the island is fairly basic with small bungalows with mosquito netting, basic toilet facilities and a seawater shower outside. There is a small restaurant that did barbecues on some nights.

We made two visits to Rawa; our first in 1992 with my wife and two girls, Tsun yee and Jen Yee, my parents, Doreen & Gordon Taylor and our friends from Singapore, Jim, Emily, with their daughters Michelle and Lindsay. The second visit was in 1993 with my two sons Chris and Neil, our friends from Singapore Jim and Emily with their daughter Lindsay (Michelle was MIA on this occasion) and another couple who were friends of Jim and Emily.

These photos were captured on a Canon film camera and the negatives subsequently scanned and then post processed in Capture One Pro. The image quality in many cases is poor as many of the negatives were damaged by heat and humidity over time.