Two Continents, a Couple Oceans...: The Perhentian Islands

A beautiful beach, an island spilling with wildlife, sharks, sea turtles, sun and sand just to name a few highlights of our time on the islands.

At the early departure of 5:00 am we set off by mini bus to The Perhentian Islands. Even though it was really early, Andrew and I were super psyched to be going there. We had heard a lot of really great things about the islands, and because of that we had it pegged for another great tropical paradise!

The Perhentian Islands are a group of islands off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The two main places where people stay are "Kecil" which is the small island and "Besar" which is the big island. We decided to start off on Kecil which is known for it's backpacker vibe rather than expensive resort-like hotels. Also our guide book said that the night life was better on Kecil, and recommending staying on Long Beach. This is an Islamic country so just like the mainland, there aren't a lot of places that sell alcohol. Andrew was prepared and bought some booze in advance.

We took a 1/2 boat ride to the island, it was on a fast speed boat. We sped through the water at terrifying speed, it was as if we were riding a rocket. A couple times I was close to flying over the edge as we crashed over a big wave.

Finally we arrived on Kecil, Long Beach... First Impression?!?!? Not good!

We found the beach to be dirty and ravaged. In the blazing hot sun, we ran around the beach checking out all the accommodations. After looking at most places we were still not impressed. The huts were old, and were among the worst that I have seen during our entire trip. We were tired, sweaty and were functioning on a bag of chips which was our only meal of the day. I have to say our mood was pretty "grim" and we felt quite let down.

Where was the paradise that we had heard so much of???

After careful discussion we decided to take a gamble and decided to cross the island by foot to check out lodging on the other side. We didn't know if it would be better, but we didn't want to settle until we found something we were happy with. In our exhaustion we threw on our heavy packs, got our things and began to slowly trek through the jungle on a tiny winding dirt path. We heard that it was a 10 min trek we had also heard that it was a 30min trek. It was midday, and hot hot hot! Finally after about 15 mins we made it threw the jungle and arrived at Coral Bay. Our first impression were great... the bay was small and quaint and had only a few places for accommodations but all were on the beach. So the jungle trek... well worth it!

Shari-La & Coral Bay
We met a British couple (Hi Danielle and Phil) on the mini bus and took the boat with them. It was myself and Phil who checked out the sub-par accommodations on Long Beach. About 15mins after arriving on Coral Bay, they showed up too. So we all joined forces... and started our search for our usual criteria of cheap, good, clean accommodation. Phil (who has the highest energy level we have ever seen) and Andrew walked up and down the beach looking for a place to stay. We finally settled on a hotel called Shari-La.

Our Snorkel Adventure
We bought snorkel gear in the Philippines, so we were prepared. What we weren't prepared for was the variety of species that we saw. We booked a 1/2 day snorkel trip, which consisted of going to three location. The water was a shade that I've never seen before. It was the brightest turquoise and from the boat in spots you could see the bottom with no problems. Luckily for us... weather and visibility was great that day.

The Light House: This was our first location. There were beautiful bright coral and tons of colourful fish.
Turtle Point: Our guide saw a turtle surface for air so immediately we all jumped off the boat the followed it. The creature was magnificent, it was graceful and huge. We watched it sit and lazily munch on plants on the bottom of the ocean until finally it surfaced again for another breath. We all swam along with it up to the surface, the entire time the turtle swam it didn't seem to mind us being right behind it. I was surprised at how fast it could swim, and also the huge size of it. We spent a while at turtle point, and all together we spotted four turtles. Our guide Matt, had a underwater camera so we all took turns taking photos of each other. Some people (me not one of them, Andrew was one of them) even were able to swim to the bottom to get a photo with the turtle.
Shark Point: This was the part of our excursion that I was feeling a bit hesitant about it. Firstly I've only snorkeled a few times in my life, and secondly... I don't want to be eaten by a shark! The location had even better coral than the previous locations, they were colourful and massive. When the first person of the group yelled "Shark!" I think everyone did a little gasp, than swam towards where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a shark circling around under neath us. These sharks weren't anything close in size to "Jaws", they were quite small but regardless... they were sharks. We spotted a few and as the water was clear, we could see them from a distance.

Good bye Kecil, Hello Besar
We stayed on Kecil, the small island for three days. We had great weather and enjoyed nightly a good seafood BBQ but we had a feeling that there was something much better and beautiful out there. So we said good bye to Danielle and Phil and hopped on a boat to the "Big island"

Immediately upon arrival we were glad to be there. We, the "Beach Snobs" let out a deep sigh in satifaction and looked around to find the beach to be amazing and the scenery spectacular, it was what we had imagined The Perhentians to be like. We chose a place called Abdul's from our friend Nicole's recommendation. The bungalows were located right on the beach, and was at the end of the beach. We were disappointed to find out the Abdul's was closing in a few days for monsoon season. But regardless, we decided to stay and enjoy the remaining days that it was open. Although the beauty of the island was breathtaking... the prices were not! Our guide book was right, mostly vacationers and families come to Besar and consequently the prices are "vacationer" prices not "backpacker" prices. Before committing to Adbul's we took stroll down the beach to check out the other places and all were great quality. Of course Andrew, the whiz at negotiation talked us into a better price at Abdul's on a beach front bungalow but still it was our most expensive accommodation to date.

Abdul's was great, the staff was friendly and helpful. Abdul generously let us stay an extra night after the resort was officially closed. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there, and met a great retired couple from Buffalo, New York in America (Hi Linda & Chris) that stayed in the bungalow next door to us. Our days there were filled with exploring around our beach, relaxing, swimming and chatting to our neighbours on our porch.

On our second day on Besar, our British "mates" Danielle and Phil arrived. They also checked into Abdul's and we enjoyed a great day fishing and relaxing. The beach after ours was assessable by climbing a set of stairs up and down until you reached the next beach. If Adbul's beach was beautiful the next two beaches were PARADISE. There were no hotels and no one was there. Phil, had brought his own collapsible fishing rod with him. He caught live bait and then tried (and almost succeeded) to catch sharks. It was such an amazing ecosystem, while standing on the beach it was possible to see sharks and tons of fish swimming. During one of our walks back to our beach, we saw a pack of black monkeys in the trees eating food. It was a treat to see them in the wild.

After four great days on the Big Island it was time to leave and get on the boat for another bumpy ride back to the mainland.

~Nicola

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