Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu, Malaysia
July 20, 2014
It took a full day to make it from Sandakan in Borneo to the Perhentian Islands off the East coast of Malaysia. We flew mid afternoon from Sandakan to KL then on from there to Kota Bharu. We had a few hours to kill in KLIA2 so didn’t arrive in Khota Bharu until late at night so had to stay over there before moving onto the Perhentians the following morning. KLIA is now starting to feel like my second home I have been through it that many times. I guess if things get really tight for money I could always bed down there for a few weeks. Free accommodation isn’t it? How many people are really going to move you on from sleeping in an airport?
After a night in Kota Bharu staying with Mohamed one of the friendliest Malaysians I have ever met we grabbed a taxi, well driver courtesy of Mohamed’s friend and drove down the coast to Kuala Terengganu. We already had tickets sorted for the boat through Mohamed at cost price and had a little time to kill so we grabbed some breakfast and went in search of a shop selling booze as we had heard it is expensive once on the Island. We found nothing other than overpriced cans of tiger in the Chinese place where we had breakfast. Someone is missing a trick here. Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country but that does not stop the Indian and Chinese communities from selling liquor. Not a single shop in town was selling spirits or cheap beers. So we headed off and sat waiting for our boat.
Once off and zipping across the blue expanse of water it was clear to see that these boat captains obviously don’t value their life as much as they value time. We covered the distance in around 30 minutes but every few seconds the hull would leap out of the water and come crashing down with a spine jarring thud. If you have back or joint problems then I seriously recommend that you don’t head to Perhentian any time soon!
As we pulled up at a jetty we were unsure if we should get off or not. There are two Islands here. ‘Big’ and ‘Small’ and it was confusing as to where we were thanks to some very broken English by the Captain, but we hopped off and took our chances. We had read that the Islands can be very expensive and booked out during peak times, in particular the school holidays which it was. The one place we had read about that seemed to have reasonably priced rooms was fully booked for at least the next few days so we did the usual routine of one of us parking up with the bags while the other went in search of somewhere to stay. The beach we were at and indeed the island itself was very small so I wasn’t massively hopeful of us finding anywhere decent for decent money but Dani re appeared with a couple of options and we decided on the one that apparently did not have any rats lurking around the place. A wise choice I thought.
Once sorted we went for a quick explore around the place. The beach we were staying ‘Coral bay’ was nice and small, only around a 100 yards long and after a quick five minute walk we discovered that the longer beach on the opposite side of the island was not far at all. I thought Koh Lipe was small in Thailand but this took it to a whole new level. We searched for some booze but all we came across were cans of Tiger again for £2 a pop. Small cans I may add at that. So an easy afternoon and night it was. Some nice lazing on the beach and a little spot of snorkeling just in front of where we were staying. Nothing spectacular but pleasant enough.
The following day after a quick chat with Magnus, our neighbour from Sweden we headed off past the beach to our left and along a small trail to some lovely small secluded beaches. We spent the day slowly working our way round to the South of the island and to a place called the fisherman’s village. It was a nice day out. Some interesting birds and butterflies along the route and the occasional monitor lizard darting out of nowhere to put the fear of God into us. After an hour or so wandering around the village we grabbed a taxi boat back round to Coral bay and out in search of food and drinks.
Thankfully the second night we managed to find the one man band liquor sellers nestling between the restaurants. Half bottles of whiskey, Vodka and the local moonshine named ‘Orangutan’ for a fiver made much more sense than £2 small cans of tasteless beer. So obviously we tried one of each…..just for quality control I may add.
Slightly dehydrated and a little tender the next day we had a very very lazy one and didn’t move from the small stretch of beach near where we were staying. And that was fine by me. Dani was heading home in a few days and we wanted some nice easy relaxing time together on an island. It’s hard to put your finger on it but island life has a very relaxed laid back feel about it that you don’t get anywhere else. More vodka and Orangutan later and we headed back for the night after booking a full days snorkeling trip for the following day.
The snorkeling trip sounded like it would be great, with such spots as ‘shark point’, ‘Turtle bay’ and ‘fish garden’ and it lived up to all of those names and more. Shark point was indeed a good place to snorkel with sharks. Just little ones I may add and certainly not ones that would cause you any harm. They were interesting enough and there was a decent amount of other fish there as well but nothing that we hadn’t seen before. Next up was the fish garden which lived up to it’s name with a huge concentration of fish but unfortunately far too many people were feeding them bread to attract them. You need to be responsible when you snorkel or dive and feeding the fish to this extent is bad as the fish can eventually stop looking for their own food which can cause problems when it is low season and there are hardly any tourists around to feed them. The next spot was the one we were looking forward to the most. Turtle bay. As we rounded the headland and slowed down we were greeted by an amazing sight. A giant sea turtle was surfacing for air right next to our boat. The sea started to bulge up as its massive shell neared the surface only a meter away from us followed by its beautiful head raising right up above the water level. It was such an impressive sight to see. These creatures really are giant. It’s head a good 30cm long and surprisingly beautiful with it’s colourful pattern. It slowly submerged again and the boat pulled to a halt so that we could hop out with our snorkels and check the dude out. They dive down to around 7 meters or so here eating the plankton on the sea bed and the visibility was great looking down. Every 10 minutes or so the turtle surfaced for air and gave us another close up view in all it’s beauty. The only annoying thing being that some people seem to have no regard or respect for these creatures welfare and only think of themselves. Your not supposed to touch these creatures at all as it can frighten them and in turn force them away from their home. Some people don’t seem to be able resist and it really gets to me. Just enjoy the experience of being next to them and seeing them, it’s wondrous enough and you don’t have to touch them to be fully in awe of nature like this. So annoying.
After some lunch we then headed to a spot at the concrete lighthouse just five minute off shore from where we were staying. For some reason I wasn’t expecting much from this spot however it really surprised me and had an abundance of colourful coral and a vast array of marine life. It was like the cast of Nemo laid out around us. A stingray meandering through and a lot more variety of species than we have seen anywhere else on our travels. I’m not a fish expert and my knowledge is limited despite trying to look up as many things as I can that I’ve seen but it was one hell of a display literally teeming with life everywhere and beautiful to see. Before we knew it we were whisked away to our final spot called Romantic beach. The final spot although not teeming with as much life as the lighthouse or the rarity of the sea turtles was brilliant all the same as it gave us our last blast of clown fish spotting with a beautiful big anemone that was home to half a dozen of the little orange and white fellas ranging in all different sizes. Just like the film it seems to be the smaller ones that are more curious and who venture slightly farther out from their safe point. The large ones more a rarity popping their heads out less frequently than the young ones. Unfortunately that was it and before we knew it we were sat back on the beach chilling out with a beer and sorting some food out. A great day though and so stoked that we finally got to see the turtles as we had been wanting to spot them since the Thai islands months ago.
The next day was our last full day together before heading back to KL to send Dani on her way home so we decided we wanted to try and cram in some last turtle spotting if possible. This time we just grabbed a taxi boat round to Turtle bay to see if we could swim out and see them. We parked up on the beach for a while once we got there and were lucky to see several small reef sharks swimming in the shallow water as well as some impressively sized rays. The swim out to the turtles seemed quite a way and we watched from the end of the jetty as a good half a dozen turtles surfaced and sank again. We donned some life jackets just in case and made our way over to where a couple of snorkel boats had been hovering about. Sure enough we managed to spot another couple of turtles on the sea bed feeding away. At one point a turtle surfaced only about a meter away from me. Watching it slowly heading up to the surface right next me was unbelievable to see. So graceful and beautiful and I felt so lucky to be right next to such a sight and not watching it on Mr Attenborough’s programs for a change. It was a lovely way to spend the last afternoon together.
The night was a nice relaxed affair. A few drinks and some nice food were all that we needed. I didn’t really want to go to sleep as I knew I wouldn’t see Dani again for another few months. Before I knew it and only a couple of hours sleep later it was time to get packed up and ready to catch the boat back to the main land. It was a long day as well. On a boat at 8:30am followed by an hour in a taxi, a few hours wait at Kota Bharu airport and then a flight to KL. Once at KL I checked my flight again and realised I had the time wrong and that I needed to get through check in and head to my gate straight away. All of a sudden the past 6 months adventure together came to an end. It’s been 6 of the best months I’ve ever had. Sharing some truly memorable experiences together. Three weeks riding around Bali on a scooter. Slowly island hopping our way up the Thai coastline with some amazing snorkeling and beaches. Playing water fights for Songkran in Koh Lanta. The slow rural adventure of Laos and the Vang Vieng swingers club episode! Then a full months ride down through Vietnam amongst some of the most amazing scenery and people I have come across. Last but not least cramming in some amazing wildlife at the end. Our friendly Orangutan who wanted to play and swimming with giant sea turtles in their natural habitat. It’s certainly 6 months I will never forget. The stories I have captured in my blog are but a fraction of the experiences we have had. The tiny details now committed to our memories. It was a sad goodbye as I went to board my flight to Langkawi for my 3rd stint of volunteering at the animal shelter but I know this adventure is the first of many together.
