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I had to cut my previous blog entry short due to excessive costs and since I now have to wait 7 hours until my bus departs towards Penang I felt I should fill in the gaps I left in my story yesterday. So I arrived at Kecil, the smaller of the two Perhentian islands at about 4pm on the 19th. We arrived at an almost completely empty beach front with beautiful white sandy beaches and crystal clear water with massive schools of small tropical fish swimming below the boat. At first I wasnt sure if I was in the right mood or state of mind to spend much time on such a quiet little island after just coming from a 2 day jungle trek in the rainforest. Nevertheless Valesca, Arne,(An odd, alternative german guy we met on the bus from Khota Bahru) and I began our search for a cheap hostel or bungalow. We were told that due to low season the resorts were offering backpacker prices so we decided to check these out first. For 50myr we were able to get a nice bungalow with a bathroom and a fan for two people. We felt a bit awkward with our new german friend to just go ahead and take it cause he was clearly a low budget traveller and it seemed like he wanted to stick with us cause of the lack of people on the island. So we went looking elsewhere for something cheaper or a dorm where we could all stay. We bumped into a german couple who are now sitting next to me also waiting for their bus which leaves at 8.30pm to Kuala Lumpur. They told us they were staying in a nice little two person bungalow with clean sheets and a fan overlooking the bay on the other side of the island for 25myr per bungalow. So of course we went looking for this place and as promised the bungalows were clean and tidy with clean towels and sheets with a cosy little balcony overlooking the bay. I took a bungalow with Valesca and Arne had his own, so we were paying 12.50myr per night which works out at about 3 euros. After settling in we explored the beach a bit and found out that everything on this side was still closed until halfway march when high season commenced again. But reaching the other side took a mere 5 minutes so no problem at all. On our way there I bumped into a guy from Czech Republic, Jirka, but he said his name was George cause everyone always forgot his real name. I had met him in a restaurant in Tanah Rata, the village I was staying in on the Cameron Highlands. He had already been on the island a few days and said he found it a bit too expensive with not a lot to do so Arne asked if he wanted to split the room with him to save costs. So before I knew it we had extended our group to four people. The following day we decided to go on a snorkelling excursion for 30myr. We would visit 5 different spots and have lunch in the fisherman's village. The islands had dealt with very powerful storms so the water was not as clear as it usually was but it was still very good snorkelling. As soon as we jumped in the water we were surrounded by enormous schools of fish, this was mainly because the guide had thrown some bread in the water and given us a piece to attract more fish. It was actually pretty scary at first cause the fish just charged at your hand and bit into your finger and I even got bitten in my back a couple of times. I had this little underwater pouch for my phone so I was able to film half the trip until my battery ran out cause I hadnt fully charged it over night, which really was a massive disappointment since the best snorkelling areas were later. We then went to shark point and saw several small sharks swimming around us. The guide had a few small dead fish in his pocket with which he attracted them and got them to come right to us, truly an amazing experience to be up close to these animals you see on tv daily but never imagine to see in real life, let alone so up close. The same goes for the next stop which was turtle bay. I have a video of a massive turtle which we were following, just casually drifting along eating whatever he could find on the sea bed, until a couple of bubbles came out of his arse followed by an enormous log of a s*** came floating towards us. Everyone quicky scattered and went up to the surface and by the time we had stopped cracking up the turtle had vanished. The most beautiful stop was the lighthouse about a kilometer from the coast of the island, the schools of fish were so varied and so enormous no matter where you looked you were surrounded by them. The added bonus was that you were allowed to climb up the tower and jump into the sea. I think it was no higher than 10m but the first jump is always terrifying. After the trip we had some food and returned to the other beach which was basically abbandoned apart from one or two lost chinese families staying in the resort on the other side of the beach. Arne had a frisbee with him so we spent a lot of time mucking about with that and enjoying the rough seas with extremely powerful currents. Yesterday we had planned to just go and hike around the island and find our own private little beach, however I had burnt my back so badly that even with a t shirt on I couldnt handle being in the sun so we just hung out at this little beach house where this Scottish snorkelling guide worked, worked being a very strong word considering how little he did. PLayed frisbee with him all afternoon and sat in the shade until we got hungry again, a nice lazy day it was. In the evening George, Arne, Valesca and I had dinner and exchanged all our pictures we made together and of each other and watched a few episodes of family guy on George's laptop. The day couldnt have been more peaceful or more relaxed. We said our goodbyes to Arne and George before bed cause they were taking the 8am boat to the mainland. Arne was going to Taman Negara and George was going to explore the East coast of Malaysia for two weeks before flying to the Philippines. Valesca is continuing to travel with me cause we have basically the same travel plan only I have a flight from Penang to Phuket on monday and she is crossing the border by boat from Pulau Langkawi. Im surprised she continues to want to travel with me cause I dont think shes used to my whiny pessimistic personality. She happens to be the exact opposite, extremely social, perhaps too friendly for her own good being a lone traveler, but luckily she's not very naive and can take care of herself seeing as she's from "the real world" as she puts it. Well probably meet up again at some point in south-west Thailand so I doubt well really be saying goodbye in Penang. Now were just chilling and waiting in a little local seafood restaurant near the port of Kuala Besut until we can board our bus headed for Penang where we will arrive at 4am, so once again its going to be a very long day/night. Thats all I have to tell today. Had an amazing, relaxing and fun few days on the island and now I'm ready for the next adventure which will take place in Penang, Malaysia. x
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sha hi..what is the name of the place where you stayed in Perhentian?