Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
ok so another bus journey and arrived at paradise! v nice speedboat to the island, all a bit james bond haha, and i have to say that although my experience of islands are limited, this is as close to a paradise island that i have seen! pulau perhentian besar is just beautiful! we arrived at Tuna Bay which was the best place on the island and located on the best beach so we guessed well! we had a really great coral reef just metres from Tuna Bay, the most amazing abundance of marine life in all colours of the rainbow - clown fish, potato tuna, groupers, little nemo's (!) and i even saw a turtle which was so cool! chris saw a spotted large stingray and just hundreds of shoals of gorgeous anglefish ,and lots more i dont know the names of! some amazing coral as well, some extremely ugly, some fragile and pretty coloured. we spent the days relaxing and reading on the beach, explored the surronding bays and took kayaks round to some bays further out! the day after we arrived, it was the ending of Ramadan, signalling the 2 day (and more) celebration Hari Raya. we had a great insight into local life as we met a lovely couple who had a dive shop and boat, Aida and Halim, and they took us to their village on a neighbouring island, Kecil, where we spend the afternoon celebrating the breaking of fasting, which involves eating as much as humanly possible, until you feel sick. they have a good phrase for this in northern thai 'gat tong' - eating till your satomach wants to explode, which sums up how we all felt after hari raya. so many different foods and we went to 6 different houses all sisters of halims (his father married 3 times and halim doesnt know how many sisters he has) and it is considered rude not to eat so i happily eat cookier and sweets and not so happily forced down fish soup and fish coconut dessert (who though that up?!)we learnt so much from Aida who was a fountain of information and was so kind to us all. She took chris and andy on a fishing trip and me and wendy to shop on the other island.we spotted some monkeys whos name now escapes me, plenty of giant insects and a giant monitor lizard kindly took up residence outside wendys room, which she really appreciated! me and chris also saw two mega giants (bigger than dogs, i couldnt believe they were real - just like jurrassic park!) eating out of the rubbish! we spent every day snorkelling around the reef, we were so lucky to see so much and it was mesmerising, i really didnt want to leave!!!! even though it was a week ago im struggling to remember all we did - chris was plagued by a mystery illness including a tropical looking rash but he has recovered now! if you are wondering why i havent updated the photos its because im an idiot. I left my camera in Andys bag and it is now residing in the UK! possibly getting it posted out, if not youll all have to wait in suspence for 2 months until we return!! lots of love to you all, next location - BORNEO!! XXXXX
- comments