Enthralling Perhentian

Enthralling, captivating and intriguing. They simply describe the islands 21km off the coast of Terengganu known as Perhentian, more specifically, Perhentian Besar and Kecil. I took a vacation here during the recent term break and will document all my experience throughout my 3days 2nights stay at Long Beach, Perhentian Kecil . These islands are simply mesmerising, offering a range of attractions from white powdery sand to crystal clear waters and from snorkelling to practically doing nothing. Dubbed as one of the most beautiful islands in the world, Perhentian is a virtual paradise and relatively untouched. That of course, compared to neighbouring Redang which I believe is over commercialised. In total, I only spent about RM300 including transport which is dead cheap. Have to thank the reasonably cheap package I've found though. Before I start on my story, here's a brief introduction on Perhentian. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking

Beach at Perhentian Besar

Long beach, Perhentian Kecil

The best time to visit Perhentian or any islands on the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia is from the month of April to August. I went there at the end of September as it coincides with my holidays but the weather was perfect. Perhentian is teeming with marine life at almost every nooks and corners of the island. Schools of fishes could be seen swimming by the shores of Long Beach and colourful fishes are abundance alongside coral reefs.




An idyllic setting for holidaymakers seeking to escape the hectic urban lifestyle.

The waters of Perhentian illuminates;

by day

or night.

Unlike any beach or island destination on the west coast, Perhentian is famous for its sunrise. Potentially one of the first for me as I've never stepped foot at any beach on the east coast.





The shallow waters of Long Beach as the tide retreats.




inviting?


Emerald Green waters at Shark Point, Perhentian Besar


Crystal clear shallow waters; ideal to frolic in


Exposed seabed during low tide
The tide can get really low that it only submerge from below your waist onwards even if you're 200 yards from the beach.


Rocky formations - sanctuary for oysters


The calm waters in the morning to relax your senses and rejuvenate


Morning mist veils the nearby hills as eagles leaves their nest to hunt


Long Beach, the ongoing movements of boats can be rather annoying at times but the splendid beach makes up for it.


The main economy of Perhentian is basically tourism but fishing is also common at Kampung Pasir Hantu, the one and only fishing village on the archipelago.

Perhentian has so much to offer that some are not listed in the guidebooks that you can pickup at the nearby drugstores. It definitely rewards those who seek adventure and willing to wander off the beaten track.

A healthy growing Pandanus Palm tree, commonly sighted along coastlines


A fresh water stream trickling through the rocky terrain into the gleaming ocean

Palm trees are everywhere. In fact, most of the beaches are palm fringed. They provide the perfect hideaway from the scorching sun.







Every single picture taken on the island are postcard-perfect. With crystal clear waters and blue skies, coupled with white sandy beaches, it's not hard to imagine why.

Combo photo of Long Beach


One of my favourite pictures. Took so many pictures that I oficially have a thousand photos uploaded on my multiply website. *which explains the number of photos in this post alone*

DAY I


My journey started at the Paramount LRT station at about 730pm. Was heading to Putra Bus Terminal. Scheduled to meet Su Fen at 745pm but reached somewhat later than that due to the after-work gridlock and the slight drizzle. Joanne is late too, so she will be meeting us at the station instead of Masjid Jamek where we switched to Starline. Upon ariving at Masjid Jamek, met Philbert and took the LRT to Hentian Putra. Reached there about 15 minutes before departure time and June is nowhere to be seen while Joanne was waiting patiently with her firends. After much anticipation the heroine arrived and boarded the bus. Met a group of Finnish backpackers on board heading to Jerteh too. By right, it is better to travel straight to Kuala Besut which is the jetty. Unfortunately, tickets were sold out which forced us to opt for Jerteh. The average price for a one way ticket is RM30. Preferred bus company is Transnasional, Mutiara or Mahligai.

Snuggling in the bus. The air-conditioner is damn freaking cold but they had blankets. haha.


Our first stop was Meurapoh if I'm not mistaken. It's somewhere between thick forests. It was about 12am and I was too drowzee to smile. lol. To make things worse, the toilets are awful. seriously awful... so awful that Philbert nearly peed at the washing area mistaking it for a urinal wall. lol. And that's not it. While we were waiting in the bus for the bus driver to finish his grandfather stories with other bus drivers outside, a guy clad in a red jacket similar to Transnasional's costume dashed in with a metal rod and forced open a locked compartment. All of us were shocked at first, but assumed it was an emergency and he needed a first aid box. He was really brutal, forcing the lock open even after countless tries. Upon opening the compartment, he grabbed a metal briefcase and whisked his way down the bus. After about 10 minutes, the bus driver returned and realised a robbery has just took placed. OMG... I feel like killing the bus driver man that time... And it was so dangerous. the guy could have extort money from us. This freaking incident led to a 3 hour delay in which 2 hours were wasted outside the police station. What the HECK? the bus driver spent an hour informing the police of a robbery... Only an hour later the policeman came up the bus. $%&#! That's not all, we had to change to a lousy b*tchy bus without blanket before continuing our journey. A bad start for what supposed to be a hassle-free vacation. Finally about 3am, we descended on our journey.

But after an hour, we had to stop in the middle of a remote Gua Musang district for the sahur. No comments.


Got down the bus, the place was filled with mist. Kinda feel quite relaxing after 3 hours of bullsh*t.


And Su Fen and June spotted a cute little kitty in the ladies.


Finally, at 7am, we reached Jerteh. The bus driver must have sped throughout the journey.

From the Jerteh bus station, we took a cab for RM15 to Kuala Besut.



Swallows reared for their highly priced nests


The perfect way to start the day - a panoramic sunrise


Philly and I. Leaving Kuala Besut for Perhentian via a 30minute speedboat ride.




Long Beach from far




Because Long Beach is so shallow, our speedboat is unable to travel right to the shores. Instead, a sampan-like boat picked us up for a "minimal" fee of RM2. For a distance of a hundred yards.


Crystal clear or Turquoise


We then headed to Panorama Chalet, in which I've made prior bookings.


At the reception, I came across a unique lamp, made from a dried puffer fish. Looks really cool.


After waiting not long, we were shown to our chalets. Not bad for the price we are paying. Very basic with an attached bathroom.


Windmills; the first of its kind in Malaysia

Got ourselves changed and scouted around for breakfast. It was about 9am at that moment. Found a cafe by the beach. The setting was nice which is a perfect place to start our meal cum day.

My fried Mee Hoon. Cost me RM5. Don't expect food to be cheap in Perhentian. After all, supplies have to be transported from the mainland every 6 hours which including ice. This is because electricity on the island is only limited to 12 hours a day, from 7pm to 7am. There are no power plants nor pump houses. Electricity is obtained through generators while water is supplied through piped underground wells. There are also no roads on the island. Only trails wide enough for one to trek. A great way to preserve the natural beauty of the island. And surprisingly, we were the only Malaysian tourist on the island. In fact, the island is filled with Caucasians from all over the world. It gave a lil bit of the Bali feel.


After breakfast, we sunbathed. yeah. we got ourselves an umbrella for RM10. It's for the whole day. The two Russian girls beside us got it for RM6... Need I say more about the girls? LOL. just kidding.


Our temporary sanctuary...


Shae, Philly, Naomi, June, Joanne

I decided to then check out the beach and find out for myself what kept bringing visitors back to the island.

Found some schools of fishes swimming by the shores and many girls in bikini. They even say "hi" although we don't know each other. Civilised I guess.


We spent the whole day simply doing nothing. After all, the main intention is to do absolutely nothing! Just lazing around the beach and hearing the gentle waves lapping onto the shores can occupy most of our time.


For those who seek water sports and other activities, booths like this has plenty to offer


I didn't put any sun tan lotion, and within minutes... white spots began to form on my back... urgh... A sign of the importance of sunblock

There's so much to explore on Long Beach. We just soaked ourselves in the shallow waters and occasionally I would dive into the deeper ends to find more fishes; many I've not seen before.




But the main idea is to absolutely do nothing and soak up the sun!



Locals replenishing on daily supplies


Frolicking on the shallow waters. Philly, Joanne, Shae

June and I


Joanne and I


Paradise..


Postcard perfect



In the evening about 4pm, *yeah... we sunbathed from 10 to 4. LOL* we decided to bury Naomi. Looked more like a murder though.


DIE DIE!!

June pretending to cry




My beaded bracelet against the sea


I'm in Perhentian! wee!

I love this pic! haha


The group pic


We then trekked to the other side of the island through a trail. Was supposed to catch the sunset but...

we found ourselves at a beach destroyed by the construction of a nearby pier. Very disappointing...


The place is known as Coral Bay. What used to be filled with corals are now left with dead corals and rocks


All piled up together and filled with mud


Nevertheless, managed to grab a nice shot of Senja Bay Resort. Almost stayed here, but changed for the more popular Long Beach.


The trail to the other side of the island is rather interesting



Trekking through the jungle formed millions of years ago







Headed back to our hotel to clean up and geared ourselves for dinner. Found an owl at our chalet. Believed to be the chalet owner's pet.


Steaming hot Tom Yam noodle soup. a must try

We dined at Palm Tree cafe, a double story building made entirely out of wood with creepers creeping all over it. Looks really cool. And we chatted with the Caucasian female server. Coincidentally, she's a French from Bordeaux. I guess she found the island captivating as well, just like us. Joanne and I ordered a bowl of Tom Yam noodle soup each while Su Fen and Philly opted for the island's specialty-barbecue while June had some pancake.

The grilled barracuda and grilled shark is simply delicious. And there's a wide variety of gravy to choose from. The barbecue set, which includes the barbecue which is your own choice of seafood, salad, rice or mashed potato and a few slices of fruit cost RM15. That is value for money.
After dinner, we headed to our chalet and sleep. Yeah, really lifeless considering nightlife in Perhentian is one of the main attraction for the Caucasians. Wanted to get enough rest for the snorkeling trip the following day. We had 5 different spots on our itinerary so enough rest was vital. I shall continue Day 2 in another post.