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Published: July 14th 2008
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As soon as we got off the bus in Kuala Besut we were ambushed by people trying to sell us boat tickets to the Perhentian Islands. We weren't sure if they were trying to rip us off and charge us more than they should, so we walked towards the pier with a couple we met on the bus (Khalid - from Qatar and Mira - from Malaysia). Surprisingly, everyone did actually charge the same price, including the guys that ran at our bus when we arrived. We got onto the boat and arrived at the Big Island (Perhentian Besar) at about 10:30. We were in two minds as to which island we should choose, but we had heard the accommodation was a much better standard on the big island so we all ended up hopping of the boat there. We ended up finding a great little chalet with fan and bathroom, about 20m from the beach for 60RM per night which we both thought was pretty good, especially since the big island was supposed to be more expensive.
We checked in, had lunch and then met Khalid and Mira on the beach. The water was so clear and was a
wonderful temperature...gorgeous.
We ended up spending 6 whole days on the island which was a tad more than the three we originally planned. Most of the time we snorkelled (heaps of pretty fish and lots of coral) lay on the beach, read books and ate. The day after we arrived we caught a boat over to the small island with Khalid and Mira. We were all glad we chose the big island as the small one was much busier, the accommodation wasn't as nice and the beach wasnt as good either.
That afternoon Scott and I ended up getting a tad sunburnt on our backs from spending so much time snorkeling. Scott, being a typical male sooked about his burn the rest of the trip. Admittedly he did get burnt much worse than me, but i still teased him about being a sooky male.
One of the days we kayaked around to a smaller bay on the big island. We have both decided we will never kayak together again - we didnt make much of a good team. Luckily the bay was gorgeous and deserted...until about an hour and a half after we arrived when 11 boats
turned up with film crews. They were filming an ad for Tourism Malaysia and suddenly our beach was covered with an additional 50 or so people sweeping the beach, pulling the old fashioned canoe into place, moving the pirate ship around and discussing the best shots. We left not too long after the arrived and slowly kayaked back to our hotel.
The following day we went on a 4hr snorkeling tour for 30RM. They drop you off at 4 different spots around the island to give you a chance to see all the different marine life. We were lucky enough to swim with a giant sea turtle and sharks (at different locations) which was pretty awesome. We also saw lots more fish and a jellyfish or three (yuck).
Because we spent so much longer at the Perhentians than we had planned, we decided to sacrifice Kota Bharu and go straight to Taman Negara from the islands which meant leaving our hotel at 8am and catching a 9hr bus to the park.
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sharon
non-member comment
Glad you had fun!
Hi, Glad you had fun on the Perhentians - they are gorgeous aren't they? Where to next time?