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Published: March 8th 2009
The end of February is the end of the Monsoon Season for an area including the Perhenthian Islands. It means that most places had only been open for a week or two when we visited and there were good deals around for sea facing accommodation along the beach cos the place was half empty. But it also means that it can rain and rain hard some days, which it did.
We stayed at the Watercolors Dive Resort on the island of Besar. Staying there any brief feelings of satisfaction from the cash gains we made on low season rates were pretty much wiped out once we started to order drinks. They get you back on the price of fruit juices, beers, and coffee. But, they do make 'real' coffee, so it's nearly worth what they charge for it (I can't face drinking anymore instant coffee with powdered cream) Beer is twice the price it is on the mainland. Internet use is five times as expensive. You wouldn't feel it on a normal two week holiday from the UK but after being in Malaysia for a four weeks now I know what things cost and these inflated prices were stinging.
But
then while I was slouching in a chair and sulking over the price of things the sun came out from behind the clouds sweeping overhead and lighting up the pure white sand in front of me. Then on out over the ocean turning the water the postcard perfect deep azure and aqua marine colors that melt your head just to look at. And I remembered that in places with beach and sea this good you are always going to have to pay one way or the other, so I told myself get over it.
We had three days of sunshine before it started to rain, but when it did start to rain it rained day and night for the next three days. Before this we went swimming most days which was really lovely and we were about to go on a snorkeling trip the morning the weather turned. Snorkeling and diving are supposed to be world class in the Perhentians but we didn't get to see for ourselves as we were waiting for a sunny day that never came. Still could have done it but I think you really need the sunlight to go snorkeling and I knew that
the rain and run off from the Islands would be churning and clouding the ocean compromising the visibility for diving.
Other than waiting for the rain to cease we didn't do very much, but in a way that was OK because we'd been doing stuff all the time since we got to Borneo 3 weeks before. It can be draining shifting from one place to the next every few days with all the flights and bus journeys that involves. We'd been being a bit nippy with one another and it was clearly time time to just stop in one place for a few days. Just being able to empty the bags and know where stuff is and not have the "where's the shampoo?" "where's my shirt?" "you've hid the toothpaste!" conversations that go on that are totally unavoidable, haha.
One thing of interest did happen one rainy day, sat on the veranda I saw something crawling past out of the corner of my eye. Something I'd never seen before had come out of the jungle from behind the our hut and started to make its way to a tree in front of our veranda. It took me
a few seconds to work out that it was a flying fox, a really curious looking creature, furry looking with red ears and big night vision eyes. I could see the fold of skin starting at its fingertips and heading down its flank which outstretched it uses to glide from tree to tree. Weird little thing, like a mongoose crossed with a bat, but furry almost like a bigger mammal like a fox. I was glad I'd got such a good look at it as I'm sure they are normally nocturnal. I walked to the tree to take a few photos and was surprised at the cool way it regarded me, staring directly at me but not showing any signs of fear or panic like say a squirrel would. In the end it crawled to the top of the tree snuggled up and went to sleep, later that evening after we came back from the restaurant it had woken up and gone to work.
I noticed there was some construction going on Besar .On the first day we followed a trail to the bay next to ours to check out other similar priced accommodation. Exiting the trail there were
new chalets being built quite far up a steep set of steps almost in the forest.
I imagine on the reputation the Perhentians have a lot of people will come here in high season looking for the postcard desert island experience, some of these people are probably going to be disappointed when they end up at the top of so many steps in the Jungle. Looking at the amount of accommodation on offer around that particular bay versus the strip of beach it's obvious sitting on that beach won't be an intimate experience in high season. I wouldn't want to be on these Islands then. The natural bays on the Perhentians create modest sized beaches that won't really accommodate the amount of people that will arrive if they keep on building up into the Jungle.
The Watercolors cabin we stayed in had what we're used to, a basic room with a separate shower and toilet, for us as long as the fan works and the room is clean its enough. (not all of Watercolors rooms can be called clean though, or comfortable) But places like this are always conducive for meeting other people and swapping information on where's worth
flying fox
You can clearly see the strip of skin coming from his hand/paw that spread he uses as a 'wing' to glide from tree to treevisiting and where's not, which is always worth ten times more than whats printed in any of the guide books.
Day five it rained all day again and the more it rained the more an unpleasant smell permeated through the resort, it was coming from the jungle behind us, obviously whatever system they use to deal with waste was not coping with the excess rain water. I also started to learn the truth that just like us mosquitoes don't like the rain either, so they insist on sharing your veranda with you and places like open air restaurants where they spend their evenings stinging your legs. It was becoming a bit much. Then Watercolors moved us from one room to another because the old room had been pre-booked by people arriving that day, the new room smelled freshly cleaned and had all the windows wide open. I closed the windows because of the rain and after the freshly cleaned pine smell dissipated the room smelt distinctly musty even damp. Putting my head on the pillow that night I realized it was the mattress and pillows that were making the room smell, I thought fuck this, we're going in the
morning.
We had the overall feeling of being underwhelmed by the Perhentians by the time we left, the weather probably didn't help. Maybe if we'd got some snorkeling or diving in we'd of felt different. Or maybe I read too much about the place before we went and my expectations were too high. But really to me it felt just like being at any and every other beach holiday destination I've ever been to before in Spain or anywhere else. With the exception that the sea and sand here are a bit special.
Kota Bahru is the transit town on the mainland you fly in and out of for the Perhentains. There's no other reason to go there, its not a friendly place. But we had one final night there before our flight out the next day. In an effort to save a few quid after the expense of the islands we stayed at a backpackers in town. I could go on and on into detail about this place but I won't. All I'll say is there are probably prisons in South America that are dirtier than this backpackers, but you'd probably have to hunt to find one
The Agro Bank
A bank honest about its intentions on how it will deal with you, I can respect that. the equivalent.
Melaka
Me and Lynn love Melaka, and after the privations of the previous couple of days accommodation we decided to book into a nice hotel for once, which still works out as cheap as staying in some of the sheds on offer on the Perhentians. White bed linen, hot showers, it felt great to be clean again. Through a local bar owner we were introduced to a Chinese laundry lady who worked from home so we gave her every item of clothing we had other than what we were stood up in to be washed and purged of that living in a squat smell.
Melaka was an important strategic port coveted by the Dutch, Portuguese, British and the Chinese who have all ruled here at some point and have all left behind some fantastic colonial buildings. The streets are steeped in history in the old quarter. So much so the historic part of Melaka has been made a world heritage site. No one is allowed to demolish or renovate any of the buildings.
Even the inexpensive hotel we stayed in which was once the home of a wealthy 18th century merchant was a work of art
inside and out. Mosaic tiling everywhere, high ornate ceilings, courtyard converted into a cafe full of palm trees and open to the sun and sky, beautiful. It reminded me of Venetian palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, or something that should have been be in either Rome or Barcelona.
Like our hotel many of the private houses and local businesses put great emphasis on things that are ascetically pleasing to the eye. Everywhere you turn there's well chosen greenery and if they can get a few decorative fish swimming around they love that, even in plant pots on the pavement next to the street. Walking the streets of the historic quarter that also include a China town and a Little India are the main things I enjoy about Melaka, and the friendly vibe and characters you meet in bars and shops. We came for just a couple of days but I think we'll stay here for a week or more.
We had funny incident on the journey to Melaka. First had to take a flight from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur then a one hour bus trip to Kuala Lumpur city bus station to change buses for Melaka.
The Doctor Fish Pond Bar
Special fish from Korea clean the dead skin off your feet while you sit and drink beer. Just how good is that? But on approaching KL the bus driver pulled up and basically hoofed us off the bus clearly nowhere near the station the bus was supposed to terminate. There were a few bad tempered verbal exchanges with the driver as it was not just us that had to get off the bus but some locals as well. An Indonesian lady in her 60's took on our case as well as her own and berated the bus driver severely. So far I've never heard so much as a raised voice in 4 weeks in Asia, but this Indonesian lady really lost it at the driver, it was something to see. It was great I didn't have to open my mouth once. It was good to sit back and have this granny fight our corner for us with such vigor and enthusiasm.
It made no difference anyway we all had to get off, and even after all the shouting no-one could tell us the reason why. So we decided to share a taxi to the bus station with the Indonesian lady and her husband. By the time we got out of the taxi 10 minutes later Lynn had the ladies phone number
Doctor fish pond bar, Melaka
It's really weird, I squealed like a little girl at first, but you get used to it, and it does clean your feet. and an invite to her house in Jakarta. I was going to take her shoes and credit cards as well but thought that might have been too cheeky.
So now I'm out of the taxi and in a bus station with several touts shouting the names of places in my face. One said "Melaka" I asked when?, he said in 5 minutes. So I bought tickets off him and sat on the bus he pointed at. Lynn got on and straight away questioned me as to why were the bus tickets so cheap? She was right to think this as Melaka was another two hours away and the tickets only cost two pounds each. Lynn took at look at the bus tickets that the tout had sold me and they were bus tickets back to Kuala Lumpar airport! He probably thought, oh they're European they can afford to just fly from KL to Melaka. cheeky blighter.
In the end It turned out we were in the wrong bus station altogether anyway, so we got in another 'tourist tax' expensive taxi to another bus station and found the right bus. I just smiled to myself through all of it, what
else can you do in these situations?
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Sophie
non-member comment
flying fox?
Hi there! Your pictures are beautiful! I just wanted to to tell you that the animal you call a flying fox is actually a colugo (Cynocephalus volans), and that a flying fox is a bat (a Megabat, or Megachiroptera). I was looking for pictures of a flying fox to compare it to a colugo for a work at school, and I found yours, wich was then funny because you mislead them. That will prove my point that they are alike! :) Cheers!