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Published: September 10th 2007
Thailand had given us a lot of things, but it hadn't given us the crystal clear water, fine white sand and kick arse marine life that's needed after three months of living out of a backpack. For that, we headed south of the border to Malaysia's beautiful Perhentian Islands.
It's hard to believe that two such stunning, relatively undeveloped islands can lie only 30 minutes boat ride from the Malaysian mainland and not halfway between Tahiti and Tonga, but thankfully it's true. And even though I had been here five years earlier, it was nice to see the amazing water clarity and rustic jungle feel (nothing over two storeys high, generators everywhere) still very apparent. All Kako had to say was
sugoi, sugoi, sugoi! (Japanese for this rocks, this is dope, this is damn sweet!)
Being high season, cheap accommodation pretty was almost non-existant, so we bumped our budget up a little and got beach front convenience and location. Didn't matter that the hotel front desk chick had the personality of a garden rake when you've got Long beach on your doorstep!
First couple of days were real nice and relaxed. Did a lot of swimming, chilling on
the beach, frisbee, jungle walks and hanging with the local kids (whose families have been there for generations as fisherfolk). Late on the second day we met a couple of very cool Malaysian Muslim lads (named Muhammad and Syarif) and that evening, over coca colas (no rum added I promise), chatted for hours about religion, love, evolution, work and play. Kako and I found their insights and views on everything fascinating! Plus they spoke fluent English (as most people do in Malaysia), which meant there was no need to drop the big words when putting Charles Darwin's theories to the test...
Day three was when the fun and adventure really started. Booked a 40 Ringgit ($10) full day snorkelling trip and set off towards the first of five locations (the Lighthouse) under cloudless blue skies. Perfect! I had been waiting the whole trip to try my underwater camera casing and it definitely didn't disappoint. Awesome to be able to take pics and vids of the coral gardens, fish, sharks and sea turtles that live in the surrounding waters, but still need a lot more practice. Have included the best pics though. Also got to visit a deserted beach where
unbelievably small baby turtles are raised before being released into the oceans. All Kako could say this time was
kawaii, sugoi kawaii, taberesou! (cute, so damn cute i could eat 'em... )
Four days was definitely not enough for islands such as these but we did have a schedule to keep (well kind of). As the boat pulled out of Long Beach we promised to come back in the near future, but next time with a diving licence. 60 seconds (even if done multiple times) just ain't enough time to enjoy the underwater world!
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