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Published: April 16th 2008
The Perfect Beach?
Sorry not more (better) pics. Most the pics I took from the island were on my (since lost) phone!Paul and I had already visited many beautiful beaches and islands. However the moment the boat arrived at the Perhentian islands, it was clear they would trump all those we had visited previously, and also set a benchmark so high I doubt anywhere else we are visiting (or even places we are not!) could beat.
The journey from Penang was relatively painless, although we did need to spend a night in th town of Kuala Besut - the main port to the Perhentian islands. The population on the east coast of Malaysia was notably more Islamic than anywhere we had been so far, but that didn't (nor that it should) seem to affect the friendliness of the people. Short on cash andwith no ATM in Kuala Besut we would've been stuck had it not been for the kindess of the owner of a guesthouse. Not only did he drive 25 minutes down the road to the nearest ATM, he also bought us dinner on the way back - despite our protests and offers to pay. His guesthouse was fine and after a comfortable night's sleep we boarded the boat to the Perhentian islands.
After a choppy hour or so
Ahh. This is the life!
Beer and Beach, what a combo! the waters calmed as we approached the islands. The Perhentians are made up of two islands. Perhentian Kecil, the small one, and Perhentian Besar, the slightly bigger one. Our destination was Long Beach on Perhentian Kecil - the most backpacker orientated beach, and arguably the most beautiful. I say arguably because every beach the boat dropped passengers off at as we circled the islands was absolutely stunning. When it was our turn to disembark we were greeted with perfect aquamarine waters and golden sand lined with palm trees - textbook stuff. Finding accommodation was simple with us ending up at the Moonlight resort. Less so much a resort, more a collection of two tier wooden huts - but no doubt liveable all the same.
On our first walk along the picture-postcard beach we happened to bump into Oli and Freya - the two people we had probably spent the most time with in Koh Pha Ngan. An amazing coincidence considering the remoteness of the island. We shared the day with them, relaxing on the beach and also enjoying the clear water. A task that was made infinately better by hiring a snorkel and mask for a few pence. We
swam out to an area cordoned off by buoys approximately 100m out from the beach. The scene under the water was breathtaking, with predominantly dead coral populated by fish of every colour. Most impressively, the fish were not just small like around Phi Phi, but large and quite imposing. It is no surprise the Perhentians are reputed to be one of the best dive sites in Asia. Even when snorkelling reef sharks and turtles can be a common site. I stayed out at the reef long enough to sunburn my back - but it was absolutely worth it.
We had a pleasant evening that night, savouring one of the seafood barbecues that were plentiful along the beach. Both of us were somewhat adventurous with out choice of fish. Paul opted for the Blue Marlin while I had (and enjoyed) the Shark. The relaxed atmosphere of the (few) bars on the beach meant the night did not end straight after dinner, in fact it ended up being quite a late one.
The next morning we were up in good time in order to pack up and check out. The reason for our short stay was nothing at all against
Good evening
Random Bob Marley lookalike we met in the evening! the Perhentian Islands themselves, more that for the first time in the trip, we actually have a plane to catch! Therefore, logistically speaking, the boat leaving the island that day, which connected perfectly for the night bust to Kuala Lumpur was too hard to pass up. The worst thing afterall would have been to not to have left enough time to see KL and Singapore. We filled the 4 hours before the boat left with a bit of exploration of the tiny island. Walking the jungle trail and discovering another beach. We also managed to see some of the biggest spiders I have ever seen along the way.
I would recommend the Perhentian Islands to anyone travelling in Malaysia. They are visually stunning, and give any visitors the chance to say they have been to the epitome of a perfect beach. Its a shame we couldn't have stayed longer, but onwards we moved on!
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