Malaysia- Pulau Perhentian

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June 19th 2009

Published: November 19th 2009

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NibbyandMatty

Boat to Pulau Perhentian

Glad to see you have a life jacket on Matty!

We had arrived! Back to paradise! It had been a year since we were last here and we could already see the change in the island. It had got a lot busier and there was quite a bit of development going on. We managed to get a room at the same place we stayed at last year, Mohsin Chalets which gives excellent views over the sea although it was being run by new management and had lost its party vibe quite a bit. We weren't yet acclimatised so had some real trouble when the electricity went off at 8am. As soon as the fan stopped I couldn't stay in bed a minute longer, it was just soooo hot!
We had a great couple of weeks chilling out on the beach, not doing very much at all. We went snorkelling with some guys we met from Auzzie, Andy and Linda, and hung out on the beach playing frizbee with an English couple, Craig and Jess. Life was good, but the time had come for me to come face to face with my fear. I couldn't put it off any longer, so I went to the dive shop and booked my PADI course!

Morning time on the Island

Our first morning before everyone hits the beach

I was too unsure to book the full PADI course so the friendly instructor Dee persuaded me to do a Discovery Dive with him, one on one, to see whether I would then like to take that further and complete the full PADI. Matt had been having real problems with two of his wisdom teeth so decided to do something about it and made an appointment on the mainland to have them out. It was quite a way for him to go and when he got there the dentist told him he had to come back the next day to have them out so he stayed in Kota Bhuru for the night. I was a bit panicky when he told me because my dive was first thing in the morning and I was having nightmares about not being able to breathe. That was quite a sleepless night for me.
So the time came for my first dive. I spent the first hour in the classroom going through some theory bits with Dee before heading out to the pier for my skills session. The thing that I had been panicking about the most was having to take my mask off underwater

Mohsin Chalets

The view from our chalet

and then put it on again then finally, clearing it of water. I managed to do it with little trouble. The fact that we were only in chest deep water helped! Once the skills were out of the way we went for a little explore going to 12 metres. I had a great time and decided that the PADI course was for me!
Matty came back to the island a little later on with a very poorly mouth. He had been in the dentists chair for an hour and a half! That's no fun for anyone.
Once I had done all the scary skills involved in diving I was then free to enjoy the amazing experience of SCUBA. Matt came with me on one of the dives and was my buddy (dive partner) and we had a great time seeing some wonderful things! I would definitely recommend diving to anyone. At least giving it a go anyway.
After almost a month of lazy mornings and afternoons in the sun it was time for us to head off back to K.L. to get our flight on to Bali.

Additional photos below

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