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A relaxing holiday by the beach is always the thing to unwind, forget the stress of modern living and enjoy the simple life. Pulau Perhentian in the country of Malaysia has all the charms of a small village beach front, perfect for the weekend getaway 20th March 2008 THE JOURNEY BEGINS... 6:50am
In the unholy hours of the morning, we descended to the runway. Our flight stood motionless on the tarmac, a lone silhouette against the dawn sky - it's lone form as if a silent invite to the promises of the journey ahead. (Firefly is a small propeller plane)
7:05am
The twin propeller roared to life, its chugging sounds seems intent on drowning our voices. Flight 3000 charged down the runway. It was a short run and then, lift-off. We are in the air.
The first light of the sun peeked through the fileds of clouds. Colors of crimson and yellow flooded across the uneven folds of the cotton-like clouds cover. It was a field of gold - magnificent. In the distance we can see the peaks of the Titiwangsa Mountain range, it's tallest points peeking out of the cloud cover, as if attempting to catch the first rays of dawn, and to herald the coming of a new day. The promise of a good trip.
7:50am
Touchdown! I counted 2 bumps as the plane hits the runway. We have arrived. Kota Bahru airport is not large but neat. In just a short while we have got our luggage and bought the tickets for the boat from Kuala Besut (at RM70 per pax return, which the taxi driver told us later was a good price) We are fortunate to share the taxi with a couple from London - that means half the cost for us.
The cab driver was a friendly old chap who chattered all the way in Malay (too bad for the London couple who I am sure felt a bit left out), mostly about the state of affairs of our country since the general elections was just a week ago and the topic is still hot on the man in the street.
We passed by many serene kampungs on the way. There seem to be an abundance of tobacco plantations here, which the cab driver explained was the main crop in this state - mainly for export since the Islam law discourages smoking.
9:00am
Arrived at the jetty just on time for the boat leaving at 9 o'clock; or so we thought. After passenger registrations, we were informed by the friendly lady in-charge that the boat will actually leave at ten in the morning.
With almost an hour in our hands, we headed for breakfast nearby in a small café owned by a Chinese couple. The breakfast of eggs, toast, coffee and juice is at RM7.00 per person. Pricey, but we thought it is okay since this is a tourist destination!
10:35am
We have arrived at Long Beach, Pulau Perhentian Kecil. The trip on the small speedboat had been smooth with calm seas (well as smooth as speedboats go anyway).
As we bent the final turn heading into the little cove that protected the beach, we were greeted with crystal clear water - clear enough that you can see the shadows of the boat on the seabed.
We jumped on the white sandy beach as the boat drew near the beach. There were no jetty, the boatman had to kill and lift the motors off the waters as we approached the beachhead, and he pushed the boat (with us in it) with the help of the rolling waves onto the shore.
 The beach sand is white, perhaps a trick of light with the noon sun, and sand is clean and soft. No shoes is required here!
Since we did not actually make a booking for our lodging, this is the first order of business. After hunting a bit, and since most of the lower cost chalets are full, we ended at Matahari Resort. The only room left is a small hut which houses a single bed. But we took it anyway. The cost is RM20 which is pretty okay (just as a reference, highest up the range on the same beach is Bubu Beach resort with starting price of RM200 and upwards). In all fairness, this is just a hut, but it will do for now. The person at the reception is a friendly chap which was helpful.
1:30pm
We had our lunch at Lily Restaurant. I had fried rice while my better half ordered spagethi. The food is so so, but perhaps expected. The plan is to laze a bit after lunch and do some reading, which we did in Lily's since it had a cozy porch overlooking the beach - perfect!
With the sea breeze blowing lazily and the crashing sound of waves in the background, I think I could sit here for a while. My better half had taken out her book and seemed engrossed with it. I think I would do the same...
4:30pm
We decided to place a visit to a nearby beach, Coral Bay. After a short 15 minutes trek through some trees we were on the other side of the island where Coral Bay is at.
The beach on this side is littered with shells and corals, which made it tougher to walk on barefoot. We trek along the beach to a resort at the far end of the beach - this resort is called Senja Bay Resort. It is fun sitting in the cafe's terrace overlooking the beach - sipping our ice cool fruit drinks.
7:30pm
A short climb onto some flight of outdoor stairs and we are in Rumours - probably the highest restaurant on this side of the island.
A tag along the reception marked 'Cleaniness - A'. The places here in Perhentian Island were given grades A, B abd C based on their overall outlook and cleaniness. Grade Bs are common here, however grade A is quite a rarity.
It was late evening. The ambience in Rumours Café is both relaxing and romantic. Lighted by oil candles on the tables as well as pale shaded tungsten lighting hanging from the wooden beams on the ceiling - it adds to the place's cozy atmosphere. The row of seats that captivated us was the one on a raised wooden platform running along the open side of the restaurant. Overlooking the beach with a bird eye's view - the location is perfect for romance. There we no seats on this row. Instead pillows and cushions were scattered on the platform to sit on and rest. Basically you are sitting on the platform's floor dining Japanese style.
We went for the buffet which goes for RM20 per pax. After waiting for a while, a group left and we managed to get the choice seats on the platform. Cool!
The movie 'Enchanted' was screened after dinner on a large projected screen and we sat till the movie rolled to the credits. Good food, good atmosphere and good movie - this sums up our experience here at Rumours Café.
THE NEXT DAY 10:30am
This day would be a day spent on the open waters of Perhentian Islands! We booked the traditional 'must do' snorkeling trip on any tropical island adventure. The guide told us we will be visiting a total of six locations and we are guaranteed to see giant turtles and sharks!
The turtle part of the deal came to pass almost immediately. As we stopped at our first site, Turtle Bay, our guide spotted a giant turtle! At once he killed the engine and we were told to jump into the water quickly - lest the turtle gets away!
We were swimming with the turtle! The giant creature measures more than a meter across, but swims with grace and patient. It may be slow compared to other creatures in the sea but even with diving flippers on, we find it challenging to keep up with it. Swimming with the turtle close enough to touch, watching is slow graceful movements, gives a feeling of serenity and peace. As if the turtle is telling us to slow down and enjoy the environment that God has prepared for us.
We actually saw 2 turtles on that spot and another in a separate spot later that morning. One thing that strikes me on both occasions is that there is always a longish fish which is constantly hugging onto the underbelly of the turtle. Seems to be a mutual symbiosis of sorts.
The other sites for snorkeling is beautiful with mushroom corals, both soft and hard corals and other mystical creatures that made a living on the bottom of the sea. Floating across the forest tops of the corals and rock formations on the sea bed - the feeling is almost surreal. It feels like you're flying across an alien planet, observing the majestic beauty and the quiet life that it holds.
As we float across these wonders, many colorful fishes darted by, both in schools and singly. Some of the fishes we could recognize includes the clownfish (made famous by the animated character Nemo), barracudas (which tends to swim near the water surface) and many others which is unknown to me. It is enough just to let the serenity and peace sink into my consciousness.
We also saw 2 sharks in the snorkeling sites. Pretty fast creatures indeed. The disappeared almost the moment that we spotted them!
7:00pm
Coral Bay is where we are walking to at this moment - why? To catch the view of the sunset. However the sunset turned out to be a typical one. Maybe we are expecting a nature's fanfare of gold and crimson as the last of the sun's rays lighted the clouds in the late sky. Well the lack of clouds and certain specific weather condition probably contributed to the standard sunset that we observed that evening. It is still splendid - but just not spectacular.
It was almost dark as we trek through the jungle track back to Long Beach. We had dinner back in Long Beach at one of the seaside ikan bakar (grilled fish) place. It turned out to be a bad experience as we waited for the grilled barracuda that never arrived. Apparently they have misplaced out order and one of the waiter had the cheek to suggest that perhaps we have not actually ordered yet! We promptly canceled the order and left after finishing the drinks (and shared a plate of fried rice which did arrive earlier). Maybe it was a genuine mistake but since this was our fist time there, their rating has just gone down the drain!
THE FINAL DAY ON THE ISLAND 11:45am
We board a water taxi which will dock with our main ferry waiting in deeper water. We climbed on board the ferry back to the mainland once the water taxi (basically a small boat fitted with an outboard motor) pulled alongside the ferry.
Back to the mainland soon! However it will take us a little longer to get to the mainland as we go back and forth among the various beaches on the islands collecting passengers and even back to where we started to get some couples who has apparently missed the ferry the first time! It was 1:45pm when we finally docked at the mainland. The journey should have taken just 45 minutes!  We had an 'expensive' lunch at a corner Chinese stall at a street corner opposite the jetty. A plate of fried rice(RM12), fried vegetables(RM6) and a can of 100plus (RM1.70) was what we shared among the two of us. The owner's wife claimed that the fried rice was fried using four ayam kampung eggs (village chicken eggs), hence the price was justified. I don't buy it a bit, but since we were also given other 'services' such as directions and the bus to take to Kota Bahru, and also the owner helped flagged down the correct bus for us, I figured it was just okay. Since we are tourist and looked the part too!
The bus ride to Kota Bahru took almost a good two hours compared to 45 minutes had we taken the taxi. But it was also RM1.60 versus RM40 by taxi. Since we have the luxury of time, it was worth it.
4:45pm
After a short hunt, we finally settled on a small hotel called Sabrina Court. The room was neat and relatively clean, though some parts of it were clearly in the need of renovations. You get reasonable rooms with attached bathroom at prices starting around RM75, but for rooms where the bathrooms are common can be had for about RM49.
After a short dinner and a bath we decided to roam around Kota Bahru a little on foot.
We first visited the Siti Khadijah market which is a good place to get traditional clothes. After that our trail took us to some old Istanas (royal palace), Islamic Museum and all the way to the jetty. We found Kota Bahru to be a rather tourist friendly place, with signs and explanations plaques clear and concise.
At night we visit the Cultural Hall which features the Dikir Barat performance that night. We even took part in that show, albeit clumsily and not nearly as graceful as the trained participants.
On the Way Home (Last Morning) 10:45am
As we headed for home, we felt that the trail that we have taken for this journey had proven to be both enjoyable and enriching. Every journey has its memories - the good ones linger on, the bad quickly forgotten. This trip has been a good one. If you are looking to stay at this place you can try to do a Hotel Search
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Perhentian Island of Malaysia
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