I took my flight from Bali to KL and then another from KL to Kota Bahru, Malaysia. Arrived in KB about 11pm and jumped in a cab to a nearby hostel. Once I arrived the door was locked which was a fun adventure, even though the sign outside said '24 hours...' Finally got inside and found that the dorm room I had booked was empty so I had the whole place to myself....and the guy at reception tried to upgrade me to a single room for 5 times the price...ha!
Woke up in the morning and caught the 1 hour shuttle to Kuala Besut, small fishing village on the coast and jump-off point for the Perhentian islands. Jumped on the 30 minute boat to the islands and the driver asked where I needed to be dropped off. I had done no research at all so basically said take me where I could find a cheap place and meet some people and he advised Long Beach on the small island. As I got off the boat, I ran into a Italian guy who had the Lonely Planet (I traded mine in Bali for a new book to read....great idea!) and it said Rock Garden was a good place with cheap bungalows. We made the trek up the cliffs and got some bungalows for 25 ringit (3.5 ringit = 1USD) and the views were unreal (see the pics). No fans in the bungalows which made getting to sleep a little interesting, but after 1 night you got used to it and a cold shower right before bed helped you fall asleep immediately. When I got in my place I realized I had two geckos living in the bungalows, but they helped keep the mosquitos to a minimum so it was no worries...a little shocking at first sight though!
During my week on the islands I did a total of 7 dives on the islands, one site, Temple of the Sea being the highlight so I did it twice. Across all the dives, I saw bamboo sharks, black-tip sharks, coral cats, sea horses, rays, turtles and sooo many fish I can't even begin to list. It was a great idea to come here since the diving was realllyy cheap at less that $20USD a dive and beer really expensive @ $3USD compared to basically free in Indonesia. I only drank one night over the course of the week since I purposely setup 9AM dives every morning. It felt good to detox and relax on my last week in SE Asia. Had planned to do the infamous 1 day snorkeling trip dubbed as the best in the world but never got around to it since I got so caught up in the diving.
About the Perhentians: Amazing islands, the small island is the more backpacker island while the big island is the family/honeymoon island. Most travelers find themselves on Long Beach and in the week I was there it was pretty much all females. Walking along the beach in the daytime you'd see scattered groups of couples and then big groups of girls, but no guys...but at night after the 8pm movie at Panorama (which I watched everynight...) nobody seemed to go out. I guess they were all saving their money or all came for a similar reason to mine. Highly recommed you check this place out if you are in SE Asia...you won't be disappointed, but bring a few bottles of your own so you don't burn a hole in your wallet.
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