Perhentian Island

Perhentian Island, Swimming with Turtles and Irate Taxi Drivers

So, it came to pass that our second holiday on the coast was just round the corner, and we begun to make our way to the highly acclaimed Perhentian Islands based just off the North-eastern coast of Malaysia about 40km from the Thai border.

Much and more has been said about this place, some of our friends had been their previously and were at least partly responsible for burning down the best bar on the island, while one set himself on fire and burnt his face when attempting (and succeeding) to breath fire with petrol. So as you can imagine expectations were high, and i fully expected to come back with some kind of major disability or new deformity.

                                                 

We arrived at KL Central and bordered the night train that would take us up northwards to the coast. This was an experience in itself, and something that I’d oddly been wanting to try for many a year. As the train trundled along I sat briefly at the back of the last carriage, legs swinging off the ledge above the tracks and taking in the remote and dense rainforest that we seemed to be endlessly passed through.

View from the last carriage 

At some point during the night our slow monotonous motion stopped and we laid still for a few hours. Whilst a welcome break from being thrust and slammed into the sides of my bed (not in a good way) and giving me a brief respite from the sounds of the train which were leading me to believe we were all about to die horrifically, this ended up costing us a few hours in delay. Apparently there wasn't any track for the train to go on any further so they had to wait for it to be laid? Well it is Malaysia after all.

So begins our plight with one irate and unbeknown to him, thigh-slappingly funny taxi-driver come private investigator, who for the benefit of this blog entry i will from hither onwards name Pedro. Long story short Keith had already booked our taxi transfer and ferry tickets with the P-Man, but doing this required us to stay on the train extra stops and thus pay more cash. 

Boat out - Stolen from Tom

Therefore like any self-respecting tourist we ditched him, got off early and decided to find our own way. Suffice to say Pedro was not best pleased. Eventually after demanding that we all owe him several hundred ringitt Keith took the bold move of replying saying we had all been involved in a catastrophic car accident and were lying in hospital, thus rather unfortunately but by no fault of our own could not pay for his services. This is where Pedro began to demand the hospital address (and seemingly a door to door search) but we'll re-join his plight later.

Yeah..

Anyway, we arrived at the port, got on the first ferry we saw and headed off crashing over the waves to the Islands. When we eventually pulled up to the jetty I awestruck by the place, crystal clear deep blue waters, unspoilt beaches, a few shacks and bars and barely a tourist in sight.

Coral Beach

Coral Beach

Departing the boat and hiking off on a short trail that led up and over the island we found ourselves on Long Beach, Kecil and immediately made a B-Line for the bar. I found Cherrie and Louise who decided to join us there on their way up to Thailand, checked into our hostel which felt like the interior of a cheap brothel in Slough and re-joined the bar which had been hastily rebuilt after the burning that had occurred a few weeks earlier.

Chilling

Dub/Reggae music, the obligatory Bob Marley soundtrack, lit by candlelight, shisha on the beach and the local liquer known as Monkey Juice fuelled the night. I'm not particularly sure what to say at this point, i know i had a good time and that at some point there was a conga line in a local beach club, but other than that i pretty much blank out. 

On the beach - Stolen from Tom

Perhaps 5 hours later i awoke to find myself attempting to sing (and failing oh so miserably) Jamming by Bob Marley, and upon leaving the bar i was told by the manager that i needed to find some respect. Not knowing how to handle this request we all went skinny dipping and the night continued on.

Inebriated

Who are these people

Waking up slowly after persistent nagging from Emma I found my body in agony, and somehow crawled to the beach along the seemingly infinite short trek in time for 10am. With beautiful timing we got an omelette and made it on to the boat with enough time to spare. Me, Cherrie, Louise, Emma, Ket-Head and Tom all decided to go on a Snorkelling trip, while the other guys begun their diving course which they were completing over the long weekend.

The snorkelling trip was to last the whole day and take us to 5 different spots up and down the coast. Fankly, it was incredible, the waters were crystal clear and the coral was magnificent once I had mastered how not to drown. 

I like turtles

By far the highlight of the trip was swimming with Sea turtles, which emerged out of the blue blackness about 10 feet below me and silently glided through the water. Diving down to meet them was a sight to behold, although all the tourists (myself included) swarming around must have surely caused some distress.

Hah.

Tiger Sharks (who were circling round us as they do their prey) and stingrays were also spectacular of not slightly unnerving, along with huge shoals of fish moving hither in the strong currents. 

Shit you I not, this happened.

The day finished with a jump off the lighthouse, where only myself and later Tom after a bit of goading would attempt it. Clinging to the first set of stairs, shuffling around the side of the structure and grabbing hold of a ladder and then proceeding to hauling yourself up was an experience. Followed by climbing to the top, shuffling round the edge once more and holding yourself on the ledge i have to confess did tickle my gonads a little. After our guide did a flashy jump and dive I let go and pencil dived into the water 10-15 metres down.

Guide bossing it

LEEEEEEERROOOYYYYYY

Briefly, I thought I had broken my back in my haste to address my inner peer pressure, but returning to the surface I found I could swim, although painfully, and made it to the boat. Landing slightly off a vertical position I had pulled all the muscles in my lower back, and spent the next and last location on the beach lying down trying not to succumb to acute pain.

Looks peaceful - actually in agony.

Anyway, that pretty much put me out of action for the rest of the holiday, but nothing serious was done and I was fine after a couple of weeks. Suffice to say I won't be doing any jumps again. We spent the next night relaxing on the beach in some deck chairs watching Joss Whedons Cabin in the woods via projector with hilariously bad subtitles as the beer was kept fresh by the waiter. 

Louise and Cherrie departed the following day, next stop Thailand and after a short plane journey we were back in KL, and i sunk into bed. Surprisingly I had survived the searing heat without shrivelling up like a frog on tarmac, whilst others (Emma) suffered the fate of turning the colour of a freshly boiled King Prawn, but alas no photos of that.

Leaving the island turned into a bit of drama leading us to adopt fake names (Ned Stark) when continual hounding by Pedro informed us that he knew the company we travelled to the island with (he did, rather worryingly so he had obviously been making some calls) and claimed he would be waiting at the ferry with a few of his boys. Of course, he was not. What kind of name is Pedro for a Malaysian anyhow? 

Perhentian Islands are tiny, a haven for backpackers and the polar opposite in terms of tourism compared to Langkawi. Whilst I loved my time in Langkwai, this was just in a new league altogether. Sublimely peaceful (if you choose not to go out at night), a breathtakingly beautiful coastline and enticing waters, it took my breath away and I hope to return there before I go back to grey old England.

Adios Pedro, you fuck.

Next time, Apartment Upgrade and Site Work