Our next stop, recommended to us by a friend, was the Perhentian Islands. There are two islands, about 30 minutes by speed boat from the mainland. There were many beaches to stay at on both islands, but we chose to stay on the small island (Kecil), on long beach. It was the largest beach and offered the most accommodations at backpacker prices.
Upon arrival, we decided to check out a couple of accommodations that we had researched beforehand, but didn't book in advance because I had thought there wasn't any need. After checking three different places, we realized that it would have been a good idea to book ahead since nothing was available. Considering we were carrying our huge backpacks up and down the beach now for about an hour or so, Kristin wasn't in the best of moods anymore (mainly because I'm an idiot) and we decided to settle on a place called the Symphony Village. Bad idea. We put our bags in our room and left for supper. After a nice supper on the beach, we were both in a better mood, until we got back to the room. Upon closer inspection, we noticed rat shit everywhere. Overall, the room was pretty gross and creepy. I decided I could handle staying there for one night. Despite my assurances that we'd be alright for the night, Kristin had a bit of a meltdown involving tears and we decided to search elsewhere for a room. After a few tries at different places, we got a room at the Mohsin Chalets. It wasn't anything special, but it was far better than the room we were in at the Symphony Village. We checked out, hoping to get some of our money back since we'd only been in it for a couple hours, but it was of no use. No big deal though, it was only about $20.
That night, we went down to the beach where a small bar was set up renting Hookah's and selling beer. It was really chilled out, and we came here almost every night during the week. The had a ton of different flavors of Hookah, and unlike the bars in Seoul, the wouldn't take it away from you after about an hour or so. Instead, they'd give you a refill. Once again, beer wasn't as cheap as I had hoped, but since it was a remote island, I wasn't complaining.
The bar setup
Beers and a Hookah
The following morning we were on the lookout for a new room closer to the beach and we lucked in. We found an amazing room at the Panorama Chalets. We got a spotless A-frame room, which we stayed in for the remainder of the week. Despite it being far better than any of the room we had stayed in up to this point, it was only about $25 a night. On top of that, the small resort had by far the best restaurant on the beach, and great prices as well. It which showed movies on a big screen every night during supper. Nothing fancy, but considering the island didn't have any power and required the resorts to use generators (usually only from 7pm to 7am), this was a pimp spot to be.
Our home for a week
The remainder of our stay was perfect. The beach, was possibly the best I've been on. The sand was white and the water was crystal clear. On top of that, there was hardly anyone on the beach despite that it was suppose to be the busiest beach among the two islands. During the day we mainly just laid on the beach and read.
A couple days into our stay, we decided we'd like to try scuba diving. Our resort had a dive shop ran by a great British couple. Before we did any reading or studying, our instructor had us out in the water practicing some skills and going on our first dive. It was a pretty unique experience, and one that I don't think you can be entirely prepared for. The whole act of breathing underwater is pretty odd, but awesome as well. The second half of the course wasn't quite as exciting though, because we had to do a bunch of reading and watch a couple hours worth of videos. This wasn't exactly what you'd want to do on a beautiful day on a tropical island, but what can ya do. We went out for a second dive the following day, and it was incredible how many fish we seen. I've been snorkeling countless times, and it doesn't compare to scuba diving. We were able to see a sea turtle, some spotted stingrays, puffer fish and a ton of other fish that I can't name. Kristin and I were both blown away by the how great the experience was. We had to write a small test and we're now PADI Scuba Divers. We were hoping to complete the next step in the PADI certification process and become open water divers, but we never did, so hopefully we can do that on our next vacation, wherever that may be.
The island, despite being isolated, had some really good food. Whether it's a traditional Malay breakfast, I'm not certain, but nearly everyday I had banana porridge. It doesn't sound that exciting, but it was amazing. I still think about it and wish I could have it in the mornings. The few mornings that I didn't have it, I had banana pancakes which were equally as great. Perhaps I have a crush on banana's. We didn't really eat lunch all that often because it was so hot we didn't have much of an appetite. You would think that in the heat we'd drink beer or something along those lines, but instead we heffed it up and had milkshakes. Mars bar milkshakes and they were as good as they sound. The remainder of our meals were either barbecued on the beach or a curry or a mixture of the two.
Spot where we had lunch/milkshakes
Of all the places I've been, I've never been more satisfied or had such a willingness to go back as I do with the Perhentian's. The atmosphere was extremely laid back and exactly what we were looking for. We spent nearly a quarter of our vacation here, and we now wish we would have stayed longer.
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