Day 44 - The Perhentian Islands
Thinking upon the past year, I remember the various landscapes I have experienced around the globe. Being able to enjoy diverse settings has been a big part of our trip so far. Everything has been quite different, and as we try to compare place to place, it becomes more and more difficult because everything has something that makes it "special" and unique.
On February 20th, we began making our way to the Perhentian Island of Kecil (the small island). I guess I had expected that it would be a little bit more difficult to get to the Perhentian Islands (because of our trip to the Gili Islands), but it went very smoothly and our trip was quite fast. We left the Cameron Highlands in the morning and loaded up in a van with four other people. The drive was supposed to take 6 hours, but I think our driver made it in around 5 hours (we even had two stops along the way). I usually don't get car sick, but at times I felt like I was on the verge of getting ill because our driver drove extremely quickly along windy roads. If there was a speed limit (which I don't believe there was), he definitely wasn't following it, and I was happy when our drive was over. :) Still, driving in Malaysia seems to be a lot easier than hectic Indonesia .. Indonesians drove every speed possible!!
After our quick drive through mountains and windy roads, we made it to a smaller town. Next we took a fast boat to Perhentian Kecil. The fast boat took 30 minutes, and riding through the smooth waves was kind of like riding on a small roller coaster. As we glided across the beautiful blue water, I thought about the many boating excursions I have had (with my family and friends) in the past on Lake Roosevelt (the lake near Kettle Falls). The Perhentian Islands soon came into view and they immediately appeared to be beautiful in their magical setting. Both islands looked to be mostly overgrown jungle with white sandy beaches along much of the water front.
We decided to stay at Coral Bay on Perhentian Kecil because during February, Coral Bay has very calm waters as the other side of the island is still a bit windy during this time of year. Coral Bay is a beautiful bay lined with white sand, chalets, and my favorite, coconut trees. We first decided to stay at a place called Aur Bay that is owned by a dear Malaysian family. It was joyful to see the little children playing hopscotch and hula hoop in the sand in front of the small chalets. They also practiced their English a bit, and always seemed eager to try and make conversation. Aur Bay is a place of character, and it seems to be one of the oldest places in Coral Bay. We enjoyed watching huge local monitor lizards walk in between the chalets, and we had a few fun nights playing cards on the small porch. I will let you know that I think I have won the most when playing cards with Tola and Antti. ;)
After four nights at Aur Bay, we decided to try another place for our last night, so we moved to Senja Resort. Once we realized it took about twenty steps to walk into the water from the chalet, we decided to stay one more night at Senja Bay. The little chalet made me feel like I could stay on Perhentian Kecil for a long long time. It was the perfect place to spend our last couple of days on the breathtaking island.
During our first days on the small island, we spent quite a bit of time snorkeling in the clear turquoise waters. I started feeling a lot more comfortable with snorkeling, and I realized that it really is an amazing activity. On our first big snorkeling day I spotted a group of Nemos hiding in a sea anenome, and at that moment, I realized my love for swimming in the ocean (not just sun tanning on the beach) was actually growing.
Tola, Antti, and I also decided to go on a boat snorkeling trip, and this ended up being a great decision. We spent almost the entire day on the water and we experienced things I really had never imagined experiencing first hand. At our first stop, we saw many beautiful fish and I felt like I had seen enough for the day, but soon I found out, it was only the beginning. On our next boat stop, we came to a shark point, and I almost didn't want to get in the water. Everyone else seemed so excited, so I decided to join in the fun. I asked Tola to swim by my side because I didn't want to be by myself (even though there were about 10 others on our boat). :) Tola and I jumped in and almost instantly we saw our first shark. Swimming along I almost started to back up, but then I realized that the shark didn't appear to be coming our way at all. It amazed me how something so fierce to so many other creatures (and even sometimes to humans) can be so beautiful and magnificant as it seems along on its own. Being a social person, I almost felt sorry that the shark spends its day alone, and that all of the other creatures swimming around are terrified of its existence. Then I realize, I don't think the shark things the same way I do. :) Following our shark experience, I again felt like I could call it a day, but our next stop was "turtle point." I found it quite interesting that the locals seem to know where the turtles are always hanging out because I thought turtles liked to travel; however, our guide knew what he was doing. Jumping in the water at turtle point was the beginning of another moving moment. I was stunned as I saw three giant sea turtles swimming together, and we began to swim after them as quickly as we could. I think the most beautiful thing I have witnessed (in the animal world) was when one large turtle swam up to another turtle, and it seemed like they almost hugged or showed a sign of affection towards each other. This moment allowed me to think of all of the beautiful creatures that have been created, and how diverse our world really is in so many different ways. Most of you know that I am much more of a people person than an animal person, but during our trip, I have come to enjoy some special moments with other wonderfully made creatures.
I am writing all of this on our last day on Perhentian Kecil, and as I am sure I am exhausting some of you, I feel that it is time to let you go for now as I will venture out into the sun. I usually don't enjoy my alone time, but today I have decided to let Tola and Antti go exploring by themselves... I will get some sun tanning and swimming in as I hang out at our little chalet. Before Tola and Antti left, I did let a foot long lizard into the chalet, so I am not totally alone, although I think I'd prefer to be alone! I don't mind when the critters are outside, but it is still bit of a touchy subject when they enter my bedroom. :) Don't worry though, I am getting much better!
On February 20th, we began making our way to the Perhentian Island of Kecil (the small island). I guess I had expected that it would be a little bit more difficult to get to the Perhentian Islands (because of our trip to the Gili Islands), but it went very smoothly and our trip was quite fast. We left the Cameron Highlands in the morning and loaded up in a van with four other people. The drive was supposed to take 6 hours, but I think our driver made it in around 5 hours (we even had two stops along the way). I usually don't get car sick, but at times I felt like I was on the verge of getting ill because our driver drove extremely quickly along windy roads. If there was a speed limit (which I don't believe there was), he definitely wasn't following it, and I was happy when our drive was over. :) Still, driving in Malaysia seems to be a lot easier than hectic Indonesia .. Indonesians drove every speed possible!!
After our quick drive through mountains and windy roads, we made it to a smaller town. Next we took a fast boat to Perhentian Kecil. The fast boat took 30 minutes, and riding through the smooth waves was kind of like riding on a small roller coaster. As we glided across the beautiful blue water, I thought about the many boating excursions I have had (with my family and friends) in the past on Lake Roosevelt (the lake near Kettle Falls). The Perhentian Islands soon came into view and they immediately appeared to be beautiful in their magical setting. Both islands looked to be mostly overgrown jungle with white sandy beaches along much of the water front.
We decided to stay at Coral Bay on Perhentian Kecil because during February, Coral Bay has very calm waters as the other side of the island is still a bit windy during this time of year. Coral Bay is a beautiful bay lined with white sand, chalets, and my favorite, coconut trees. We first decided to stay at a place called Aur Bay that is owned by a dear Malaysian family. It was joyful to see the little children playing hopscotch and hula hoop in the sand in front of the small chalets. They also practiced their English a bit, and always seemed eager to try and make conversation. Aur Bay is a place of character, and it seems to be one of the oldest places in Coral Bay. We enjoyed watching huge local monitor lizards walk in between the chalets, and we had a few fun nights playing cards on the small porch. I will let you know that I think I have won the most when playing cards with Tola and Antti. ;)
After four nights at Aur Bay, we decided to try another place for our last night, so we moved to Senja Resort. Once we realized it took about twenty steps to walk into the water from the chalet, we decided to stay one more night at Senja Bay. The little chalet made me feel like I could stay on Perhentian Kecil for a long long time. It was the perfect place to spend our last couple of days on the breathtaking island.
During our first days on the small island, we spent quite a bit of time snorkeling in the clear turquoise waters. I started feeling a lot more comfortable with snorkeling, and I realized that it really is an amazing activity. On our first big snorkeling day I spotted a group of Nemos hiding in a sea anenome, and at that moment, I realized my love for swimming in the ocean (not just sun tanning on the beach) was actually growing.
Tola, Antti, and I also decided to go on a boat snorkeling trip, and this ended up being a great decision. We spent almost the entire day on the water and we experienced things I really had never imagined experiencing first hand. At our first stop, we saw many beautiful fish and I felt like I had seen enough for the day, but soon I found out, it was only the beginning. On our next boat stop, we came to a shark point, and I almost didn't want to get in the water. Everyone else seemed so excited, so I decided to join in the fun. I asked Tola to swim by my side because I didn't want to be by myself (even though there were about 10 others on our boat). :) Tola and I jumped in and almost instantly we saw our first shark. Swimming along I almost started to back up, but then I realized that the shark didn't appear to be coming our way at all. It amazed me how something so fierce to so many other creatures (and even sometimes to humans) can be so beautiful and magnificant as it seems along on its own. Being a social person, I almost felt sorry that the shark spends its day alone, and that all of the other creatures swimming around are terrified of its existence. Then I realize, I don't think the shark things the same way I do. :) Following our shark experience, I again felt like I could call it a day, but our next stop was "turtle point." I found it quite interesting that the locals seem to know where the turtles are always hanging out because I thought turtles liked to travel; however, our guide knew what he was doing. Jumping in the water at turtle point was the beginning of another moving moment. I was stunned as I saw three giant sea turtles swimming together, and we began to swim after them as quickly as we could. I think the most beautiful thing I have witnessed (in the animal world) was when one large turtle swam up to another turtle, and it seemed like they almost hugged or showed a sign of affection towards each other. This moment allowed me to think of all of the beautiful creatures that have been created, and how diverse our world really is in so many different ways. Most of you know that I am much more of a people person than an animal person, but during our trip, I have come to enjoy some special moments with other wonderfully made creatures.
I am writing all of this on our last day on Perhentian Kecil, and as I am sure I am exhausting some of you, I feel that it is time to let you go for now as I will venture out into the sun. I usually don't enjoy my alone time, but today I have decided to let Tola and Antti go exploring by themselves... I will get some sun tanning and swimming in as I hang out at our little chalet. Before Tola and Antti left, I did let a foot long lizard into the chalet, so I am not totally alone, although I think I'd prefer to be alone! I don't mind when the critters are outside, but it is still bit of a touchy subject when they enter my bedroom. :) Don't worry though, I am getting much better!
Great and very loaded journal! Thanks Emily for sharing these beautifull moments with you.
I like all pictures, mostly the very romantic chalet with coco plant. Do you drink the coco milk? Mummmmmmmmm :)
Emily, you are very beautifull in this white dress.
Glad you enjoyed the post. :) We haven't actually tried the coconut milk yet, but that is probably something we should do! We noticed that the squirrels liked the coconut milk as they created a little shower for us on the beach.
Thank you for the kind compliment. :) I hope you are well Yim!
Simply by looking at the photos, I can almost see how breathtaking the island is! I wish I was there with all of you!♥