The ride from Cameron Highlands to the east cost of Malaysia was really scenic and it was a pity that we couldn’t stop to take some pictures of the jungle-covered mountains. We didn’t even dare to ask the driver of the minivan because he seemed to want to beat his own record. We actually made it in four hours, which isn’t bad taking into account the long distance.
We arrived in Kuala Besut at around noon time and were able to take the speed boat not even an hour later. I travelled with 4 other Germans: Dominik and Steffi, brother and sister from Bavaria and Dominic and Justina from Essen (the same couple I went trekking with in Cameron Highlands). The Perhentian Islands consist of a small and a big island. I decided to stay on the small island because it is supposed to be more backpacker-friendly. I found a nice bungalow uphill with a great sea view (you can see pics on Facebook) and started to compare prices and services of the different diving centres. Doing a diving course was actually my main reason for going to Perhentians. I decided to book with a centre called Turtle Bay Divers as they made the most professional impression. The choice was perfect! Our instructor Sun was very strict and we had to scrupulously fulfil all the theoretical and practical exercises. At the end of the course this was a bit annoying because we wanted to have more time for fun-diving but it’s for your own safety. The dives were really amazing, we saw huge turtles, stingrays, snappers, triggerfish, barracudas, coral cat sharks, huge unicorn fish and a lot more I don’t remember. The Perhentians are well known for its great diving spots and I think I made the right decision to do the course in Malaysia, and not in Thailand. It’s only a little bit more expensive but the quality is much better. We were only 3 people in the group. People told me that in Thailand there are up to eight people in a group. Furthermore the diving centre had all the equipment in my size, including the suit and shoes! My diving buddies were Steffi from the bus ride (her brother already had a diving license) and a 13-year old girl from the UK. I think we did pretty well!
Besides the diving, my activities on the island were quite limited. The course started at 9am and finished at 7pm and lasted for 4 days, so there was not much “leisure time”. The last day it finished at noon after we passed the exam but I decided to go for another fun-dive in the afternoon (without safety exercises!) One night I took a beer with Nuria from Spain (I met her before in Cameron Highlands) but that was pretty much it. The other days the only activity after the course was having dinner.
The weather was very good the first three days with sunshine during the day and some rainfalls in the night. The last two days were more cloudy and rainy but underwater the weather doesn’t really matter. Nevertheless, Sunday afternoon and night was quite tough. The rainfalls were so heavy that I really thought it was the end of the world. Due to strong winds, there was even water in my bungalow entering from under the door!
I didn’t really sleep well on the islands. I had no mosquito net and there was no way of avoiding bites from these small devils which turned my first night into a nightmare. The next day I got the tip from my bungalow neighbours to buy incense sticks which ban mosquitoes. It really helped! The flipside of the coin was having the stench inside the room but it was definitely better than being bit all the time.
The Perhentian Islands are definitely paradisiacal, especially for divers and snorkelers. I hope that the increasing tourism will be sustainable and not destroy this beautiful spot of earth.
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