Part 6 - Departing Perhentian

21 Sept 2013

We checked out by 11 am, Sat morning. 

Reception

Upon arrival two days ago, the reception had asked us for our return boat ticket. This is to inform the boat operator of our scheduled time for pick-up.

They also put up the departure list in the morning of our departure day. Looking at the departure list, we learnt that if you do not want to get into a boat above its capacity, go for the early morning boat. The 8.00am boat scheduled 10pax while the 12pm boat scheduled 19 pax + 7 children. 

We waited for almost 45mins and departed close to 1.00pm.

The jetty - helps as you need not get your feet wet when you enter or exit the boat

While waiting for the boat, the children played on the  jetty, trying to spot mudhoppers.

The lobby -  traditional Malay design

A replica of a Malay village house in the lobby

 

The resort's Sea-View/Beach Chalet - we wished we had stayed here it comes 
with balcony, deck-chair and hammock - very cosy

We also took some pictures of the exterior of the resort. 

The wooden deck chair

The hammock

Signage in the lobby

Try guessing what this is??? Answer is at the bottom of this page.

Luckily, the driver of this boat did not speed.  He 
also ensured all of us put on our life jackets. 

By 1.45pm, we were back in Kuala Besut jetty. 

 Boat ride back to Kuala Besut

We had our lunch and shopped for souvenirs 

here. Then, we started our drive back to KL.

Long, long drive. Distance from Kuala Besut - KL 

is roughly 460km. This time we didn't use the 

Coastal Road as the drive is longer, instead we took 

the Jerangau Highway. There were so many 

lorries along this stretch carrying oil palm fruits. 

We saw miles and miles of Felda oil palm plantations. 

We reached KL at 9.30pm. 

 

Answer : Garbage bin or Tong Sampah in Malay (did u guess correct?)

Part 5 - Peaceful Perhentian -Day 2

20  Sept 2013

On the second day, we went jungle trekking. Right behind our room, there is a signage for Jungle Trekking.

The trek leads you to Perhentian Island Resort on the north west of the Island which is a popular snorkelling and diving site. Many foreigners stay here. The beach here is sandy and cleaner, the sea water a clearer blue and green.

Perhentian Island Resort's jetty

Check the colour of the water

Monitor lizard at Arwana Resort, Perhentian Besar

We have heard about monitor lizards sighting in our resort but to encounter not one but a few on our jungle trek was simply wonderful. These creatures live off a dirty stagnant swamp near the pathway of the trek. We actually stopped thrice to let them pass before heading on and I tell you, these are not small lizards.

The trail was not visible throughout, at some points we just used our hands to push away the shrubs. We saw huge water pipes and generators along the way. Took us about 30mins.

In the waters

We spent about two hours letting the children swim in the clean waters. Many were sunbathing on deck chairs. There were many more foreigners here than locals.

The snorkelling boats

We went back to our resort by lunch time. 

In the afternoon, the children went back to the pool and spent a lot of time at the swamp trying to video-record the lizards. 

The wooden bridge that leads to the dirty swamp at our resort

In the afternoon, we walked along the beach  to see how far we can go around the island. 

Perhentian Island is a marine park

At times we climbed rocks just to pass through. Spotted many red and black crabs and huge slugs along the beach and on the rocks. 

Out of the jungle finally

When we couldn't go any further, we stopped at an abandoned tower and sat watching the blue ocean. 

Some rocks we climbed

By late evening, we cleaned up in time to go for dinner at Best Cafe. We ordered Thai-styled food - rice, tom yam, pandan chicken, fried squid, eggs as mixed vegetables. There were 6 of us and it came up to about RM70, not bad.

We ended the day with the kids back at their crab-spotting game with their torch lights.

Part 4 – Peaceful Perhentian -Day 1

19 Sept 2013

There are two Perhentian Islands - Big Island and Small Island. The Malay word 'Besar' means big and 'Kecil' means small. Hence, Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil. Perhentian means stopping point. Fr

Our stay Perhentian Besar, in the south of the island. 

We arrived just on time for check-in. The staff were quick to show us our room. No hustle and bustle. We checked into a family room on the first floor with a pool view. 

Our room came with a balcony - easy to dry wet clothes here

The pool

The island's electricity supply is powered by generator. So you cannot find electrical items in use in the resort except for TV (limited channels) and water heater. This means no kettles, hair dryer, elevators, etc. This was fine with us as the resort provides water flask for us to get our own hot water from the kitchen. 

 

The stainless steel hot water pot

You can however charge your phones and camera in the room. Each room is provided with a clothesline outside the room, good thinking.

Our room - 2 single beds

The basic stuff - an old TV

After settling in, we took a walk around the resort and its beach. The beach here is muddy but once we walked a little further, the beach got better -  more sandy and powdery. 

OK I don't think we can swim here-lah...

further away from our resort, the beach gets better

Soon, the children went into the pool.

For dinner that night, we took a walk along the beach where there were cafes. There was only one cafe that was a little bit happening, the B'First Cafe, run by a cool long-haired dude from KL. Prices here are cheaper than the other cafes. So, we ordered some food and watched people lighting up bonfire and release lanterns into the sky.

The lantern ready to take off and the bonfire behind

The rest of the night the children went looking for crabs with their torch lights. 

The beach terrace facing the resort jetty

Later, we sat awhile at the resort beach terrace to soak in the cold chill air before calling it a night.

Tips :-

• We stayed in the southern part of Perhentian Besar, the best beaches are actually in the west side of the island (Perhentian Besar)
• The food in the resorts in Perhentian Besar are expensive; one plate of fried rice with chicken is RM17 at our resort almost 3 times the price of that in mainland. Check out B'First Cafe - you can get reasonable price here.













• Bring torch lights as the beaches are dark at night