Following my morning perusal of Kota Bharu, I headed for the bus station to catch a bus to Kuala Besut, the small fishing town where boats leave for the Perhentian islands. I arrived at about 8:30am and, unfortunately, the bus didn't leave until 9:30. As I was waiting around, I started talking to an interesting couple: a Frenchman, teaching French in China, and his Chinese girlfriend, a civil engineer in France. While we chatted, a taxi driver approached us and offered to take us to Kuala Besut for $3 per person, just slightly more than the bus. We agreed and set off.
Our taxi driver turned out to be quite a character, a very good tour guide and an equally good insight into life in Malaysia. He provided a bit of background about himself and his nine children, Raya, the amount of freedom he has in Malaysia (he argued that he was incredibly free), crime, foreigners (and how the Perhentians are not a good place for family because of the scantily clad beach-goers) and so on.
An informative one hour ride later and we were at Kuala Besut, where we bought boat tickets to the Perhentians. On my more limited budget, I decided to go to Perhentian Kecil's Long Beach, more of a backpacker scene than the bigger Perhentian Besar. After a bouncy forty-five minute ride into the South China Sea we were between the two beautiful islands. The water was a surreal blue and the beaches were white, sandy and dotted with palm trees. Because of the upcoming Hari Raya, many of the bungalows and restaurants scattered across the beach were shuttered. I managed to find a nice bungalow right on the beach, grabbed lunch and spent most of the afternoon with my feet in the sand and the clear, blue and shallow waters. It was definitely a bit odd going straight from one of the most conservative cities in Malaysia to a beach of well-tanned, bikini wearing twenty-something westerners. That said, I knew the next few days were going to be the type of laid-back atmosphere I was looking for.
Later in the afternoon, I decided to walk over to Coral Bay on the other side of the island. It was a short walk with some interesting red-barked trees and a handful of monitor lizards. The other side was absolutely beautiful. Though the beach was a bit rockier, there was an idyllic pier extending out into the water. I spent at least two hours simply enjoying the view of the schools of fish in the water and the sunset over other islands in the distance. All of the guesthouses and restaurants at Coral Bay were closed so I was one of only a few people around. It was some of the most peaceful time I had on the whole trip. Heading back to the other side of Kecil, I had a pleasant dinner and a couple of beers at one of the two restaurants that was open and
called it a night.
On Wednesday morning I decided to go on a snorkeling trip and see just how beautiful the surrounding reefs were. Seven of us shared a small motorboat, including a few Spaniards, an Australian, and our comical captain. At the first stop, Turtle Bay off of Besar, I immediately regretted not having bought an underwater camera. A few huge (about 5ft long) green turtles surrounded the boat, occasionally popping their heads above water for air. We admired them for a few minutes and then hopped in to join them. The clear water made the turtles easy to spot and follow. It was hard not to admire the way they glide - almost fly - through the water. I was able to get so close to one that I was able to pet it when it came up for air.
Our next stop was a bit further down Besar. As we hopped in to the water, our captain threw bits of bread at us. We were immediately surrounded by hundreds of tropical fish of at least a dozen varieties. The tide was quite strong - and remained so for the rest of the day - but the fish were beautiful. There were far two many different species to count, from black and white striped fish to totally iridescent to neon. And then there were the sharks. Only small (2ft) reef sharks, but wild sharks nonetheless. At first it was a bit scary and exhilarating, but then it just became a challenge to follow them as they worked their way through the water.
Heading further south along Besar we stopped at another reef, probably the best, with absolutely gorgeous coral. Neon green brain-like coral and bright purple and brown coral shaped like clams. The variety of fish here was also better than at any other stop. I spotted an eel (electric?) eating a fish. A full-grown shark (6ft) swam right at me and got within fifteen or twenty feet, later catching an unlucky fish in an incredibly quick attack. This was certainly the best snorkeling I had ever done!
We had a leisurely lunch in Perhentian Village before making two more stops, neither of which featured anything remarkably different from what we had already scene. The last stop, however, was at the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. The color of the water was remarkable
and the sand was the finest I have ever felt. As a self-admitted mediocre swimmer, I was exhausted. I spent the remainder of the afternoon and the following morning relaxing on the beach and on the terrace of my bungalow.
On Thursday I took a boat back to Kuala Besut and caught a local bus down to Kuala Terengganu, from where I would catch my flight back to Kuala Lumpur. It was a slow, but enjoyable two-hour ride as we passed mosques and madrasas, farms, and big feasts celebrating the end of Ramadan. I had a few hours to kill before my flight, so I wandered over to a guesthouse. Because of Hari Raya - a festival in which most people go to their home villages in rural areas - the streets were absolutely empty. The guesthouse I went to was actually closed, but they let me drop my stuff off and even cooked some food for me.
With a bit of time, I wandered around town a bit. There was a beautiful mosque near the guesthouse as well as a really nice palace, used for official state functions. The streets were bizarrely empty though. There was absolutely nobody around. Other than the McDonald's, almost everything was closed. I did manage to find a few friendly vendors selling songkok, prayer mats, and a number of other Islamic goods. I stumbled into the small Chinatown and particularly enjoyed the variety of brightly painted windows at every shop front. Back at the guesthouse before my flight, I heard the call to prayer coming from the Zainal Abidin mosque at sunset. Not a bad way to end my brief stay in Kuala Terengganu
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