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November 2003... The time of the year when my penpal from Down Under will visit her relatives in Malaysia. So it did not come as a shock when she emailed me, asking if I would want to meet up with her at Pulau Perhentian for a short retreat. However, she only notified me 5 days in advance! Hahaha.. I still remember the mad rush to gather information about my destination. After settling all the details, I set out for the island.
As it was the off peak season, I decided to take a risk by not booking any accommodation for the 2 nights. : ) I prayed that I would not have to spend the nights on the beach, but i still went prepared.
The coach ride to Jertih town was a gruelling 14 hours. When I set foot on the sleepy (and seemingly deserted) town, I began to feel isolated from the entire world, literally. On my arrival at the jetty, I booked my lodging and after lunch (the locals seemed to show great respect for me eating at the stalls there), I set off to Pulau Perhentian on a bumboat.
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| ABC resort... The amenitites are as simple as ABC. |
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| Jetty on the island. It was high tide when I reached... |
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| Sleeping cat at the steps of the "hotel". |
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| My RM$30 a night room... With a balcony and a view to kill. |
I met up with my penpal, Sui, who was already there. She was soaking in the sun since morning and we met up about 2 pm. Her resort is of a higher class than mine (obviously) since she paid good $$ for it. On a scale of 1 - 5, her resort would be 5 and mine would be -2. That's how bad it is... But what could you expect for $30 a night. If you still think its still a good deal, wait till I describe my toilet to you... haha.
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| Sui and her lunch... I had a glass of cold milk. |
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| The view seen by her, reflected those sunglasses. |
The next day, we decided to explore the island by walking along the marked trails which would lead us to the other resorts littered on the other side.
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| Jetty on the other resort front |
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| Spotted a crab on the beach... Took some skill to coax it to pose for this photo. |
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| Sui falling in love with the white sandy beach. |
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| Me standing in shallow waters. |
I braved the northern trail alone as Sui wanted to catch some more sun before the holiday was over. Personally, I wouldn't call that a trail, cos it was more like a jungle trek. And I was a little glad that Sui didn't tag along as I believe that she wouldn't like it a single bit.
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| The jetty at the northern resorts. Only our jetty looks that primitive. : ( |
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| The steps leading to the resort... the only part of the journey that is man made. |
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| Tranquil bay. No wonder its a retreat for the city weary. |
On top of these activities, we went snorkelling and kayaking (which were very cheap) and had great BBQ dinners. I had so many glasses of cold milk (when I was accompanying Sui for her meals) at the restaurant, that the server there knew me as the milk boy... On the last night, the server, had a mini party just for a handful of us - Me, Sui, himself and another friend of his. He recounted his escapades while working on the island and some humorous events that happened during his work. It was a great way for me to wrap up my holiday - complete with liquor, stories and weed.
(Author's note: Liquor, tabacco and drugs are illegal in the state of Terengganu. If convicted of being in possession of these items, a jail sentence or a hefty fine could be imposed. The server somehow summgled them back from Thailand, which is why this party is all the more interesting.)
After parting with Sui, I made my way back to Singapore... Another butt numbing 10 hour ride. Along the way, the late arrival of the coach made me think that I've missed my ride home! And it certainly did not help that I was stranded in a remote part of Malaysia with only mosquitoes for company. Luckily, I made it home, and the trip was not only fun but refreshing, not to mention, a good experience!!
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