Perhentian Islands, Redang Island and back to KL...

Hey hey there,

Well we made it to Kuala Besut on the bus (not very comfortable, but we survived), and managed to pick up the speedboat to the Perhentian Islands. We went to the bigger island first, but as accommodation was all booked up with the Malaysian school holidays - they have a kind of 'spring break' or our 'summer break' here on the islands - we went to the smaller island by taxi. Managed to find some very basic accommodation but about half the price and nicer than the next more expensive hotel. So we were happy, especially when the dive shop let us use their showers...

It was soooo hot on the beach. Almost unbearable even under the umbrella we hired out. Jumped into the clean water occasionally, but really suffered in the heat. So decided to go diving with Turtle Bay dive company the following day. They were absolutely brilliant - great banter, friendly service, really kind and very professional. What more could we want?! We went diving around the Pinnacle off the Perhentian Islands first of all, which is basically a huge pointy rock that sticks out of the water. The base is quite wide, and loads of fish and coral live there, including a 3 legged turtle nicknamed 'Tripod'... a huge mass of fish, was something really special, and reminded me of a bigger version of Julian Rocks in Australia. Saw loads of boxfish, pufferfish and porcupine fish, which made my day. They are my favourite fishes of all, and absolutely love them. They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Second dive was on the Sugar wreck, which went down 10 years ago and is about 88m long. It took 2 days to sink, and fortunately no one was killed. It has grown lots of coral already, and we saw 3 baby coral cat sharks asleep under a blanket there. Had great fun swimming around the mast, and in and around the wreck. There is an air pocket made by divers' bubbles during the season, so we could stick our head into it and talk to each other (although not breathe the air in, as the air itself isn't very safe). But a really surreal experience! Was quite difficult navigating around the wreck when there were so many sea urchins with their long spikes on the floor, and lots of barnacles and sharp shells stuck to the ropes and the wreck... but was brilliant fun.

So much so, that we decided to go diving on Redang Island, as it's meant to be the best dive site in Malaysia, and better than the majority of Thailand. One hour away by speedboat, Redang Island is where the rich Malaysians come for weekends away from KL, with the white sands, clear seas, beautiful snorkelling and diving, and the resort hotels monopolise the island, charging exorbitant fees. There is a campaign to do the same for the Perhentian Islands, so we were very glad to get there before the backpacker scene becomes priced out, and not many people can enjoy the natural beauties Malaysia has to offer.

Anyway, we went diving and both times it was brilliant. Again, the coral was different to other places - very flat against the sea floor, but then huge rocks towered over us, creating chasms we could swim through. Sometimes the current was awfully strong, so we had to turn back, but the volume of fish was marvellous - as soon as we jumped into the water and descended, we were greeted by many many schools of fish. We also saw a couple of disgustingly ugly (and scary) moral eels - (look up on youtube about the moray eel that bites off a diver's thumb).... but lots of beautiful blue spotted fantail rays - so graceful. And managed to see a puffer fish, so I was very excited. Hired out the dive company's camera for this day, and you can see the photographs on picasa. Loved having a camera down there... someday I'll have my own!

So the Perhentian Islands were very small and remote, and had glorious beaches and tropical forests. We stayed on Longbeach, which had a few shops, reasonable places to eat, a couple of dive companies, and our accommodation. So everything within about 100m - brilliant to have things so nearby! We loved our time there, and enjoyed the balance between falling asleep on the beach, and having something structured to do like diving. The weather was beautiful, the food was good (we managed to get some western style food for a reasonable amount of money, which was greatly appreciated after our time in Chinatown)...

So took the boat back yesterday morning, and had to change speedboats half way through as our boat had a 'problem' and we needed to get the bus very quickly... 9 hours later we were back in KL, and settled down to relax for the evening. Got up horribly early this morning (6.30am), to go up the skybridge in the Petronas Twin Towers (it's the same towers they filmed in 'Entrapment') before coming back to the hostel for some food...

So maybe going to the market this afternoon, but having a few days in KL chilling out. I have to fly home to the UK on Thursday (will have an 8 hour stopover in Terminal 5 on Friday if anyone is desperately bored!) arriving in Germany on Friday, so just seeing a few last sights.

Anyway, hope all is well in the UK,
Loads of love,
Alice xxx