Perhentian Trip '07 - The One With The Journey Back on Day 4

On the last day of my Perhentian trip, I found myself awake at 7am after a somewhat restless night due to the high humidity after last night’s rains. Since our chalets faced West, there wasn’t a good sunrise scene to watch from our verandah. The sky just kind of gradually brighten up as the hour passed from where I sat watching the start of another day. It was a bit of a bittersweet beginning of the day knowing that in a few hours, I would be leaving the island to go back to KL. With that in mind, I started to pack up my belongings after a quick shower and shave while waiting for them to call us for the last meal we would have on the island. Breakfast for us on day 4 was a simple affair of toast, sunny-side up eggs, chicken sausages and coffee. Looking back, the amount and variety of food we had during our stay in the island was quite reasonable given the amount that we paid for the stay.

(Sunrise at Abdul's Chalet Beach)

After breakfast, we still had about 3 hours before the boat from the mainland came to pick us up. My mum, sis and myself decided to walk down the beach and through the jungle track to burn off our breakfast instead of just sitting at the beach. Since we would be away from the others, I decide to take my phone with me for the first time of this walk in case they needed to call us. Phone reception was surprisingly good on the island for my 019 line but they strangely did not have any SMS coverage. I had left my phone in the room during most of the trip and this was the first time I had to use it all trip long.

We started from the Abdul’s Chalet beach and walked up the trail to the next beach. The trail was not took hard as they had installed stone steps to led us over the rocks into the bushes and over to the next beach. I did not catch the name of the next beach but I thought that it was not as nice as the one that we stayed at. The beach was made of much coarser type of sand then they had at our beach and there were a lot more little stones in the water. The chalets on that beach did look a little worse for wear but they did have a proper boat jetty where larger boats could dock and let passengers come on or off. Unlike Abdul’s Chalet, this part of the beach had more locals staying there and my mum even met one of her friends also holidaying with her family there.

(Steps up the trail and the view from the top of the trail)

After walking around the area for a bit, we went back up the bush trail up to the next beach. I was again surprised by the different features of the beach area between the beaches that basically was next to each other just separated by a wall of rock. The area that we were in was called “Teluk KK” where they had a lot of very tall trees instead of the coconut trees that we had on our beach. Instead of having chalets, they had an open camping ground where people could pitch their tents and stay in them. While almost everyone were staying in tents, the location was not without it’s amenities. They had a café, bathrooms, rain shelters and electricity for people who paid for their plot of camping ground. Judging from the crowd, this location seemed to be popular with the local younger crowd since I don’t see a lot of family types and foreigners.

(Teluk KK Beach and Camp site)

Just a short walk away from Teluk KK, we came across a secluded rocky area of the beach where we soon found out acted as a nursery for young fish. The waters was crystal clear and full of miniature versions of the fishes we saw during our snorkeling trip yesterday. I’m guessing that the rocks provided ample natural protection from bigger predators in the sea beyond the rocks so most of the baby fishes came there to find shelter. I was so excited at the find that I didn’t thing twice about wading into the water to get some photographs of them. I already had my broad shorts on so I didn’t have to change into them before walking in. It was when the water hit my thigh that I remembered that I had put my phone in the side pocket of my shorts. Of course by that time it was too late for my phone as it had died off immediately when it came in contact with the salt water. I was distraught at the possibility of losing another phone so soon after losing my previous one in Manila. I took apart the phone the best that I could and set it in the sun hoping that it would dry it off enough for me to switch it on again.

(The scene where I accidently sent my phone to it's untimely death. Can you blame me for being distracted at a place like this? )

After a dip in the water to wash away my disappointment at ruining another phone, we started on our way back to our beach. My phone was still dead at that point and I was totally worried that I would lose all of my numbers from the phone. When we reach our chalet and told them what had happened, they all told me that next time I would have to bring a cheap phone on my vacations and leave the more expensive ones behind. I have been on two trips this year and in the process, lost or ruined 2 different phones on both occasion. I’m just sore at my own recklessness as I’m usually very careful about my phones.

(My view of the beach from my front door on the last day of the trip. Simply magical!)

The boat from the mainland came to pick us up at around 12pm. Unlike the boat that we came in with, the boat back to Kuala Besut was over booked this time around. There mush have been about 20 of us crammed in one a boat that seemed to should have only 15 people at most at one time. Good thing that the trip back to the mainland was uneventful since the seas were calm and the day was clear. I took a look back at Perhentian Island as the boat pulled away from the beach with a promise to myself that I would one day return to the same spot and spend more time on the island one day.

(Looking back at Pulau Perhentian as our boat pulled away from the island paradise)

We reached Kuala Besut about ½ hour later and started loading up our cars for the trip home. Instead of going back the way we came, we decided to take the interior route through Gua Musang in Kelantan and passing the Taman Negara area in Pahang before reaching home in Selayang, Selangor. After finishing the last of the paper work that we had at the tour operator’s office, we departed from Kuala Besut at around 2pm heading northwards towards Gua Musang. We stopped for lunch at a nasi kandar shop near Jerteh taxi stand which was quite quaint as they did mamak food in the style of Kelantanese cooking which I never imagined would be possible.

The weather was still good when we crossed into the Kelantan border after lunch. Along the way, we were able to witness for ourselves the amount of forest clearing that they were doing in the area. We saw whole areas cleared of big trees that must have been hundred of years old and was quite sparse with only the smaller trees that were replanted to replace the ones they cut down. We also passed muddy rivers that my father would tell us was crystal clear just 20 years ago when he was still in the Army and was based there. It was a shame to see the tree trunks on back of the ever present lorries that we pass by during our trip.

Just as we passed Gua Musang town, the weather that was quite pleasant suddenly turned worse and started to dump buckets of water on us. The combination of heavy rains, poor visibility, heavy vehicles on the road and my father’s driving made me more than nervous with the way the journey was going. At that point I was wishing that we had taken the coastal road instead as the Gua Musang road was quite narrow and was full of huge lorries carrying enormous tree trunks. Those who have traveled with me in a car know full well my habit of pressing on the imaginary breaks on the passenger’s side whenever the car I’m in comes too close to the next car for my comfort. Suffice to say that by the time we reached the rest area somewhere in the interior of Pahang, I had developed a nasty leg cramp from stepping on my imaginary breaks the whole way through.

It was still raining all the way until we hit Karak Highway when we stopped at the Genting Sempah rest stop for some dinner. Since no one was quite in the mood to eat anything heavy, we all decided to go to McDonalds again for the meal much to the delight of my nephew and nieces. I was however regretting my decision to wear just a cut-off t-shirt with my thigh length cargo pants because I was freezing my butt off from the air condition there that they must had set on Artic setting. The experience will make me think twice before I choose form over function again. Getting back into the car after dinner didn’t help me get warm either because it was still raining when we made our way after dinner to the short journey from Karak to Selayang. We finally reached home safely at about 11pm that night after spending close to 7 hours on the road.

Looking back, my Perhentian trip was a dream come through. I had always wanted to see those islands that I have heard about all this time for myself and I finally did get to do it with my family. The package tour was better than I expected considering the low price that we had to pay per person. Our accommodation was more than I expected and I highly recommend Abdul’s Chalets to anyone who is planning to stay at Perhentians. Beautiful beaches, convenient café and shops and fairly soon a new boat jetty on the premises makes it the perfect spot to rest and relax. I’m already looking forward to going back there when I get the chance and probably plan to spend more days on the island than I did on this trip.

(Free promo for Abdul's Chalet for anyone going to Perhentians. I highly recommend them)

Preferably with someone that I can share all the new discoveries and the special moments with.

Perhentian Trip '07 - The One With The Near Death Experience on Day 3

I actually slept quite soundly despite the warm night and woke up on the 3rd day of my vacation fully refreshed and ready for the day’s adventure. Had a quick shower and got ready for breakfast which was banana pancakes, toast, fruits and coffee. Food was actually fairly serviceable for the amount that we paid for the stay so I was happy with it. After we were through with breakfast, we rested up a bit and got ready for our snorkeling trip which was planned for at 9:30am that morning.

When our snorkeling tour guide’s boat came ashore, we found out that he was not told that we would not have any snorkeling equipment with us. Fortunately for us, the resort had enough snorkel gear for all of 11 of us so we got the masks and snorkel from them. Of course they did not charge us for them as it was already included in our total package. We did need life vests to wear which the resort didn’t have enough off so our first stop of our snorkeling trip was the jetty at Perhentian Kecil for more life vests from another tour operator there.

(Jetty at Perhentian Kecil)

After getting all the life vests that we needed, we traveled north along the shores of Perhentian Besar to our first snorkeling spot. On the way there, we passed many secluded beaches that seems only reachable by boat. I tried to make a note of their locations in my mind in case that I decided to go wild a get in a kayak trip up to these beaches later in the trip. These beaches seems to be perfect spots to get away alone or with someone special for some private time.

(Secluded beach reachable only by boat)

We reached our first snorkeling point about 15 minutes into the journey and got suited up to go into the water. Before we did, the tour guide gave use some safety tips and rules to follow while we were snorkeling in the area. The one tip that stood out most for me was when he said to remain calm if we saw anything unexpected under the water. When we asked what he meant by “unexpected”, he just smiled and said “anything that moves down there which is larger than yourself”. Even though he didn’t say it, I knew for certain that he meant sharks.

I don’t swim … at all. I am deathly afraid of situations where I am in water that is deeper than I can stand in. Most of all, I am terrified of encountering a shark in any body of water. I fully blame getting scared shitless after watching “Jaws” as a kid for my water phobia. There was no way I would not be psychologically scarred my whole life having watched that movie as well as the equally terrifying “Piranha” movies. I remembered there was a time back then when I would not even go near any bodies of water for fear of sharks and piranhas. I have only recently been able to overcome that fear and get myself into the sea with a life vest on. Hearing that there could be sharks in the water literally drained the blood out of my face.

(1st snorkeling site and the view of the sea bed from the boat using normal camera)

Having come that far, it would be a huge shame if I were not to go into the water. Since I don’t see any sharks fin cutting the waves in the distance, I guessed that it could be safe to snorkel around for a bit. I was the last of us who got off the boat having finally found the guts to overcome my shark phobia. Of course in the time that I was debating whether to go into the water, I had not noticed how the others got into the water. I did not see any ladders to climb out of the boat so I assume that everyone just flipped overboard into the sea. Since I made it a life rule to never jump headfirst into anything, I figured that I could just drop into the water feet first from the side of the boat.

Really bad idea !!! The moment the water came over my head, I quickly realized that I was plunging into at least 30 feet of water. I’ve always eased myself from the shore into deeper waters in my previous snorkeling trips so I was not expecting to sink so low so fast when I entered the water. I could see the rest of the group floating above me when I experienced a major panic attack. I honestly thought that I would sink down to the bottom even when I was wearing my life vest. I literally had my life flashed in front of my eyes and felt my heart was about to burst out of my chest. Fortunately for me, I was able to get over the initial shock long enough to stay relatively calm and let the life vest do its work for me. I finally came back up to snorkel depth but not before getting a lungful of sea water. I had to hold on to the boat for a bit as I sputter out the sea water and tried to calm down after those frightening moments. In hindsight, those long moments were the most exhilarating moments that I have experienced in a very long time.

(Friendly fishes bribed with bread for a surface photo-op)

Once I got everything under control again, I was able to got back under and enjoy my surrounding. Since we were in about 30 feet of water, the sea bottom looked quite far down. We could see the bottom quite clearly as the waters were crystal clear and sunlight filtered through all the way down. The corals here were more colorful that the ones that I saw the day before but still were not as impressive as the ones that I saw in Sabah. We brought bread to feed the fishes so it was quite easy to get them to come near us as we snorkel. There were times that I was completely surrounded by fishes that I swear I could feel them nibble on my skin which kind of freaked me out a bit. I took some pictures of them and the corals below using the underwater disposable camera that we brought with us with hopes that they would turn out OK since it was the first time I have ever used this type of camera (Ed note: I have yet to see the pictures to date). And yeah … we did actually find Nemo among the corals so I could tick that off my trip to do list that day.

(Nemo ! Found him)

After about 45 minutes snorkeling in the area, we went back to the boat to go to the next spot. On the way there, we went past another boat operator who signaled to our tour guide that there were turtles in the area. It was a really lucky day for us as it was fairly rare to see them that early in the day. We cruised around the area slowly hoping to spot them when the tour guide pointed out a dark shape swimming just a few meters in front of us. It was too deep to really see what it was but from the shape I could imagine that it was a fairly large size turtle. They came to that particular area to feed on the jellyfish that were abundant there. Since most of use could not swim well enough, we could not go into the water with our life vest on to go down to where the turtle was. The tour guide on the other hand was a expert swimmer who took our camera to see if he could take a photo of it before it swam away. I don’t think he managed to as the turtle moved on shortly after he went into the water but I did get to see it’s head when it came up for air just 5 feet from our boat moments later.

After the close encounter with the turtle, we proceeded to the next spot which as called Shark Point for obvious reasons. The area was frequently visited by black tipped reef sharks and people go there to see them up close. While the tour guide told use that these sharks were harmless as long as we don’t provoke them, there was no way in hell I would be going in the water. I’m fairly convinced that on top of blood, sharks could also smell fear and I would be provoking them with mine just being in the water. As some of my group went in, I decided to wait it out on the boat with the rest of us who thought going into the water with sharks is just crazy as I did. While we waited for the rest, the sea got a bit more rougher that when we started on the trip and I started to feel a bit queasy. Thankfully, it was just a momentary situation and by the time we went on to the next spot I was feeling OK again.

(Rocks off Shark Point. The thought of Jaws in the water was enough to keep me on the boat)

Unlike the first place, there were already few boats in the area and the place was filled with other people on their snorkeling trips like we were. I guess it was a quite popular place because of the particularly beautiful coral formations you see under the water at this spot. I finally found a place in Perhentian where the corals rivaled those I saw in Sabah. The fishes here were also much larger here that they were in the first spot we went to. I’m absolutely rubbish at identifying the types of fish that I saw but I’m fairly certain that they were parrot fish and whatever species that Nemo belonged to. I was able to practically snorkeling in the middle of a school of fish at times even with the number of people already in the water with us. I wished that I had not used up most of my underwater camera shot in the previous locations as this last spot gave even better photo ops to get pics of fish underwater.

Out last stop was a secluded beach where there was a natural fresh water spring that we could drink and bathe from. The natural spring water was amazingly sweet tasting and icy cold even when it was already high noon when we reached the area. After washing the salt water off our tired but greatly satisfied bodies, we rested for a bit before getting back into the boat to go back to the resort. Aside the initial shock of literally getting over my head, the snorkeling trip was a success and I was happy with it. I just wished that I was a better swimmer so I could snorkel down nearer to the corals at the sea bed where there were more to see instead of just waiting for the fishes to swim closer to you. Still the excitement of swimming in the middle of a school of fishes was really exciting and would not be forgotten anytime soon.

(Beach where the freshwater spring was)

When we reached the resort, we rested awhile before lunch which chicken curry, assam pedas fish, vegetables and white rice. Feeling absolutely knackered after the snorkeling trip, we all decided to take a nap after lunch and we only woke up at 4pm to go mess around on the beach a bit. I had planned to try my hand at kayaking and go to the secluded beach that I saw earlier in the day but the waves looked a bit rougher that afternoon than it was yesterday. Sure enough, there were ominous dark clouds that rolled into sight as the afternoon progressed. So instead of kayaking, I decided to rent a life vest and just float on my back looking up into the sky. It was then I saw a huge sea eagle circling around the area. I must have spent almost 2 hours just floating on my back watching that eagle traced it’s hypnotic circles around my head all the time hoping that it doesn’t mistake me as a floating carcass and decide to dive bomb for a bite.

(Beach side cafe and the general store where I rent my life vest daily beside it)

As day light began to fade, the clouds seemed darker in the horizon and sure enough it started to rain soon after. It was quite exciting having a front seat to watch nature’s very own light and sound show from the balcony of our chalet. We were suppose to have our complementary barbeque dinner that night and I wondered if we would still since it was raining. Turned out the rains were not that long and it stopped as quickly as it came. We proceeded down to the café where our barbeque dinner was already cooked and waiting for us. We had grilled squid, fish and chicken with rice and friend noodles for the night’s meal. My mum had tried to get a cake as well for tonight as my nephew was celebrating his birthday that night but it was too short notice for the café staff. Instead of cake, they brought out a watermelon cut in the shape of a round cake with slices of oranges as the frosting on the cake and pineapple cubes as candle. It was actually quite sweet of them to do it for us.

(Dark skies over Perhentian Besar)

It rained a bit again just as we were finishing our dinner so we hung around the café for some teh tarik and watch some TV on the small TV set that they had there. When the rains died down, we all went back to the chalet and just sit around to listen the loud crashing waves that came quite close to the edge of the beach where our chalet was. It was not until sometime around 9:30pm that I turned in for the night. It had been an exciting and tiring day that I would not soon forget.

Perhentian Trip '07 - The One With What Happened on the 2nd Day

Turning in early the night before meant that we all woke up at 6am on the second day. We were scheduled to take the first boat out to Pulau Perhentian at 9:30am so we had quite some time to get ready. Once everyone was ready, we decided to go out to see what was available for breakfast in Kuala Besut. Unsurprisingly in this one street town, there was hardly anything opened at that early in the day. We ended up having breakfast at the hotel’s café which was located just a few meters from the hotel’s entrance after walking almost the whole length of the town.

(Cafe at the hotel and scene opposite the hotel)

After a simple breakfast of nasi lemak and coffee, we went back to our rooms to pick up our bags and check out of the hotel. Once everything was settled at the hotel, we walked down a few meters to the Kuala Besut Connection Tour office. Located just a stone’s throw away from the Kuala Besut bus stop, they organize trips not only to Pulau Perhentian but also to Pulau Redang, Cameron Highlands and Taman Negara. After signing in and parking our cars at their secure parking space aka in front of the owner’s house, we picked up our bags and walked down the street to the boat jetty. Before we boarded the fast boat to Pulau Perhentian, we had to pay the RM 5 per person entry fee to the marine park where Pulau Perhentian was located in.

(Kuala Besut Connection Tour office and the Kuala Besut bus stop)

I didn’t really know what to expect with the boat ride. I have read accounts from some people that the ride could be both wet and wild. I even packed all my stuff in plastic bags before putting them into my bags just in case it got too wet. It turned out that my preparations and the Dramamine tab that I swallowed before the ride was all for nothing. The trip was not as bad as I thought it would be. The seas was calm and the ride was actually an enjoyable prelude to the vacation. With the exception of 3 other passengers who were headed for another resort on the island, we had the boat all to ourselves coming in. The trip took about ½ hour from Kuala Besut across the South China Sea before we saw the emerald green island of Perhentian Kecil growing bigger in our horizon.

(Scenes from the trip out to the islands)

We approached Pulau Perhentian from the west shore and saw the west beaches of Perhentian Kecil first. I could not see any resorts or chalets on this side of the island which made me think of the number of unspoilt beaches that they must have there. As we approached the narrow stretch of sea that separated the Kecil and Besar island, the boat veered westward towards the Senja beach resort to drop off our boat ride companions who had booked their accommodation there. Since we came in during low tide, the resorts had to send small boats out to pick up visitors coming in on the boat from the mainland. It was quite fortunate that the seas were calm that day or it would surely be a challenge to negotiate the boat transfer when one does not have their sea legs set up yet.

After saying good bye and wishing them a great vacation, we proceeded to Abdul’s Chalet where we had made reservation for 3 beach front chalet. As we made it closer to the shore, I was amazed by the turquoise green waters that surrounded Perhentian Besar. I have only seen sea as green as this in pictures and would never thought that I would see it myself. The sea was so clear that you could almost see all away to the bottom even when it was surely deeper than I could imagine. A short ride later, we reached the beach where Abdul’s Chalet was located. As before, the owners came up to the boat with their own boats to take us in the last few meters to the beach. Since there were 11 of us and a whole boatload of bags, we had to make 2 trips on the small boat before we had everything and everyone on Abdul’s Chalet, Perhentian Besar.

(Turquoise waters as we approach Abdul's Chalet beach)

Abdul’s Chalet was exactly as I pictured it. A row of individual chalets each with their own verandah lined the beach amongst the tall coconut trees that acted as natural umbrellas that provided shade from the sun. Another row of chalets were located behind the first row which they called the garden facing chalets but I never even checked them out as it would be a waste to be there and not have a view of the sea as you open the chalet’s door. It turned out that we came in early that day and the current occupant of the units that we booked have not checked out yet since check out time was at 12pm. In fact, they were still having a last dip in the sea when we came ashore at about 10am. We checked in at the chalet’s reception area and left our bags there while we went down to the beach to bask in the sun.

(Beach facing chalets and the cafe at Abdul's Chalets)

(Scenes from Abdul's Chalet beach)

(Abdul's Chalet reception area and cafe)

The beach was as picturesque as I could hope for and much more. Powdery white sand bordered the greenish sea that was so clear that it was as if it was a your own private swimming pool. My nephew and niece quickly bugged us to help them change into their swimsuits so they can jump straight into the warm waters. Of course us older people had to wait for our rooms before we could change into our suits so I was left just rolling up my shorts before wading into the water to chaperone them. I have to admit at that particular time I was so envious of their exuberance and innocence while watching them frolic without a care in such a beautiful piece of beach.

We finally got to get settled into our chalets at around noon time and it was a pleasant surprise. Each room had 2 double beds, fans, a cupboard and an ensuite bathroom. The bathroom, which was actually bigger than my bathroom at home, had a shower, proper sitting toilet and a sink. Electricity in each chalet was only available between 7pm to 9am but it was not an inconvenience at all since no one in their right mind would want to stay indoors other than those hours. With the sunny skies, beautiful beach and warm waters, Pulau Perhentian was all I imagine it would be. After squaring off all our gear, we went out to the beach to sit under the shade of the conveniently located coconut tree to wait for them to call us for lunch. We were also lucky to get the only tree with a string hammock attached to relax in right in front of our doors.

(Our chalet at Abdul's Chalet)

Lunch was a simple affair of rice with chicken curry, stir fry vegetable and chili squid so fresh that I would not be surprised if it just came out of the water earlier that day. I took a nap after lunch to wait out the hot sun since us locals were not crazy enough to bake under the hot sun like the other foreigners on the beach. Around 3pm I woke up and it was cool enough for me finally to get into the water. After change into my broad shorts, I walked down past the reception area to the beach shop next to the chalet's sea side cafe to rent a few snorkel, mask and swim vest sets for us at RM 10 per set per day. Since I swim as well as a rock in the ocean, the swim vest was a required item before I would even go into the sea. After enjoying myself thoroughly the last time I went snorkeling in Sabah, I’ve already learned to ignore how dorky and goofy I must look like being the only one who had to have a life vest to swim in the sea.

While the waters was crystal clear, the corals near the beach was not as nice as the ones that I saw in Manukan Island off the coast of Sabah. I had to actually swim out quite far out before I could see any fish and somewhat interesting looking corals. Of course swimming that far out left me feeling quite anxious as I was the only one that far out from the beach. Hoping that the snorkeling trip that we had planned the following day would be much better, I decided to just flip on my back and just float on the warm waters on that sunny afternoon. As I floated peacefully while keeping an eye out to make sure that I didn’t floated away too far from the beach, I thought about the day and how I wished I could share that moment with a few special friends I wished was there with me.

We stayed in the water until about 6pm before we had enough waves and sun for the first day. Rested for a bit on the beach before going to get ready for dinner. I was hoping to see a picture perfect sunset to cap of the perfect day but unfortunately Abdul’s Chalet beach faced Perhentian Kecil and the sunset was hidden from view behind the island. A cloudy sky with what seems to be rain falling on the distant mainland did not help to frame a proper sunset. With the increasingly humid night, we went to our dinner of white rice with vegetables, stir-fry squid and sweet-sour fish. After dinner, we sat around the table to talk about the day and watch the flashes of lightning that occasionally lit up the night sky.

(Sunset at Abdul's Chalet, Pulau Perhentian)

Feeling tired after the long and exciting day, we turned in from the night at about 10 pm. Even with the fans they provided in the room, the humid night caused me to sweat buckets so much so I had to get up in the middle of the night to have a shower to cool down. Regardless of that, the fact that I had the sounds of the sea to lull me back to bed was worth sleeping through the muggy night.

Perhentian Trip '07 - The One With the 1st day Write-up

My Perhentian trip started early on Saturday morning. Since we decide to drive up to Kuala Besut, we had to leave my parents house at Selayang around 6:30 am instead of later that evening by bus as originally planned. With 11 (9 adults and 2 children) of us going, we took 2 cars on the journey which started first with breakfast at the McDonalds near the Gombak Karak Highway exit. Although I’ll be the first to admit that I am partial to the Golden Arches but the thought of having it for breakfast was not really something that I look forward to. Unfortunately, I was quickly outvoted by the others so it was a McChicken Porridge and coffee breakfast for me.

(Breakfast at McDonalds)

Once breakfast was dispensed with, we started the 400 km plus trip via Karak Highway then eastward on the East Coast Highway towards Kuantan, Pahang before veering off northward though the excellent Terengganu roadways. The journey up to Terengganu was quite picturesque but as luck had it, I left the digital camera in the other car. Driving through Terengganu, I am always impressed by the quality of the roads there compared to other places. Given that Terengganu was the heart of Malaysian petroleum industry, it was clear where all of those oil royalties went to. Having such good roads made the journey smoother and more enjoyable.

(Scenes on the way to Dungun)

We decided to stop by the town of Dungun to stretch our legs and have a bit of lunch. By that time we had been driving for about 5 hours straight. We first headed to a local fishing jetty as my father was scouting for some locations in the area for his next production. It turned out that the original location that he wanted was already being developed and was now unsuitable for what he had in mind. After the short break, we proceeded to find somewhere to have lunch and decided to eat at a Nasi Ayam place some where near Dungun town. The food was nothing to rave about but it hit the spot especially when everyone was already hungry by that time.

(Some shot from the Dungun fishing jetty)

After Dungun, we continued our trip northward to Kuala Terengganu where we wanted to stop for a bit of shopping. This shopping trip was the main reason why we had to change our travel plans from the original plan of taking an overnight express bus to Kuala Besut. We reached Kuala Terengganu at about 2:30pm and proceeded straight to Pasar Payang market. To get to the market, we had to drive through Kuala Terengganu’s Chinatown quarter. I have to admit that I was totally surprised to see a Chinatown in Kuala Terengganu as I always thought that the Chinese population in the East Coast were more integrated into the local Malay population. It was a pleasant surprise to see pre-war Chinese style buildings that reminded me of the streets of Penang and Jonker St in Melaka. Unfortunately for me, the street was a narrow one way street and there was no where for us to park and take a walk through the area.

Pasar Payang market was a collection of shops selling all sort of local handicraft and knick knacks. The market seemed to be sectioned according to the product being sold. We went through the sections selling T-shirts, silverware, wood carving and much, much more. The main reason I was there was to look for batik and songket cloth which they had a whole section of. Since everyone else in the section is selling the same thing, it was a bit overwhelming to decide which shop to go to. After walking around for about ½ hour, we finally decided on one of the shops. I ended up buying 2 pieces of songket, 2 pieces of kain pelikat, a T-shirt, 2 ladies tudung and a small collection of key chains. With the exception of the songket, I bought everything else as gifts for my friends and co-workers but I really felt it was good value for money. The prices for songket there was at least half of what they sell for in KL so I would highly recommend the place for those looking for it.

After spending almost 2 hours at Pasar Payang market, we moved on our way towards Kuala Besut where we planned to stay overnight in. We had initially thought that we would be able to take a scenic route to Kuala Besut by following the coastal road but we soon discovered that we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up at dead end road. After turning ourselves around and finally found the right road to take, we drove on uneventfully until we reached Kuala Besut at 6:30pm. First thing that we had to do there was to check in at the Kuala Besut Connection tour office which was located near the jetty to Pulau Perhentian. Once the remaining balance for the vacation package was paid off at the tour office, we checked in the nearby Samudera Hotel where we already booked 2 rooms to overnight in before leaving for the Perhentians on the following morning.

(Our room at Samudera Hotel)

Once we had time to settle down and wash the travel grime off ourselves, we adjourned to the nearby food stall for dinner. We had fresh grilled fish, deep fried squid, stir-fry vegetables with rice for the 11 of us. While the fish was indeed quite fresh, the meal was not that memorable for the RM 150 that we had to pay at the end of the meal. For that kind of price, I would have expected much more than what we had that night. After dinner, we decided to walk the meal off in the now dark and deserted Kuala Besut town which was the perfect epitome of a one-street town. Having lived in KL all my life, I’ve forgotten that places like this existed where everything shuts down by 9pm and there is nothing else to do other than going to bed early. Since we had an early start the following morning, that was exactly what we decided to do that night.

(The food stall where we had the RM 150 dinner!)

(Scenes from the deserted Kuala Besut town)

(Our hotel in Kuala Besut which was by the jetty to Pulau Perhentian)