Photolog #1: Perhentian Island

*NOTE* All images in this post are mine, and if you wish to use any, get my permission first. Thanks!

During my semester holidays in late 2006, I took a trip to the idyllic Perhentian Islands off the coast of Kelantan, Terengganu in Malaysia. After having heard of the enthralling and (relatively) unspoilt beauty of the white, sandy beaches and the clear turquoise water there, it was a place I knew I had to visit.

I decided to go on an unguided trip this time, so I did some research beforehand. I found out that there were actually two islands there, Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil ("besar" means "big" in Malay, and "kecil" means "small").
The smaller of the two is reputedly more lively than Perhentian Besar, and feeling more in the mood for a peaceful, relaxed holiday I chose to go to the bigger, less crowded island.

Soon, the day for departure came, and the night found me at the Putra Bus Terminal near PWTC. With luggage in hand, I boarded the bus bound for Kuala Besut at 10pm.

It is a pity that the Perhentian islands are located so far from the heart of Kuala Lumpur, because the bus journey there is one of the most mind-numbing experiences i've ever had.

Though the Mahligai express service was recommended to me, I found the bus seats to be rather uncomfortable, which made it quite impossible to get any sleep for the entire 8-hour journey.

At around 6am, the bus finally neared the jetty at Kuala Besut, Terengganu. Despite my fatigue after the sleepless journey, I felt my excitement mount as I caught glimpses of the endless sea between the trees and buildings as the bus sped past them.

The jetty at Kuala Besut.

The bus stopped along a narrow, two-lane road lined with shop houses. The sky was still dark, but the tourist information/greeting area was lighted, and a few small groups of tourists, mostly foreigners were already milling around there.

I disembarked and contacted Kak Shikin, my "agent" who would arrange for the speedboat to the island itself. She ran a small shop which sold souvenirs and other items targeted at tourists at the jetty terminal.

She told me that the boat would only come at 7.30am, so I had some time to kill. With my Olympus Camedia C-8080 and tripod in hand, it was time to practice my photography.

Bridge streetlights reflected.

Dawn over Kuala Besut.

I had the opportunity to witness the sunrise over Kuala Besut. Numerous small fishing boats and speedboats were docked all around the jetty. In the morning twilight, some fishermen were already up and about.


All visitors are, however, required to pay a "conservation fee" of RM5 each per entry to the "marine park". I did not know of this "fee" beforehand, so my enthusiasm was a little dampened.

The bridge, in daylight.

Finally, the "water taxi" (glorified name for a speedboat) arrived, and I was on my way.

The speedboat was a fun ride, the wind whistled past my ears and the boat bounced slightly as it cut through the waves.

The ride lasted for about half an hour, after which the boat entered the waters between Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil. Here, another "taxi" came to take passengers to the smaller island, but they were charged a further RM5 for it, apparently because the smaller island lacked a jetty.

At 8.15am, I finally set foot on Perhentian Island.

The first order of business was choosing a place to stay, so I visited the various chalets along the beach. Finally, I decided to lodge at the New Cocohut chalet, which had a nice restaurant overlooking the sea, and a reasonably priced room at RM60 a night, which had 24-hour electricity, two queen-sized double beds and air conditioning. Sadly, it did not have hot water (which the pricier options had), but I figured it didn't really matter as i'd be doing more swimming anyway.

View from the restaurant

Chalet


After settling into the room which would be my home for the next three days, I took a quick shower and made my way down to the chalet's restaurant for lunch. After the meal and a short rest later, I changed into my swimming gear and headed down to the beach for a swim.

Path to the restaurant


Corals and shells


The water was pleasantly warm near the shore, however it was rather painful to walk along the water's edge without slippers, due to the debris consisting of corals and shells lining it. The sand itself was quite fine, and felt cool to the touch when your toes sink a little deeper into it.

Before getting into the water, I went around to familiarise myself with the place. There were quite a few diving centres along that stretch of beach, besides a couple of souvenir shops, and food stalls. A few places offered Internet access, but at exorbitant rates. Having completed my initial observations of the place, I spent the rest of the day messing about in the water, then had dinner and retired for the night.

The second day was exploration and photographing day, so I made sure my camera's main battery and the spare were fully charged. I headed down to the restaurant to have breakfast in the morning. Here, I met the resident cat.

Meow

At first, I couldn't put my finger on it, but there seemed something strange about the cat. After luring it with some food so I could get a closer look, it struck me that it had unusually large paws. It was normal in every other aspect, so I surmised that the paws were evolved to adapt to walking in sand. I must have looked rather "ulu" to be excited about a cat lol, and some of the staff had bemused looks as I was following the cat around and photographing it.

A little while after finishing my breakfast, I was lounging around the restaurant when one of the staff called me excitedly. A monitor lizard had wandered out from the jungle, so it was a good opportunity to get some shots of the big lizard.

Face off

Lo, the cat was already there, eyes locked with the monitor lizard. Despite its small stature, the cat is obviously a territorial creature, hissing and spitting at the lizard, which just silently stood there in obvious disdain of the cat.

Retreat!

Eventually, after a tense moment and a short chase later, the lizard turned and shuffled back into the undergrowth.

I resumed my expedition after this. I took a closer look at the abandoned "Cozy Chalets", which sat on the rocky outcropping at one end of the beach. Quite eerie, even in the day. I did see some monkeys running around the roofs and trees nearby, so they weren't really abandoned after all.

View from the beach


Abandoned

Further along the coast, I found a rather bleak-looking sight. The shallow water was still, filled with rocks and dead coral littering its bottom, all of which was covered in light-greyish stuff.


It looked like a dead zone at first glance, but upon closer inspection, I found that even this place was teeming with life. Crabs of every shape and size hid in the nooks and crannies, while small schools of tiny white/grey fish darted among the rocks.

Tiny crab

Crab with sinister face

Some sort of anemone

Spot the fish

Eventually, my path was blocked by a huge rock outcropping that stretched out into deeper water.
I noticed little insect things running all over the rocks, which, for the lack of a better name nor knowledge of what they are, I christened them "rockroaches".

"Rock cockroach"


I decided not to risk my camera by traversing the deeper waters, so I turned back to explore the other end of the beach.

I passed another chalet which had a concrete jetty. From the looks of it, this one served the fishermen who work around that area, judging from all the fishing boats nearby.





Another small rock outcropping along the way, no 'roaches here, but lots of crabs running about those that*just* break the water's surface.

Rocks


More crabs


At the far end of this beach, an even more massive outcropping of rock stretched right out into the sea, so I decided to rest on the beach for awhile. As I sat down, I noticed a tiny, white creature skittering away at an amazing speed. It literally looked like a small patch of sand had sprouted legs!

Naturally, I followed it around until it got rather tired of running. Upon closer inspection, it was yet another crab, whose shell color masked it very well from would-be predators. It would be quite impossible to spot if it isn't moving.


I returned to the beach in front of my chalet after I had enough of chasing the crab around. Took a couple more pics along the way back, then I relaxed on one of the deck chairs there until the sun went down. Later, as I was heading back to my room, I saw another of the island's fauna eating from an opened coconut.



Beautiful water


Boat




A squirrel


Evening fell, so I headed back to the restaurant for dinner and took the opportunity to experiment with night photography too, before retiring for the night.

New Cocohut's restaurant


The next morning I took a last, leisurely walk around the place.

Afternoon came, and it was time to check out and start my journey back to Kuala Besut. I packed and deposited my room key with the chalet's owners, and boarded the speedboat. On the ride back, we passed another speedboat from Perhentian Kecil which was also fetching holiday-goers back.

Speedboat at starboard


I proceeded to buy my return ticket after arriving in Kuala Besut, and found I still had a couple of hours to kill until the bus arrived, so I passed the time by exploring the nearby town and finding targets to shoot (with my camera).

Three Cats


Row of shops near the jetty


Goats


At last, the bus came and I made my way back home. In closing, i'd say that Perhentian is a really interesting place, and I felt it was well worth the money I spent for the trip there.

My total expenses for the trip:

Bus l-way RM30 x 2
"Conservation fee" RM5
Speedboat 1-way RM20 x 2
Accomodation RM60 a night x 3
Food RM15 a day x 3

Total: RM330