1 month on Pulau Perhentian

Malaysia – September 2022

As you‘ve read before, I spent September 2022 in the small tropical paradise called the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia. While working at a lovely bistro in exchange for accommodation and meals, I had plenty of free time to explore the two islands Pulau Perhentian consists of. As I was staying on Kecil – so the small island – this is the one I‘ve seen more of. There are no roads on either island, just small jungle walking paths connecting places of interest and of course, water taxis. There is one fishing village on Kecil, where most of the Malaysian people working on the islands live. The main walking street is lined with several mini markets and restaurants, as well as a basic clinic and a few guest houses. It‘s a Muslim community, so there is a big, very pretty mosque overlooking the channel between the two islands in the village too. But let‘s get to the part anyone is looking for when planning a visit to an island: the beaches.

The smaller of the two islands has a negative connotation as a backpacker‘s party place. While I would agree that this is the vibe I got from Kecil‘s biggest beach, suitably called „Long Beach“, it‘s definitely not the case for the rest of the island. Especially in the southwestern part where my homestay is located, there are only a few smaller resorts, made up of wooden chalets and separated from each other by lush jungle. This is also where 2 of my favourite beaches are located, which I already mentioned in a previous article: Mira Beach and an unnamed beach close to Petani Beach. As they are only a walk of 10 resp. 30 minutes along the jungle path from Crocodile Rock Villas away, this is where I spend most of my free afternoons. And when I want to really treat myself, I venture to Long Beach for lunch at Bubu Villa.

On my days off, I head a few minutes down the path to Comel Chalet‘s in-house dive center. I have a great first experience during the Discover Scuba Diving lesson. Breathing underwater isn‘t as scary as I thought it would be. And seeing the cute clown fish playing hide and seek in their anemones at Romantic Beach is enough for me to immediately sign up for the PADI Open Water Diver certification. The next week, my instructor Nas and I head to D‘Lagoon where we practice removing the BCD and swimming underwater without a mask (as someone who wears contacts, that‘s not a thing I usually do). For my third dive, I join 2 fun divers who want to explore the wreck at San Choi. There are lots of schools of fish, and we see a shark and a huuge stingray. It‘s here that I learn the importance of releasing ALL the air from the BCD to achieve negative buoyancy and defogging your mask. My last certification dive is the same day in the afternoon. Together with a German couple and a bunch of guys working at Comel, we head to Shark Point. I learn how to navigate underwater and the rest of the time admire the gorgeous reef.

When I‘m not diving, I explore the lush jungle which covers both islands. I hike all the way up to the windmill on Pulau Kecil. Or I take a water taxi from Coral Bay to paradise-like Adam and Eve beach. I have it all to myself and enjoy the peace and quiet until I feel my stomach rumbling. Time to hike across the small hill to D‘Lagoon. Apart from the stunning reef (which can also be explored by snorkelling), there is a small resort with a good restaurant, a crazy monkey, and 2 beautiful cats. In the late afternoon, I let the owner know that I want to go back to Long Beach by boat, whenever there are other people heading there. The minimum price for the water taxi is for 2 people. So if you‘re alone and not in a rush, it‘s better to wait a bit in order to save some money. I sit at the beach for around 30 minutes before a couple arrives who‘s going in the same direction. From Long Beach, I walk the 40 minutes back to Crocodile Rock and arrive just before nightfall, which is when I usually go to bed.

While there is a party scene at Long Beach with something happening every night, I only go there once on Malaysia day. As there are no boats at night, due to the lack of light, I have to complete the walk through the dark jungle twice. Equipped with my headlight, I follow my host family‘s son to his preferred bars. I immediately order a Tequila Sunrise to cope with the mass of people sitting at the beach, smoking shisha, while watching the intense fire show. I don‘t wait for the end of the show before heading over to the resort at the very end of the beach, where it seems to be a little quieter. I finally sit down on one of Bubu Villa‘s beach chairs and admire the night sky. The only thing stopping me from returning to my quiet jungle hut is the 40-minute walk. So I stay on the beach a little longer and eventually meet some lovely expats who live in KL and are here for the long weekend. Slightly intoxicated, I walk back through the jungle at 4 am and don‘t even flinch when a big Monitor Lizard jumps out of the bushes in front of me.

Of course, I also venture to the big island Pulau Besar. After asking for Erica‘s advice on what to do there, I hitch a ride on the morning snorkelling boat from Comel to Teluk Keke. After getting off the boat, I decide to explore the area behind the small bend and find the best underwater world on the island for snorkelers. There are a few snorkeling boats stopping at Fish Point, but the reef in the middle of the bay and the beach are free of people. When I‘m done with swimming, I have 2 options to continue my journey. The first time I decide to walk north along the beaches on the west side from where you can see the fishing village of Pulau Kecil. After some snorkelling and a lunch stop at The Barat, I reach the Perhentian Island Resort in the afternoon. I relax on the beach and do some more snorkelling. This is where I see my first sea turtle grazing on the ocean floor, only going up to the surface to catch a breath.

For my last shore adventure on the islands, I decide to walk from Teluk Keke through the jungle over to Flora Bay, thinking I might be able to swim to Shark Point. Spoiler: it‘s too far. So I have lunch at the resort instead and after walk another 30-mosquito-ridden-minutes across the jungle hill to Perhentian Island Resort. This time I miss the turtle, but I see 2 stingrays relaxing very close to shore. From PIR beach it‘s only a short boat ride to Long Beach, which I would recommend taking immediately if you see a storm coming up. The second time, I run into the same boatman who took me to Adam and Eve beach at the pier. He‘s waiting for 2 customers who are going back to their resort at Coral Bay, and so I decide to treat myself to a longer ride directly to Comel. As it’s still 20 minutes until the pick-up time for the two other girls, we anchor close to another boat in the bay. After talking to the other captain, the young boatman tells me that there is a swimming competition coming up the next day. People from all over the country come to circumnavigate the big island. Unfortunately, I will miss it, as I will be going on a double dive that morning.

My last dives on the island are my first „real“ dives. As it‘s October now, a lot of places are already closed for the end of the season. Ombak at Coral Bay is the closest one still open, so I text them on WhatsApp to enquire about upcoming dives. When they tell me that they have a few people who are interested in a double dive at a site called „Temple of the Sea“, I immediately accept their offer of 90 Ringgits for both dives. I show up the next morning, show my brand-new licence and complete all the paperwork. I meet the buddies – a German couple and a Spanish guy – and all of us gather our equipment for the morning. After a quick briefing for the first dive, we head to the boat, which takes us out to the small group of islands around Pulau Serenggeh. As soon as everyone is wearing their BCD, fins, and mask, we start to back-roll into the sea and descend along the pinnacle to a depth of 26 meters.

The 40 minutes we spend exploring the reefs, watching schools of triggerfish, moray eels, and single blue spotted sting rays go by way too fast. We even see a turtle grazing next to some yellow fish, not impressed by our presence at all. Once she has enough, she elegantly ascends and swims to the surface, out of our view. We stay a little longer and when the German buddy reaches the limits of our oxygen mark, end this dive. Back on the boat, everyone is hyped and the 20-minute no-stop break before the second dive passes painfully slowly – even with a nice boat ride to the second site. But eventually, the divemaster starts with the second briefing, and we get ready for another 40 minutes underwater. This time the corals are not nearly as spectacular as the ones on the pinnacle. But we get to see clownfish and some bamboo sharks which hide in a cave.

On the day of my departure, I go for a sunrise swim at Keranji Beach, where I say farewell to the resort’s owner. After a nice late breakfast with the Nepali guy working at Crocodile Rock, I pick up my backpack, and we head to Comel where my last water taxi ride, for now, awaits me. Sad to be leaving, but looking forward to coming back soon, I board the boat to the mainland. Many thoughts and emotions go through my mind as the next travel chapter begins. The one positive thing that makes leaving easier is the fast approach of the monsoon season on the northeastern coast of Malaysia. Being locked into the bamboo hut for days with raging rain and wind outside doesn’t seem very appealing to me.