Learning to dive in the Perhentians

The journey down to Sungai Kolok at the Malaysian border went without a hassle. It just took a bloody long time. On the second mini-bus I'd had to take I got chatting to 3 guys from Leeds who were also on their way to the Perhentians. When we got to Sugai Kolok it was pitch black outside. Perhaps expecting some sort of assistance in crossing the border, we were a little surprised when the minibus stopped in a deserted carpark and told us to just walk in the direction of the lights he was pointing at. We did as we were told, and eventually came to a deserted border crossing point. As we walked across the bridge that marked the border, we could hear the wailings coming from evening prayers at the Mosques in Malaysia. I've found that Islam is really really big here.

We shared a taxi into Kota Baharu, from where we'd be able to get a taxi to the port in the morning. Used a map in my Lonely Planet, and actually found what I was looking for. Got a ticket from the Guesthouse for the speedboat to the Perhentian Islands for the morning. This also included the price of the taxi to the port at 8 the next morning. Somehow I slept through my alarm (though to be fair it is just my ipod's alarm turned up to maximum), and was woken by banging on my door at 8 telling me my taxi was waiting. Everything was shoved into the backpack and I dived into the cab offering my sincere apologies to my travel companions not only for my lateness, but for my not having time to shower. The speedboat to the Island was amazing. The guy just floored it.

My 'chalet' on Perhentian Kecil

The Perhentians are a pair of Islands about 8 miles off the north-east coast of Malaysia, and like Phi Phi, one is known as 'big' island, the other 'small'. I stayed on small island (Kecil), on Long Beach, which had a lower standard of accomodation, but was cheaper and had a better nightlife. My 'chalet' here was even more basic than the one I'd had on Railay. And it was rotting beneath me. There was one shared bathroom block (shared with all the other chalets and the local dive school) - 2 toilets and 2 showers. No sinks, no mirrors.

View from my chalet in Perhentian Kecil

The showers were hoses with a tap on, and obviously only had cold water. But apart from that, the island was amazing. Really beautiful, and despite what I'd heard, had a decent nightlife. Alcohol was freely available, despite being told that it wouldn't be due to it being a Muslim country. There was a really cool bar actually on the beach where everyone would end up, as it would serve until the last person left. The barman was a legend, and had a really eclectic taste in music - his favourite band was Deep Purple. There were also nightly BBQs on the beach, and they used a special maranade which was delicious. The Barracuda was my favourite.

My fellow learners and me

I decided soon after arriving on the Island that I'd finally take a scuba diving course, which would then allow me to dive all over the world up to 18 metres deep. During the course I got to see lots of Clown Fish, Trigger Fish, Sting Rays (who are the new Great White apparently) and a school of massive, 1 metre long parrot fish. The course eventually took 5 days, as there was one guy (Khurum) on our course that really struggled. He's one of the most accident-prone guys I've ever met, and it looks like I'll be heading into the jungle with him at Taman Negara. This is a good idea as it'll then mean that if anyone is going to get bitten, stung or eaten, it'll be him. I'll just have to make sure my first aid kit is to hand.

Learning to dive in the Perhentians

Kota Baharu, Malaysia