At the mention of activities like snorkelling, diving, crystal clear sea waters and white sandy beaches, there are only but a few places that would come to mind. And Pulau Perhentian is no stranger. With her own clean private sandy beach and 106 tastefully equipped rooms on 25 acres of seafront land, Perhentian Island Resort is one of the biggest and most established beach resort here in Pulau Perhentian.
OK, Pulau Perhentian...here I come! As excited as I could be, I got my stuffs packed and my trusty Canon IXUS70 charged. Here is the story...
We were told to gather at Putra Bus Terminal at 9pm and our bus departed at 9:30pm sharp. The bus operated by e-Budaya was pretty cool with the executive 2+1 seating layout for roomier seats and better legroom.
But the bus did not take the new express highway, rather, he used the old East-West trunk road going through small towns like Bentong, Raub, Machang and finally Kota Bharu! Since it was the old highway, there was not rest houses along the journey. So, we had to make toilet stop at one of these mosques, illegally using their toilets!
We arrived at Kota Bharu at around 4:45am (Tuesday) and was directed to a 1-star "Suria Hotel" and checked in. Apparently, we are to rest there till morning where the resort people will come fetch us to the jetty at Kuala Besut. As expected, a rather basic "motel" with nothing to shout about. Pillows with a kind of odour and sunk in beds.
And finally, our pick ups arrived at around 8am. Three vans for the 20 of us. Not bad, very spacious. The main disadvantage of going to Pulau Perhentian is the need to change rides, i.e., KL to Kota Bharu then change ride to Kuala Besut jetty (about an hour from Kota Bharu) and finally the 45-min boat ride. The bus times are also rather funny, i.e., a 7-hours bus ride starting at 9:30pm the day before and arriving Kota Bharu at a wierd 4:30am while the boat departs from the Kuala Besut jetty only at 9:30am! One would have like 5 hours to get from Kota Bharu to Kuala Besut jetty (a one hour journey)!
We were then taken to this "gerai makan" for breakfast. "Mereyan Kedai Kopi"...probably owned by a Marianne !
Being the usual me, I went straight for the chicken! The food was so-so, probably 7 out of 10.
After a good breakfast plus a long journey from KL the night before, plus another 45 minutes drive from Kota Bharu to Kuala Besut jetty, it is very normal for one to "log off" for a while.
The Perhentian Island Resort's office at the Kuala Besut jetty.
The Kuala Besut jetty
Our twin engine speedboat. Very exciting 45 minutes ride.
Babyboss with members from the media during the speedboat ride.
I saw this "looks like floating on air" boat when we reached the Perhentian Island Resort's private jetty.
See the crystal clear water!!!
Perhentian Island Resort's private white sandy beach.
The welcome sign board.
A view of the ressort's private jetty.
Another view of the resort's white sandy beach.
The crew and staff that gave us all a warm welcome upon our arrival.
Top & Bottom : View of the chalets
Another one of the resort's smaller private jetty.
The main signboard.
90% of the resort's guests are mainly foreigners (Europeans). This lady is from SCANDINAVIA!!!!
The dining hall / restaurant.
Haha...a nice shadow of myself!!!
A briefing from Mr Shah, the resident manager of the resort.
A typical chalet.
The VIP Suite.
The resort's swimming pool is a great let down mainly because the pool's water ain't clean. Apparently, the pool's water come from the mountian. And this being a beach resort, nobody uses the pool.
Our island hoping trip in the afternoon. Great experience!
Babyboss having a good time surfing the sea!
Hoping off and hoping on back to the boats!
One of Pulau Perhentian's many resorts. This is Tuna Bay Resort.
Last shot of the day...tourists having a nice tan under the warm Malaysian sun. I personally think that the heat is just too unbearable!
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