Perhentians

How should I start...I planned to stay 2-3 nights...I couldn't leave before a week of beach life.

Perhentian Islands...or more accurate Long Beach is just paradise, and that on a budget level. A mixture of jungle life, paradise beaches and some great night life. Maybe the nicest Island Ive been in my life.

So some basic infos. If u go there on budget, without reservation, u have to find any place that is available the first night (I stayed in a dorm...and was lucky to find to place to sleep). The next morning u get up early...as for the budget options it is walkin&walkout (if possible try to get on the waiting list at the place u want). The budget A-Huts are not closed (space between walls and roof)...so u might have some Gecko friends once and a while (I liked them...but they can kill ur nerve with their "Gecko sound"). For couples their are also "more luxurious" options, with ur own bathroom or AC. Electricity is only available at night and during a short period at lunch time.

In addition to the nice beaches and the transparent shallow water u have the jungle in your back, including snakes, geckos, and lizards (also quite big ones). There are no streets...just one walkway from one to the other side.

Beside lying on the beach there are many other and more fun things to do. For example: Diving, and that to incredible cheap prices (dive = 70 ringgit = 18 Euros). I made 6 dives, including a deep and wreck dive I now got the certificate for. The best sites were Sail Rock, Temple of the Sea and T3. The latest one includes incredible dive (or pull) throughs...kind of a James Bond feeling included for free. And u see a lot: sharks, turtles, sting rays, puffer fish, fire fish,...! Just stupid there is no diving equipment out for my camera yet. For people who don't want to dive the snorkeling trip is mandatory. U go up to 7 sites and see turtles, sharks and a lot of fish. The locals selling the trip are also quite nice.

I was a bit flashed when I walked up to the beach the first day...it was quite empty. When u spend one night @ Monkey Bar, Buffalos or Black Tip on the beach, then u know the reason. Some people can just be seen when the sun is down, with a bottle of monkey juice (local booz), rum, etc. that u can buy for 25 ringgit (6 Euros). The quality of music changed quite a lot...but they also played some good vibes. The Monkey Bar has to be outlined in that aspect. They had some great live music (enough talents on that Island to make a casting show :), including a violin player who accompanied the solos and also sometimes the DJ). I also saw a great reggae performance (Bob Malay ^^).

People on the island were mostly backpackers...young...and many couples. I met some very nice fellows. Most time I spend with a French girl, Dominique, who tried to teach me the art of swearing in French. She was a very nice wing buddy for the week on the Island. Tim & Tom and their girlfriends were two couples we were hanging out with most of the time...but it is impossible to mention everybody, as u meet (more or less interesting) people every night & day.

The staff at Matahari (the place where I stayed and dived) were very cool. I played ocassionally football and beach-volleyball with them. That and the fact, that the food at Matahari was just amazing and cheap made us spending quite some time in their restaurant (most places play also movies at 8pm).

There maybe much more stuff to tell...but I am running out of time. The last day before I left, I had a great time on the beach...maybe to great. Getting up at 7am, packing in 5min to get the boat and a curvy journey to the Cameron Highlands was in my "condition" not so much fun.