Perhentian Islands, Malaysia

The Perhentian Islands are made up of Perhentian Kecil (small) and Perhentian Besar (big). Besar is more of a resort destination, more expensive, and has distinctly older crowd. Kecil is more of a backpacker destination, more reasonably priced, and has nicer beaches. Kecil is also a place I was considering living for a month as I did in Yangshuo, China, only in the Perhentians I would be learning how to dive instead of teaching English.

Shaun and I arrived on the main beach of Perhentian Kecil, Long Beach, in mid-afternoon. We had already decided that we would both take the first course in learning how to dive called open-water. We found a place to stay and went in search of a dive shop that we liked. The Perhentians are supposedly one of the best places in the world to dive and Malaysia as a country is one of the least expensive places in the world to get certified. Long Beach is filled with dive shops and we just went from south to north stopping in beach one asking pertinent questions in order to decide which we wanted to hire. We ended up going with the second one we stopped at, Quiver. We paid (RM950 or about US$287 each) and filled out the necessary paperwork. I asked if my collapsed lung would be a problem, and was told yes, it would be, and I would need to see a doctor to clear me if I wanted to take the course...or I could indicate that I never had one, or two, for that matter. I recalled that the doctor I had at home told me that I could dive (or so I thought I remembered this) so went with the second option and indicated that I have never had a collapsed lung.

The next day we started our open-water course. It was pretty cool and I enjoyed it a good deal. I was surprised to find out that being 3 meters (almost 10 feet) underwater feels about the same as 18 meters (about 59 feet). 18 meters is as far as you can get certified in open water course. The life that lives beneath the surface is amazing. The first time I saw the shadows of a school of fish on the sea floor was mesmerizing.

While I enjoyed the diving enough I did not feel that the Perhentian Islands had enough to keep me occupied for a month. The diving would only occupy so much of my time and I did not think that, other than the diving, there would be enough to keep me occupied for the rest of the day. A random Canadian we ran into mentioned that one of the nicer guest houses sometimes hires people for the high season to help out. I went there and inquired about a position figuring that not only would a simple job occupy some of that spare time but it would also take care of my accommodation and food costs. Unfortunately they did not have any positions left and I was again without enough reason to stay on Perhentian Kecil for a month.

Other than the diving Shaun and I did not do much. We walked along the coast one day to the local fishing village, but the walk there for far more stimulating than the village itself. We passed several beaches, some with nobody there and others with only a few people tanning or reading. There was one beach with a couple camping. On the way back from the village a dog followed us for a good 20 minutes before leaving us for the a dip in th cool waters. A funny thing about the walk to and from the village was that along the path there were several thin bars about ankle height that looked as if they were designed to be trip wires. We had no explanation for what they could be for otherwise. There was one at chest height that, if you did not see it (which would be pretty easy) and had some speed, could take you out cold. As much as we laughed at these obstacles we wondered what their intended purpose could possibly be and we came up without a single logical explanation.

On one early evening I played volleyball with some Malaysian Chinese. I am no good at volleyball but only a couple of the ten were better than I. It was fun to play and they got a kick out of a white guy playing in their game.

Perhentian Kecil is impossibly stunning. The water is clear, the sand near perfect, the inland jungle beautiful to look at and no doubt rewarding to traverse. I had fully intended on staying there for month and had virtually decided upon doing so. But, I think I would have gotten bored with too much time on my hands and a social atmosphere that does not lend itself to meeting new people easily would have made passing this time even more difficult. I am sure I would have been OK had I spent a month there but I am happy with the decision not to. That said, my time on Perhentian Kecil was great and would certainly like to return for another relatively short period of time.