Shhhhhh...Don't Tell Nobody

There are two small islands off the East coast of Malaysia called Pulau Perhentian.  The name literally means "island stopping point," which is totally accurate.  (The first traveler we met outside our dorm room said he wasn't sure how long he had been on the island.  He had come to stay for two days and lost track.)

There is island stopping point small, and island stopping point large, both equally stunning.  Neither have electricity from the mainland (generators only) or roads.  We stayed on the small island, or Perhentian Kecil.    We came to the Perhentians intending on a two night stay but ended up staying four.  We got our advanced diver certification there and dove a few sights that made us forget the ones we did in Thailand.  We enjoyed the best off-beach snorkeling of our young lives (complete with nemo condos everywhere and sharks) and drank almost as many Snickers and Mars bar milkshakes as we could stomach.  We took in one of the best types of lightening storms - the kind where you stay dry but see long tree of light off in the horizon.  We didn't get bed bugs (surprisingly), but Annette did pioneer new methods for taking out contacts with no sink (only a shower).  We did all this while maintaining very low heart rates and making sure everyday was a grooveday, which were both really easy to do given the surroundings.

Getting our advanced dive certification was the main purpose for our diverted route through the Perhentians and was one of the highlights too.  Our certification required us to do five dives from a prescribed list of specialties:  a fish identification dive (where we just dove a really awesome sight and our instructor pointed out different fish--and we saw a turtle!), a wreck dive, a navigation dive, a deep dive (we dove 28 meters--over 85 feet!) and a night dive (which spooked the crap out of Annette).  For our wreck dive, we dove a sight called the Sugar Wreck (an old cargo ship that carried sugar, duh, and sank for no particular reason) and we loved it.  We saw enormous blow fish,  two lion fish, rays, and really enjoyed learning to navigate a wreck that size.  We really improved our buoyancy and air consumption (Annette typically impresses our instructors with her amazingly low air consumption anyway) over the course of our five dives with our slightly imbalanced instructor, Spike.  The wreck dive in particular helped us fine-tune our skills, while providing an amazing backdrop for all manner of wondrous aquatic life. 

 Pound for pound small Perhentian was one of the most paradise-esque places we have been to.  The warm, clear water is no secret as backpackers and groups from China mill about both islands, but compared to the trodden and polluted (though still highly magic and beautiful) Koh Tao, the Perhentians are relatively undiscovered.  We think you should go, just don't tell anyone else...



Note:
For an island as small as Perhentian Kecil (it takes just fifteen minutes to walk across), we were surprised to see as many land animals as we did.  From the giant lizard chilling on the beach, to the monkey pet of one of the hotel staff, to the lizards copulating in the shower, we weren't in want of wildlife encounters!

this feisty little fella bit Jeff moments later - no sign of rabies yet...