Frankly my lady, I didn't like this place at all to begin with. Sure, it had the most turquoise water I'd ever seen. And sure, the long beaches were white as snow. Paradic, perhaps, but I'm really not a beach kind of girl. I get bored. And that's how my first hours on the island was spent. Our intention was to stay three days and I was - seriously - doubting how I'd survive. The sand was burning out feet, making it impossible to even go for a walk along the beach. There seemed to be nothing to do but lay down in the shade. Yet a few hours in, the island has me hooked. We ended up staying for a whole week, skipping our intial idea of travelling to Taman Negara via the jungle train and if it weren't for our tickets to Jakarta booked one week later, I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd ended up staying three full months at Pulau Perhentian Kecil.  |
| My girls on a hidden beach/Our last day on the island. |
We arrived with no idea really where we'd get off the boat, after a jeopardizing look through our Lonely Planet we decided to stop at Long Beach. Only to find that basically everything on the beach front was fully booked. We walked back and forth on that burning hot sand with our slightly obese (novis travellers) backpacks. We finally found a place halfway up the woods with a peculiar excuse of a receptionist. Service minded didn't seem to be his thing. I remember one morning walking down to ask about the included daily breakfast. He, on his phone as ever, takes a while to acknowledge me so I can ask my question, then simply goes "Nah... Not today" before resuming his phone business. Completely ignoring my mumbling of "so breakfast is only included certain days?"
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| The Tilted Jetty. Unfortunately, I captured an embarrassingly small amount of photos during our stay at the island. But you know, that's because of sand. |
About 15 minutes trekking through the jungle, via the electricity lines behind Long Beach, there's a jetty that's no longer in use. Somehow this whole block of concrete has tilted over and is now a great spot for snorkeling. If you're a great snorkeler. Personally, I am not. The first thing I do is as I enter the water is to inhale a deep breath of salt water. There I'd been living 20 years thinking you could actually use the pipe to breathe under water. As it turns out, you can't.
So after our snorkeling joys, we find a petite slice of a beach which we decide to rest upon. Have our little afternoon snacks of those Uncle Toby crackers and then head back to the hostel. This is where someone (Hey, don't look at ME!) has the genius idea of guys, why don't we walk along the rocks back to Long Beach - it really can't be that far?
Four long hours later, many involuntary gulps of salty water and yours truly almost falling down a five metre cliff later - we make it back to Long Beach. Thankfully in one piece, but probably looking like something that's been buried in the ocean for decades. But boy don't we feel like Robinson Crusoe when we finally see those dreadfully hot sand dunes of Long Beach. The vegetable curry I have at Evan's Café (our hangout for just about every meal) for dinner that night is the best ever.
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| A photo I have bluntly stolen from Emily's Facebook (hence the quality) - gives an idea of the picturesqness of this island. |
The Perhentians meant trying out the Monkey Juice (some rice based whiskey made in the jungle), seeing four metre lizards, skinny dipping in broad day light, walking through the jungle with Emily singing Belle and Sebastian-songs, thunder storms, and one of the best moments of the trip: A yoga class held on the beach. During the Shavasana the instructor compared our breaths to the waves of the ocean. Talking about how there's a tiny pause between the end of a wave (exhalation) and the beginning of a new one (inhalation) and how one should put faith in that new wave, that new breath, and not force the breathing. It was magical. Opening your eyes just in time to see the sun hide behind the horizon.
Final note/Ps: A pocket light is absolutely neccessary - after sunset it gets pitch dark trying to walk through the jungle!
