Was at Perhentian Island Resort for a few days ... amazing place to wind down and enjoy your holidays. Scroll down for pictures :)
map:
View Pulau Perhentian in a larger map
Notes:
- 8 hrs drive from Kuala Lumpur ... started my journey from Kuala Lumpur around midnight. Only 1 pitstop
- didn't notice any private/dedicated car parks at the Kuala Besut jetty, so i parked the car besides someone's house. huhu
- the 45m boat ride can a bit rough. The water taxis just love to race among themselves ... be prepared for a sore butt
- don't go during school holidays or on Sundays. I was only able to check in at 4pm as the room was not ready. They were severely understaffed. Family just went the beach and swam
- The resort has its own private beach, the nicest in my opinion, but there's no stopping tourists/non-guests from other parts of the island to go there. Haha felt like i was in a different country ... could swear that 80% were Europeans.
- The boats were fully booked for snorkeling/diving trips and the resort gave priority to those who payed earlier; ie booked the resort rooms together with the snorkelling/diving packages. Had to charter an entire boat that came all the way from K. Besut for the afternoon ... hehe managed to convince a korean family into sharing the cost with me. We went to Teluk Kekek, Shark point, Turtle watching at Tuna Bay and Long beach
- There's more variety of food at the south side of the island (Telaga Batu) ... bring a torch light as the jungle trail/stairways are not properly lit. I'd recommend Mama's Chalet and Watercolor.
- The night life is virtually non-existant, very quiet and the restaurants/cafes usually close and take the last order at 9.30pm. To make things more interesting, there's also no TV in the rooms. However, 3G coverage was good and surfing the internet was uncannily fast
- Being situated in the middle of the two islands (Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil), there's no easy way to watch the sunrise and sunset. *ouch* ... and during my stay, the nights were very cloudy and not able to shoot the stars. *ouch* *ouch* *ouch*
- don't go into the resort's swimming pool ... i didnt notice any water filtering whatchamallit haha
Despite the deficiencies and lack of-s, overall, i did enjoy my stay there ... I've been to Langkawi and Pangkor Islands, Manukan and Sapi, Canary islands and my experiences at Perhentian is by far the best yet (albeit short). Haha am still having dreams about the powdery white sands, the visible blue water, the natural beauty. Would love to go again in years to come.
... must get an underwater camera!
White sands at Perhentian island resort (PIR). That's Pulau Perhentian Kecil in the background ...
View from PIR jetty ...
View from Long Beach, Pulau Perhentian Kecil ...
Pulau Perhentian Besar is more suitable for families
heh, i was really aiming to focus at the crab ....
a different kind of 'sunrise'
I 'own' the resort you know hehehe it's all mine ....
Pulau Perhentian sunrises ....
location: somewhere between Coral View and Tropical Reef, the rocky/big boulders area
