Posted by: Jenn
We took a long bus/boat combo from the jungle to get to the Perhentian Islands. The bus ride out of the jungle was more of a safari than the actual night safari we took. Watching the animals was a good distraction from the tire screeching curves and the pot hole dodging nauseating van ride. Once at the pier we boarded a speed boat and headed for the islands. We hit ground and searched out the beach front for a place to bunker down for the next few days. Our choice was the 11 bed dorm room at the Shari La Resort.
We took a long bus/boat combo from the jungle to get to the Perhentian Islands. The bus ride out of the jungle was more of a safari than the actual night safari we took. Watching the animals was a good distraction from the tire screeching curves and the pot hole dodging nauseating van ride. Once at the pier we boarded a speed boat and headed for the islands. We hit ground and searched out the beach front for a place to bunker down for the next few days. Our choice was the 11 bed dorm room at the Shari La Resort.
The next morning we were set to explore the island. However, the salad I had eaten the night before set my stomach on a trip...to the bathroom, every 30 minutes. I was bed ridden, in the 11 person dorm room, with the unattached bathroom being out the door, down the sidewalk, up some stairs and to the left. Boo. Jonathan and his mom decided to hang out close by in case I needed anything so they spent the day lounging on the beach in front of the resort.
The next day, thank goodness my stomach was feeling better, we wandered the island a little to see what other beaches we could find.
After our exploration expedition we returned back to the beach in front of the resort and read some while the sun went down. We also got some playtime with a monkey that one of the resort workers owns. She was cute but had quite the attitude and she let you know it with her squeals and teeth. Don't worry, Jonathan didn't get bitten. I did.
Our last day on the island we decided to take a boat tour to see some other beaches and go snorkeling. Our first snorkel stop was shark point where we were guaranteed to see some black tipped reef sharks. Shark point was not teeming with sharks, unfortunately. However, we did see tons of reef sharks out in front of our hotel and on the last stop of the trip.
The second stop was fish point. Our boat driver handed out some bread and we got to feed the fishies!
Turtle point was the third stop on the trip. Jonathan and I are a little spoiled now that we have had personal interaction with the turtles in the Philippines. But we did see two turtles from a distance and although they didn't let us swim with them, it was still cool to see a different type of sea turtle.
The final two tour stops were snorkeling at the lighthouse and Romantic Beach. We enjoyed jumping off of the lighthouse more than snorkeling at it. Romantic Beach: Romantic - not so much. Beautiful - yes. On Romantic Beach we laid out in the sunshine and snorkeled with the reef sharks. It was a good trip finale for the Perhentian Islands.
The next morning we awoke early to catch a boat off the island so we could make our way south in Malaysia to see another island.