Well...the plan took place waaaay back about 4..or 5 months ago..He was suggesting we go there as he bragged about his experience. Being him, plan would be just a plan if there's no pushing to it. Summore we thought it'll be nicer to hav couple of friends along..thus, this friend's not free then, we weren't free when they are and so on and so forth..so this time around, my cousin's goin for a shooting..along with a couple of independant band (+ their leave-approved follower) havin some mini-gig on the island so I took the chance. Having a group of KLites to be stuck with on an island should be fun. Booked a flight bout 4 days early, so..kindof slaughtered him with a 500 return tix to Kota Bharu. He smirked but cant really complaint cuz if it's gonna be a 1ringgit MAS tix next month, it could possiblybe another 5 months of 'the plan to perhentian'..
After countless checklist and much slaughtering (especially him..*cough* my responsibility as a gf) buying unecessary stuf to make our island stay much pleasurable, we just couldn't seal the deal without a complete row of huge fight.. It's a perfect plan especially when we were actually fighting for nothing. Cuz I cant name it here but basically, he had done his part and I've done my share of to dos and to brings but we just hav to make things hard for each other before coming up clean that everything's checked. Greatness. I love my boyfriend, dude.
Im suppose to get the limo to the airport and picked him up from his home along the way. Despite him asking me to pack a day in advance, I took down my wheeler by midnight (5 hours to board)..I was alone at home. Biasala, every single thing gotta be tried on, mix and match in front of the mirror, pegang this and that handbag to match, tukar2 hat to mix beforehand..(Note that, this was all purely for the sake of getting good pictures) As I was doin this, I heard the grill unlock..He came in as I was clad in one of the hundred bikinis I was gonna bring.. kantoi.. hhaha..he couldnt sleep (couldn't wait to b precise), thus came over..and me...well, enough said.*LOL*
Arrived at the Besut jetty on time..a lil ahead of time actually..and then we bought a return speed boat tix and stop at Cocohut Chalet in Perhentian Besar... Only to foresee a fisherman village right accross. Not a pretty sight. demmit. Needless to say, the look of 'puas-hati-get-to-kenakan' me was clearly shone on his handsome face cuz I picked the chalet & had been bragging abt it since the last couple of days. So, plan was crossed there and then. With no place booked and people telling us that it's a peak season, we decided to just cincai take the water taxi to Perhentian Kecil.
As we arrived on P.Kecil, the I-dont-travel-light-luggage I took was made an excuse for him to sit under a sheltered beach-side restaurant and enjoy his first drink while I had to scout for a place. Long Beach spreads about a km..with chalets lining up every 2 metres..So, bein choosy as we wanted an air-con room, I skipped all the 12 hours electric-generated chalets. At the end of the faaaaar end of the island, there was Bubu.. so far, it's the only chalet that looked exactly (if not better) as shown online. BUT, their walk-in rate means we gotta fork out at least 350 per night..and package can only be booked online or from their HQ in KL. So, i walked back the km, making stops on each and every chalet that provide aircon room. Halfway thru the super-hot sand (even with my slippers on), he called on my cell, giggling as he asked me of my findings- he had a clear view of me panthing with my shirt off (cuz I really dont give a damn if the people could tell that Im walking in an undergarment instead of a bikini!! panas gila siot and my shirt was soaking with sweat..b*bi..)..I shoot some glances at the mat salehs sunbathing with 'kau gila ke ape..' thought in my head. Seriously, the ray was killing..I couldnt imagine myself sunbathing in a million years..
In the end, I called my cousin who stayed in Mohsin..just a few steps from the taxi drop-off and asked her to enquire of any vacant room..with or without air-con..feck it.we just need a room!. She called back with a bloody good news. they hav air-con room. We were just bein plain idiots cuz on the net states that the place offers half day electricity. We learnt that, it differs depending on occasions. This time around, only 2 hours are off electricity cuz its high season. Fuckerama.
We settled for 170. The top room with aircon with a view to blasah someone for..I cant really say 'to kill for' cuz I was greeted with 2 geckos in the bathroom..It was HUGE!.. i thought it was there as part of the decor. I learnt that its real cuz the second time I went in, there's only 1 left and it was not in its original position..ugh..seriously...ugggghh! its like so huge, u can arrange 10 house-lizards on its back! no joke
We positioned the aircon to dry ourself..and after, changed into my chanel (lookalike) bikini and came down to join my cousin (style mesti mau ada k..I need good pictures to flash..haha)..With my new hair cut, he said I looked so posh-y..-so sweet, baby..though I knew u were trying to make me feel better after u made me walk a marathon earlier). The stairs up to our chalet itself was like climbing the stairs to Batu Cave (I quote u *Chris- if u ever come across this blog).
The rest of the day, we spent makan, sat by the beach, gedik-ly dipping ourselves in the sea and got back to the room to get ready for the mini-gig that night. We missed much of the show cuz we went out for seafood BBQ by the sea..But we did enjoy a show by our very own Yunanis (I think that's her name..)..she's really good..very Norah Jones-y. The staff at Mosin was a complete fecked-up locals tho. They're so rude and simply zero-courtesy. Can you imagine them answering us with a 'no' or 'tak' ever so rudely and then witness them turn to a minah salleh next to us and talk so sofly and nicely even tho they're not an inhouse guest. morons
Yes, if you're a local..DONT GO TO MOSIN or better still, DONT STAY IN LONG BEACH..come there for the night life and but be prepared to be treated shitty. It was a complete fecked up stay as there were water interruption. so we had to shower next to the dormitory with a public view and walk up and down the stairs in towels while carrying a timber filled with toilettries (seriously, so Awie in Zombie Kg Pisang dude). You see, it'd be quite an experience to laugh at n we wouldnt be so mad if they talk to us nicely and apologize or at least, serve us food as a patron at their chalet. But nyet...no food. no sorry. no hospitality. no smile. They say, Melayu mudah lupa. Well, go to Mohsin for a display of stereotype puppets. The next day, we asked for refunds + half a price we paid for the room. I'd give them credit for at least giving us back our money but, sorry dude..you couldnt erase the memory..and definitely a lifelong bad experience to tell to friends whose planning to stay there. I hope your precious tourists dont come to us locals for advice on the best place to stay in Perhentian. (mind you, when word spread, I can guarantee you some bonus fabrications...congratulations..)
When I said the locals bein rude, they were actually city ppl who migrated to work on the island cuz the Kelantan/Terengganu dialect-speaking ppl (the real locals) are very very nice and friendly. A guy mending a snorkling booth suggested we go to the other side of Perhentian Kecil, the Coral Bay. So, we tracked the jungle for abt 10 minutes to check out the place. It was SUPER. This resort we found is new. It's called Shari-La. with some chalets still in work progress, they offered a promo price of RM144 a night for a chalet that has it all... beautiful chalet+aircon+fan+satelite tv+hot/cold shower+mini bar+generous space in and outside the chalet+fresh towels+complimentary bottled water+breakfast! plus...the open-air restaurant's caters to a spread of infinity turquoise view and this resort even hav its own private beach (also known as the romantic beach..like..very private + romantic!)..the actual price after promo is RM180..still beats Mosin's RM170 chalet that consists of a bed, a joined bathroom, aircon, very limited space and 2 complimentary geckos.
Seriously peeps, if ure goin to Perhentian, stay somewhere else around the island..Jungle track or take a water taxi to Long Beach for the night life and much needed eye feasting of international boobs and hot babes/hunks. Eat where u stay. cuz in Long Beach, tho cheap, for the same price, u'll get 3 extra juicier and bigger shrimps elsewhere plus lobsters. The beach we stayed on served lobsters at RM5/each..The thought that Victoria Station charging around RM70 per serving made us wallop 8 lobsters that night. Seriously. it's fresh.juicy.perfectly grilled. I really didnt notice the cracked plates or the mismatched utensils already!
Long Beach is famous because its lively at night. If ure planning to walk out of ur chalet and drag ur snorkeling gear to see Nemo straight away as u enter the water, go to the opposite side of Kecil or the side of Besar that doesnt face Kecil. You can swim on Long Beach like u do in PD tho cuz its all sands, only clearer. Trip Advisor and WIKI's majority readers are europeans, aussies and mostly backpackers. So don't fall for it unless ure backpacking, in a group or singles with wandering johnny..& eyes too..anyway, I suppose travelers frm the city seeks tranquility n a peace of mind away from noises that's y they go to islands. Jln Doraisamy's a better bet compared to a broken speaker blasting last season beats n a crowd that request 'Big Yellow Taxi' to dance to.. Long Beach is kinda overrated la..i can deftnitely guarantee u that all the cool tourists dont even stay there.
For campers, there's a trillion beautiful spots around the island. For families, Perhentian Besar or Redang is the place and as for couples on getaways, either Shari La or Mira resort (and some others I didnt get to see for u guys..but here's 2 that got my jaw open wide enough to put a whole apple donut in). DO NOT fall for the pictures u saw online. period. Mira resort got my attn while passing thru on a snorkeling trip, despite the name..it's secluded and the beach that spreads before it...aaaww...beautiful..simply fabulous.
Back to my journey..we went snorkeling on our 2nd day. 1st stop, the shark point. The moment we jumped off the boat and dunk our head in the water, we saw a foot-long shark. Despite out boatman telling us that these sharks are vegetarian (a haha factor), I couldnt help feeling jittery. A shiny earrings could easily trigger these reputable creature as provoking. Thank god it swam down under near the ocean base..With the current making it ever so difficult to move, I got a lil nervous. My man was holding the underwater camera. Either he was so fascinated with the sharks or he's too busy trying to get to our boat, he didnt snap a single picture of em regardless. His reason bein 'not a nice angle'..riight..as if the sharks gonna stop to pose for u, honey..grrrr.. If only the camera wasn't tightly secured to him, we might get at least one semi-bad shot cuz I saw 3 of em..one longer and the other..well, perhaps, its the earlier one making his rounds checking out my oversized faux-diamond studs. Anyhow, it kinda freaked me a lil so I nudged Alfie to get to the boat.. So, there we were, swimming awkwardly and flapping our chaotic way against the current to get out of the water. The sight of us was badly hillarious, i can only imagine. Seriously, we were like Titanic victims splattering frantically on our own. About 5 metres away, we surfaced and couldnt see 'safety'. The boat was about a hundred metres away behind us. The guy just maneuvered the boat to pick up our less-frightened snorkeling friends! Needless to say, I burned my whole breakfast-energy trying to get to it while mentally challenged trying to combat any bad thoughts (damn 'the secret'..this point, i hate the rule of attraction!)
Next, we went turtle hunting...I saw my first turtle!. Before we got to Perhentian, I was so excited I thought of grabbing a turtle's back when I see one. But the turtle I pictured resembles Crush from finding Nemo..all talkative and dude-ing everyone but this one looks like a moving rock with a beak as big as human head. Seriously, it looks like a dinosour. From afar, it looks pretty delicate, but if it EVER appear next to me..I think i'd drown myself to spare the fear. Then we made circles while peeking thru the clear water for any sign of a moving 'rock'..Saw another turtle surfacing for air..this one much much bigger! An Aussie guy did us a favour to snap a close-up picture of it. He dived in and snapped a pic of the turtle really close, like within an arm reach. Cool guy. he looks like Nicholas Cage and did the coolest thing like jumping off a lighthouse.. he didn't stay in Long Beach...
Anyway, on the last day of our stay, we crossed over to Long Beach for some social event.. We met this doctor couple who wanted to check out the nightlife on the island. So, we jungle tracked 10 minutes in the pitched black forest with only the handphone light to lead the way. On the way there, our euphoric minds overpowered our fear, so the journey was not so bad. In Long Beach, we parked out butts at a bar and indulged in some night time activity.. After, we made new friends while lepaking on the beach. Some very interesting people indeed. They're from a major production house in KL, there on an assignment while holidaying. One of them was a former dj from wow, his pal, a chinese-thought-malay speaking mat saleh and the other friend is a local guy, there to lead the team. They goes by no.1, 2 and 3. A very interesting crowd indeed. I was greeted with a story from the dj of his scary encounter on Perhentian. The fact that he used to hav a career alluring ppl to stay tuned, made me listen to his story despite the thought that i will hav to go thru another dark n scary trip back to where we stayed. So, I shared the story with my entourage to ensure that i'm not the only timid member of my jungle-track team.
After much laughter, experience and interesting stories shared..(not to mention the priceless sight of no.1 being the 1st person I've ever seen so depressed being on an island, u rawk, Narveen.....would love to bump into u guys again) we head back to our chalet after much agony we had to bear to go through the worst 10 minutes walk of our lives..(thanks for the door-scratching story, Kubhaer!). Despite the pleasant memories that's permanently engraved in my mind, I have to thank '5 chai' for causing me my camera and also my precious iPod...and yeah, thanks Chris for helping us look thru the sand for it..its as good as the other half 5 chai Kubhaer dropped.
So, there..partially, these posting is long due to my attemp to help u share a glimpse of our trip since there's no picture show off..'cept for the underwater camera that develops to 27 pieces of craps. mostly me..the best of the 27 is the clearest view of my twisted arms that carry the clearest resemblance of a drowned frog so...no, im not sharing any of those...and some pictures of Nemo and turtles from close shot but u can simply google for thousand times nicer images...cuz the turtles from our camera looks almost like a rock with grafitti and I really dont know which angle should i post it to spare u from twisting ur head or the monitor to make out what it really is... All in all, although its pointless to brag how nice pictures we have in our lost digital cam, it's enough to guarantee u that in the future, i'll be posting millions of pictures from our next trip there. soon..very soon perhaps..
*sniff*sniff*
Tips:- Only carry the skimpiest clothing that fits into 1 backpack
- 4 types of sunblocks guarantees rashes
- Carry a torchlight
- If you're travelling in a group of 3 (straight men) and planning to pick up a stranger to share the room with, make sure he's not gay..
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