| Recommended
Hotel |
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Perhentian
Island Resort - is
nestled on a secluded white sandy beach. The resort is equipped
with all the comforts of modern amenities. Diving and snorkeling
activities can be arranged from this resort. |
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The Perhentian islands really are something special
and offer almost everything you could want from a cheap get away
from it all island-holiday. First of course there are the beaches,
superb by any standards and thankfully free of any of the plastic
rubbish that all too often typifies S.E Asian beaches. The Perhentians'
powdery white sand beaches (the powdery white sand stuff is 100%
true but still a clichéd bit of prose I know. Truth is,
I'm really running out of ways to describe tropical beaches which
have powdery white sand, shallow warm clear waters and are lined
with towering palm trees swaying gently in the breeze. Please
help me freshen up my newsletter by sending any alternative suggestions
which don't include the above words to editor(at)asiahotelbookings.net
You will be warmly acknowledged in print!) are also the gateway
to some of the best snorkeling and diving to be had, on coral
that is as yet surprisingly unspoiled by tourism. As well as the
thousands of common fish that congregate near coral and being
common doesn't make them any less beautiful or their colors any
less striking, it's not uncommon to see turtles, barracuda and
most appealingly of all perhaps, black tipped reef sharks. The
sharks are probably a first for most people who come to the islands
but so commonplace are they here that they are thought quite mundane
by locals and indeed any who's swum the waters more than 3 or
4 times. In fact the relatively small impact that tourism has
made on the aquatic life is mirrored in most other aspects of
the islands. There are no high rise hotels; accommodation is generally
excellent value for money (as long as you don't want the Hilton);
very few roads pass through the dense jungle interior (boat is
the preferred methord of travel); and the absence of any discos
or karaoke means that nights are quiet on both of the main islands.
These two islands are named Besar and Kecil, big and small island
respectively.
So these islands must be pretty difficult to get
to right? Probably a 6 day trip by canoe into the middle of the
pacific where you're greeted by tribes-people who still think
of you as long pigs. Well no actually.. The Perhentian islands
which are a small cluster of islands of Malaysia's East coast
near the Thai border are surprisingly accessible, just a one hour
boat trip from the main land. Boats leave from Kuala Besut, which
in turn is about two hours by bus from Kota Baru (quite an interesting
little town itself), 2 ½ hours from Kuala Terengganu, or
12 hours from the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
So what's the catch?, I hear you ask….Well unfortunately,
due to the annual monsoon, the islands are virtually inaccessible
from November to January. That's number one. You should also book
ahead if you want to be sure of getting a bed for the night. As
anyone who's done it can attest to, sleeping on the beach is nowhere
near as much fun as it sounds! That's number two. I'm not sure
if number three can be counted as a down side but the accommodation
isn't the most luxurious in the world. However it's cheap as chips
and as long as your standards aren't too high you should find
somewhere to suit you. The food is good, especially the seafood
of course, but number four on the list is that you'll find many
restaurants, for obvious reasons, don't serve alcohol. This isn't
really much of a problem as most places don't mind you bringing
in your own stuff. Finally coming in a very weak number five is
the fact that if you're the kind of person who gets bored easily,
then perhaps these islands aren't for you. There isn't that much
to do unless you like the water, the beach, the jungle and the
animals. Nature I think they call it. For those that do, its heaven.
Joel has lived
and worked in Asia for the last decade and has written for numerous
travel magazines. He is the chief editor of Asia Travel Ezine and
is also responsible for editing and managing the website, Asia
Hotel Bookings . He currently resides in Hanoi. Copyright
Notice: All content and photos in this article are owned by the
author. For reprints, please contact Joel. Click
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