Perhentian islands

The Perhentians...or paradise, as we like to call it.

After lake Chini, we headed north, toward the island paradise know as the Perhentian islands. Since we arrived in Malaysia, we've been hearing a buzz about these islands. The reports seemed to be accurate: the Perhentian islands are pretty much as close to a backpacker paradise as one can get: clear water, warm weather, palm trees, delicious food, great people, and good diving.

The only problem is that word has gotten out about the Perhentians, so housing is a precious commodity (which means that hotel owners can charge outrageous prices for crappy little huts), and the island has basically been taken over by backpackers. It's not exactly the destination for exposure to authentic Malay culture, but it's a wonderful place to relax on the beach for a few days.

We hooked up with a dive shop called Spice divers and did a few dives with them while we were on the island. We did two reef dives and one murky wreck dive...which even though the visibility wasn't the best, was still pretty cool. The divemasters were even nice enough to let Billy stock up his ipod with tunes from the dive shop collection (which Julia was thrilled about because it meant that she could once again use her ipod and got some new JT music to boot). We also snorkeled in the bay, played volleyball and frisbee on the beach, and of course..relaxed.

As with most travel, it's not about the place, it's about the people. We were fortunate enough to meet some really cool travelers while on the island. Jo, Sherif and Thomas from England (and we keep bumping into Sherif even now that we are off the island). Tatiana and Andrea from Holland. Andrew and Mike from SF, who were very patient with us.

-Billy and Julia


Perhentian Kecil


All too frequently, we manage to wear matching outfits...we swear it's by accident


Home, sweet, home. This hostel, Panorama, had a good vibe and included a free meal...the only downside was a slight rodent presence


Billy unleashes his inner Tiger (don't worry mom, Billy had plenty of help with those 4 beers)


Who knew that there were so many cool pink diving accessories?!?! (Julia unleashes her inner Barbie)


The dive shop


After the wreck dive, where we successfully manged to evade the scorpionfish and lionfish


Same, same...but different?


Tatiana explains the wonders of "monkey juice" to Thomas


Andrew, Julia, Mike and Billy


Bidding farewell to paradise