Ok, so while I was definitely enjoying myself underwater in Tioman, after 7 days of early nights and quiet evenings reading I was definitely itching to get back to that little island of oh such great debauchery...Perhentian Kecil. Nick and I left Tioman with the intention of heading up north as quickly as possible. All going to plan we were to be back on the beach within around 24 hours. Of course things rarely go to plan... the twinge in Nick’s ear turned into a really nasty ear infection overnight that came with a raging fever and that seemed to be immune to antibiotics. We had to call halt to all plans and instead I rushed around town to find us somewhere comfortable and air-conditioned to hole up in. Once I managed to get Nick across town I then had to walk back and forth in 38 degree heat ferrying all our luggage from room to room. A very hot and stressful day indeed, think the locals thought me slightly deranged as they watched me trundle back and to with bags.
After a partial recovery from Nick, we made our way north and out to the Perhentian Islands. Argued as being the most beautiful of Malaysia’s Islands, they have “with crystal-clear aquamarine water and white-sand beaches” if you are to believe the guide books. From my numerous visits over the years I have always used it as the place to compare and rate all other places against. The islands advertised themselves as quiet, with nothing to do but dive, read and chill, and with alcohol prohibited. This meant that the type of people who made it over to the island went there regardless of forecasted boredom and lack of a party and were all really cool. More to the point a whole heap of alcohol and partying was always to be found. Long Beach had all the best bits, calm blue water (well most of the time anyway), powder white sand, low key wicked parties, and a small community where everyone (even the tourists) knew each other.
So...did it live up to expectations on my return...? Well, I’d like to say that Nick instantly fell in love with the place as I once did, but in actual fact it was a huge disappointment. As we pulled up to the beach, I could see that although white and sandy as ever, the sand that wasn’t covered by brightly coloured umbrellas had diggers churning it up as they trundled back an forth in front of the sunbathers. The diggers obviously there to play a key part in creating the largest and ugliest concrete monstrosity that I’ve ever seen, slap bang in the middle of the beach, directly in front of the dive shop where I used to spend most of my time. To make matters worse, it’s predicted that the building (that is apparently the bright idea of the government) will take 3 years to complete. 3 years of locals suffering and business owners moving out.
You can probably see from the pictures, that this beach really is spectacular. Imagine a 50 metre by 10 metre metal barge being towed into that picture and being left on the beach as they unload and dump all the building materials next to where you’re trying to soak up that relaxing holiday dream. Doesn’t quite fit does it...? The irony of it is this; it was the first time I’ve ever been charged a national park entry fee onto the islands. A fee that will no doubt be going straight into the destruction of a beautiful place that many people will now never go back to.
Ok...so that was possibly my longest rant yet! We did end up having a nice time on the island, we did some really cool dives, and met some more wicked people. And, if you turned your head to the left slightly, you could almost forget what was happening up the beach. While the partying front was never going to live up to past standards in the absence of the old Coral Sky crew, we did manage one big night in Palm Tree where I went back to making an idiot of myself on the dance floor. Some things will never change.
After a partial recovery from Nick, we made our way north and out to the Perhentian Islands. Argued as being the most beautiful of Malaysia’s Islands, they have “with crystal-clear aquamarine water and white-sand beaches” if you are to believe the guide books. From my numerous visits over the years I have always used it as the place to compare and rate all other places against. The islands advertised themselves as quiet, with nothing to do but dive, read and chill, and with alcohol prohibited. This meant that the type of people who made it over to the island went there regardless of forecasted boredom and lack of a party and were all really cool. More to the point a whole heap of alcohol and partying was always to be found. Long Beach had all the best bits, calm blue water (well most of the time anyway), powder white sand, low key wicked parties, and a small community where everyone (even the tourists) knew each other.
So...did it live up to expectations on my return...? Well, I’d like to say that Nick instantly fell in love with the place as I once did, but in actual fact it was a huge disappointment. As we pulled up to the beach, I could see that although white and sandy as ever, the sand that wasn’t covered by brightly coloured umbrellas had diggers churning it up as they trundled back an forth in front of the sunbathers. The diggers obviously there to play a key part in creating the largest and ugliest concrete monstrosity that I’ve ever seen, slap bang in the middle of the beach, directly in front of the dive shop where I used to spend most of my time. To make matters worse, it’s predicted that the building (that is apparently the bright idea of the government) will take 3 years to complete. 3 years of locals suffering and business owners moving out.
You can probably see from the pictures, that this beach really is spectacular. Imagine a 50 metre by 10 metre metal barge being towed into that picture and being left on the beach as they unload and dump all the building materials next to where you’re trying to soak up that relaxing holiday dream. Doesn’t quite fit does it...? The irony of it is this; it was the first time I’ve ever been charged a national park entry fee onto the islands. A fee that will no doubt be going straight into the destruction of a beautiful place that many people will now never go back to.
Ok...so that was possibly my longest rant yet! We did end up having a nice time on the island, we did some really cool dives, and met some more wicked people. And, if you turned your head to the left slightly, you could almost forget what was happening up the beach. While the partying front was never going to live up to past standards in the absence of the old Coral Sky crew, we did manage one big night in Palm Tree where I went back to making an idiot of myself on the dance floor. Some things will never change.
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