Rob and Anna's travel adventure

After staying a few days on mainland in Kota Bharu, we took a bus to the coast in Kuala Besut, from where we would take a boat to the Pulau Perhentian islands located about 21 km off the coast in the South China Sea. We arrived early to arrange a boat, and had to take a speed boat, which was the only option at that time. We shared the boat with a couple of Russians from Moscow, a girl from Malaysia, and her friend from the Caribbean. About a third way from the coast, strong winds came creating big waves, it started pouring, and we realized we were in the middle of rain storm. In addition, our speed boat captain realized that the boat ran out of fuel, so we had to refuel it right in the middle of all of it (luckily he had a supply of gas stored in a tank); we got back on track bouncing like crazy from one wave to another, sometimes literally flying on the high speed over the waves. Rob figured out how to save our butts (literally) from all that bouncing, by suggesting that we would pretend as if we were riding a horse, and standing half way on his feet. Well, it worked for a short time "riding" that way, but with all the waves, pouring rain, and being soaked through from all sides, I just couldn't "ride a horse" for so many kilometers. Eventually we reached the Kecil Island. We chose to stay in an isolated part of the island called Chalets de Lagoon. Because of the storm, we couldn't land on the beach, so we were sent a small boat, which we had to transfer to from our speed boat among the rocking waves. In that boat we met two other travelers - Jeremy from France and Phally from Cambodia - that meeting would lead us later on to more adventures in Cambodia, where we would reunite again... We eventually reached the beach, but because of turbulent waves, we had to jump in the water (in the boots and clothing) in order to disembark. Luckily, our backpacks, camera equipment, and other essentials stayed dry and safe, and thankfully did not go for a dip in the ocean... The rain and wind storm persisted for the rest of the day, we settled in the room at Chalets de Lagoon, the only lodging available, in a small bay on the northeastern side of the island. Our room was right on the beach with window over-looking the ocean, we watched the rest of the rain storm, and listened to the wind pounding against our wooden window, and finally could start enjoying the island, once the rain storm stops....

The storm stopped next morning, and we began exploring the island. It was so refreshing to be located in the remote part of the island, without loud bars, without obnoxious travelers, without ignorant drunk backpackers. Indeed, this place attracted people truly interested in the natural beauty and island isolated way of life. Early in the morning, Rob and I would take a walk through the jungle to the other side of the island, where a small picturesque bay and white sand beach were located. We would come here every morning, and snorkel with reef sharks - just the two of us. We encountered quite a few black tip sharks - since this was an isolated hidden bay, the aquatic life luckily was more or less undisturbed - I hope it will stay like this, for that reason I am avoiding revealing the name of that bay. When not snorkeling, I would lay on my back in the turquoise-blue waters, with tropical fish and corals somewhere below me, surrounded by the jungle right above me, and white sand coastal line; the tropical trees whispers and birds signing were the only sounds in the air... The natural beauty was striking. The exotic surroundings felt like a paradise, it was my version of paradise, and a true soul meditation...

On other island exploration walks we would frequently encounter large monitor lizards, they were shy animals, but the size of them (some of a size of a small crocodile). and scary look constantly reminded us of the exotic location of the island.
There is so much more to write about, however, I have to stop at this point, let's leave some of it for future writings...