i heart the perhentian islands...

a nine hour overnight bus trip took us overland from south malaysia to the north-east coast to the small fishing village of kuala besuit. a ferry ride later we to arrived at a cluster of small islands just south of the thai border thr perhentian islands. pulau kecil has been our island home for the past five days. one word to describe it is paradise. yes i know, nias and certain parts of bali have been named within this blog as paradise, or postcard perfection – but thus far, this place is my favourite and as true to those descriptions as we’ve found.

i wont go over the usual white sand, crystal clear blue water and seafood details, ill focus on the quainter aspects of long beach such as it being so far off the main tourist trail that there are only two places on the beach that sell alcohol. we resided in a cute little a-frame hut that housed two single beds pushed together, a mosquito net, a bedside table and a fan that only operated on generator from seven pm to seven pm each night.

our days were filled with stress-free snorkelling trips, sunbaking under the countless stripped umbrellas that ran the length of the beach, visiting traditional fishing villages for lunch, taking hour long swims out the front of our hut and taking leisurely siestas in the afternoons. the days often got off to a good start at the world cafe, where we got toast with butter and jam and free flowing tea and coffee for $2.30aud. bargin. this week we have managed to save money, which will come in handy with thailand being the next stop.

today we took a mini-van nine hours from kuala besuit and we are now over-nighting in pinang and getting ready for another day and a half of travel to get to our final destination of koh phi phi. with it comes more sun, sand, snorkelling and sisters. taryn and libby will be waiting at our villas on koh phi phi this friday for a few days and then joining us further onto phuket. bring on tie-me up, tie-me down thailand.

pics. our day trip to the batu caves in kl, the hostel in kl for the end of ramadan and a few happy snaps from the perhentian islands. enjoy.