Scuba Diving with Seahorses
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
86
141
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Pulau Perhentian Kecil,
Malaysia
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
The Perhentian Islands are comprised of two islands just 20 kilometers off the northeastern coast of Malaysia. In Malay, "Pulau" means island. "Kecil" means small, and "Besar" means large. So the two islands are aptly named Pulau Perhentian Kecil and Pulau Perhentian Besar. Most of the land on the islands is undeveloped - dense jungle-covered hills, with lovely coral reefs underwater. A handful of lovely beaches scattered around the coast and just two tiny villages. No roads (dirt or paved) and no electricity (generator only). This will change soon, as the government has started construction of 4 new large piers to handle the new high-speed large ferries. And they have supposedly contracted out for some large upscale resorts to be built soon. They have also constructed two windmills and some solar panels to test out the possibility of supplying the islands with a central renewable energy source
1 - We Love Malaysia
. For now, the islands have a nice charm to them. Not too isolated, but not overly developed. Go now before it all changes!It was just a short 30 minute speedboat ride to the islands (about 30 RM each way per person - about $9 US). On the way out, we were not sure which island or town to visit, so we went with the Lonely Planet's recommendation for Long Beach - supposedly the largest and prettiest beach in the islands. It also contains many dive shops and hotels to chose from.
We took a first look at the beach front properties and saw some construction and trash and the place in a bit of a shambles and thought this is not that nice. We looked at each other and thought this does not seem right. We went and checked out a few hotels up and down the beach and decided on the Panorama Inn. For 70 RM (about $20 US) - a bit more than we budgeted, we got a rustic room with a private bath and a cold shower. This also included one free dinner a night worth 15RM so we figured that made the price a little more reasonable. The few other places we looked at were not that nice and did not have a private bath. We also later found out that by staying here we got a discount on diving at Seadragon dive shop. Cool. (Note to other travelers: have a look at Mama's Inn on Besar - looks like a much better deal and cleaner/prettier)
Our first afternoon there we had lunch on the beach and went snorkeling in the lagoon
2 -Diving - Emperor Fish
. There was not much to see in the lagoon but the water was real nice - turquoise blue and bath warm. While sitting on our porch in the afternoon two Malaysian fighter jets flew overhead just above the tree tops. They buzzed the island a few times and on the final flyby I could see the pilots.We were told that the airforce does training runs around the islands all the time and they get so low that the buildings shake. They also said their special forces do jungle training on the island. After talking with the dive shop I decided to sign up for my advanced diving certificate and will be starting it on Tuesday morning. Our first night we had dinner in the hotel restaurant and watched the amazing movie, should be top 100 of all time, "Georgia Rule" with Lindsay Lohan. Was this pre-rehab or post for her? (Just kidding about the amazing top 100 thing).
Wednesday Kay went on a all day snorkel trip while I did my first two dives towards advanced certification. I worked on Peak Performance Buoyancy and Underwater Navigation. The dives were really cool and I saw a turtle, blue spotted stingray, lots of nemos, parrot fish, huge angel fish and some really large trigger fish. Later that night we enjoyed a pizza and tried to watch the Jim Carey movie "23". It looked good but the sound on the movie was bad so it was hard to follow
3 Snorkelling - Big Turtle with reflection
. The Malaysian subtitles are horrible. Most of them are not even close to what they actors are saying. It is really funny to watch.On Kay's snorkel trip, she saw a huge green turtle, a baby green turtle, some small black tip reef sharks, reef squid, loads of bright colorful reef fish, and a huge (5 foot) Giant Barracuda. She opted to snorkel instead of dive because of the ear infection from last week - she wanted to "test the waters" so to speak. After snorkeling off of 4 different sites, the trip ended on a postcard perfect private beach - white sand and turquoise water. Travelers: She recommends this trip and it can be arranged at any hotel or vendor on Long Beach for about 30-40 RM (about $9-13 USD)
Thursday Kay and I both went diving. Today we did my Deep Dive, Drift Dive and then we did a fun dive to another sight.
The deep dive was at a sight called "Temple" or "Pinnacles" and was to 26 meters and the visibility was not that good. We were diving around a massive pinnacle that had some insane currents that made it difficult to look around and see things. We did see some angel fish, giant puffers and a small school of squid
4 - Snorkelling - Anemone
. However the dive was a bit nerve wrecking because of the current. When we first got in Kay lost a flipper and then got a pretty good gash (4 inches) on her shin from a giant clam on the bottom while I was doing an exercise for my certification. Ouch!The drift dive at the "Vietnamese Wreck" was equally tuff. The current moved really fast and the visibility was only about 3-5 meters so it was easy to lose a person. Kay and I held on to each other most of the time to ensure we did not get separated. On this dive we were looking for seahorse and did find two. Check back later for the photos!
The third dive of the day was to "D'Lagoon" which was the best dive of the day. The visibility was much better and the reef life was booming. We only dove to about 16 meters so we were able to stay down 62 minutes before having to surface. In that time we saw tons of fish. Some of the highlights were a giant trevor ray, a massive grouper, and a school of about 30 bump head parrot fish. These fish were so big and there were so many that we felt small swimming near them. They were at least 4 feet long and 3 feet tall. They were very big! It was a great dive and a great end to the day.
Today is also the day we met Murray and Lynn from Glasgow
Beach umbrellas
. They have the bungalow right next to ours and a mama cat with her six kittens has decided to make Murray & Lynn's porch their new home. The kittens are no more than 3 weeks old (at most) and a lot of fun to watch. They try to run and tackle each other and have tons of energy. Murray and Lynn are on a round the world trip themselves and it appears we will be headed to some of the same places over the next few weeks so we are fortunate to have their fun company for the next couple weeks! (here is a link to their travelsite http://murray2701.travellerspoint.com/ )Friday is my last day of diving for my certification. The first dive of the day was to "Sugar Wreck" and it was amazing. The 70 meter ship sank in 18 meters of water during the 2000 monsoon season. The boat took on too much water during the storm and had to be abandoned. Luckily, the crew and all the cargo (sugar, of course!) were safely rescued. The wreck now lies on its starboard side and is in great condition and has a large amount of sealife growing on and in it. The visibility was not that great and the current was a little strong so you had to be especially careful when we got close to the ship. The ship lies on a sandy bottom so there is thousands of sea urchins surrounding it, which makes it a little nerve wracking when you are close to the bottom. We drifted over one of the main masts and instantly saw 3 lion fish. They are very beautiful and also very poisonous (Check back later for photos!) We also saw some giant puffer fish, a coral shark and a bamboo shark. The cargo hold is so large and wide open that we were able to swim in through one of the deck hatches drift through the hull and come out the back of the ship. It was really cool. Once we surfaced I had completed all of my dives and was officially a certified Advanced Scuba Diver!
We liked the diving so much that we did 2 more fun dives
beachside restaurants
. We went to "T-3" which was a boulder strewn mound with lots of swim throughs. Some of these made me a little nervous but they were really cool. Some of the highlights were a couple of bump head parrot fish, 2 massive trigger fish and a hawksbill turtle. The last dive of the day we went to "Tangun Basi" and the coral life was incredible. We saw most of the usual suspects and a large barracuda. A couple of blue rays even swam right underneath us. We also watched a few massive Trigger Fish (at least 2 feet long) having a territory fight. Those guys are really aggressive! We kept a safe distance away and just watched their soap opera for a few minutes.It was an incredible few days of diving and I am very glad that I did my advanced diving certification here. I highly recommend Seadragon Dive shop and Nick, my instructor, for any classes you want to take. (http://www.dive-centers.net/dive_center_2290-seadragon_diver s.html ) Note on costs: Advanced PADI Certification is 750 RM (about $215 USD) including book, and if you stay at Panorama you get a free fun dive too. Regular fun dives are 60 RM (about $17 USD) including equipment if you stay at Panorama.
On our last night we had dinner with Murray and Lynn and watched Oceans 13 at the same time. Again the subtitles were terrible but it was entertaining enough. We all went to bed after the movie because we are all catching the same boat and bus combo to the Cameron Highlands at 8 in the morning. The islands have been great fun but I am looking forward to the cooler climate of the highlands and doing some trekking.
Cheers
Frank
