Another ordinary Thursday afternoon at the office with nothing much left to do until the end of the day. Its been an overall hectic and emotional week for me starting with my trip to KL last weekend which didn't turn out exactly as I hoped it would.. but it doesn't mean that it was completely horrible. I did get to catch up with my two BFFs for a bit which is always fun and relaxing to just chill (spoken with the intonation of a Rastafarian lighting up Mary Jane). For me, there is just something about hanging out with really good friends that almost always makes everything feel better no matter what is going on in life at the time. My two BFFs in particular.. Rifhan and Nanee whom I've known for 6 years are just a hoot to be with and exudes as much fun as you can get out of a barrel of monkeys.. Most importantly, they always know how to make me laugh and help me spend my money =P.
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Once such occasion happened only a couple of weekends back when someone (Nanee) decided to go for a weekender at Perhentian Islands. It took her roughly an hour to come up with the idea to go, plan the entire trip and pretty much get everything organized. The hard part I suppose was trying to convince me to go. I must admit it took me awhile before i decided to go on the supposedly random trip. In fact, I did try to avoid the allegedly "gentle" pressure of my BFFs until the very last minute. Truth be told, I was quite worried about my own financial situation at the time with our other holiday plan(a trip to Europe) just looming around the corner. However and happily, I must say that the entire trip wasn't half bad save for the fact that I lost some money (and my wallet) which until now I have no idea ended up where exactly as well as a few nasty tumbles here and there. Oh yes, and perhaps my biggest regret of all which still haunts me every time I look into a mirror.. a severe lack of sunblock!
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It all started with a half day's worth of work for me followed by a somewhat frantic dash to and around KL to make it in time to meet up with my fellow travellers for some odd reason in Greenwood, Gombak to get on the bus heading to Kuala Besut and its jetty. It was my first time to Terengganu and in fact, my first time on the upper side of the East Coast so it was definitely a unique experience.. one which I hope I wouldn't have to repeat anytime soon if going by bus. Word to the wise, if you're to the East Coast.. the best thing is to be fly, don't even bother if going by road. I knew it was going to be a long 8 hour bus ride but what I didn't know was that more than 3/4 of the journey would be on backwater, hilly country roads.
Our journey started at 10pm with Rifhan and I sitting in the first row with nothing at all to obstruct our view of the road.. and yes, it was like a roller coaster ride in the dark for at least 6 hours.. by far, the scariest ride of my life. The road was nothing less than treacherous.. how the driver can still speed in such conditions is horrifying. Half the time, I tried to just keep my closed as the bus moved rather violently all around according to the hill range the road was on, praying that it would be over soon. Trust me, it was bad but if you like the feeling of having more than a dozen close shaves at a time, then by all means.. go ahead.
We reached Kuala Besut before dawn and still shrouded in the darkness of night, but the peacefulness of the small town did make the bus ride seem less traumatic. We did have to wait for awhile before we actually made our way to Perhentian Island itself because we didn't have any confirmed accommodation at the time.. part and parcel of the trouble you get when travelling in random backpacker mode I suppose. We got to Long Beach on the small island (Perhentian Kecil) just before noon and in the sweltering heat. Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready at the time so we had a quick lunch on the beach as we waited. I can't seem to recall the place that we stayed in but I think it was Matahari. The chalets weren't so bad.. decent digs if you don't mind the fact that they ration the electricity in the chalets according to certain fixed hours which at times, did cause quite a hassle.
The variety of food available on Long Beach could clearly be seen to cater more to the Western palette although the there were some local dishes like fried noodles, roti canai and such. All were fairly priced if you consider the fact that your on an island filled with 90% foreigners. However, if you're watching every sen, then the food is priced slightly above average.. but really, where's the fun if you are stinging on your vacation? Most places serve the same thing but you can never go wrong if you order seafood. You can bet that it's all fresh and very yummy. At night, most restaurants would have a set barbaque menu where you have your choice of grilled seafood with your choice of sauce, side dish and drink (fish lover Rifhan made sure none of us had the shark). A very good deal I must say and the setting was also spectacularly beautiful as you get to have dinner on the sand, by the sea and under a diamond sky (I hadn't seen such a starry night in a very long while). The only drawback I'd have to say is the fact that the lighting at the dining table was quite dim so you can't really see your food. At first, we laughed at the Mat Sallehs' having their dinner with a torchlight but then realized that it was actually quite necessary though silly.
Another good eating spot definitely worth trying out which is more secluded than the restaurants on the beach is the restaurant in Panorama resort.. again, can't really remember the name of it but just head to the Panorama and you wont miss it. The restaurant is probably the best on the island though its location is not as idyllic as the ones on the beach itself. The setting and decor of the restaurant is very Robinson Crusoe-ish, almost like a treehouse or hut on a tropical island with a very earthy feel to it. The food selection is also much more extensive than anywhere else. The prices are still reasonable though service can be quite a pain. It appears that if you're gonna go to Long Beach, the restaurant at Panorama is something that you shouldn't miss out on. After dinner, we usually headed to the Palm Tree Cafe just next to the Panorama and on the beach to either have drinks and dance the night away or umm.. play ridiculous card games?
Overall, it was a good weekend to get high on finger foods (we ate A LOT of sandwiches) and uber delicious fresh seafood of all sorts. However, this is obviously not the best part of the trip. The best part? Is yet to come =)
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