Bare feet, turtles, sharks and sun!

Warning! It is November 2 and it will be a time of gray skies and cold winds for most of you who read this post. So if you have no upcoming tropical escapes and are prone to jealousy or climate induced depression maybe you should just skip this post. Consider yourselves warned!

After leaving Borneo we were determined to reach the Perhentian Islands before the upcoming monsoons. These islands are said to be some of the most beautiful in South East Asia. We booked a bus from Johor Bahru at the Malaysia Singapore border for the long trip up to the Thai/Malaysia border town of Kota Bharu. From there we would catch a ferry over to the islands. Since it would be an overnight trip, we booked a “Super VIP Deluxe Coach”. These buses are like business class seating on a plane with just three seats per row and they fully recline as well. When we arrived at the bus station in the evening we saw our bus waiting at its platform. It was perfect but when I asked if this was our bus I was told no. This bus left and then next bus, not so nice but acceptable also left without us. We were told that our bus was waiting for us out on the street. There she was - an old piece of crap not even close to what we had been sold but with it getting late we had no choice but to get on. When I angrily questioned the coach manager showing him my ticket that clearly stated Super VIP… he was confused by my animated anger. Something dawned on his face and he went rushing away. As I waited for his return I told Brandy that things would be worked out. He came back with a new book of tickets, took my Super VIP… ticket and handed me a ticket that said Coach. “OK now my friend, no problem, coach ticket.” While I thought the bus was the problem he thought the ticket was. All I could do was smile and go back to my straight back chair and dream of Super VIP… What can you do?

Once at the coast, we took off our shoes to board the fast boat to the island of Kecil that sits like a green dot in the South China Sea. The island is ringed by coral filled turquoise water and dented with white sand beaches. We took a seaside bungalow at Lilys, which is famous for its seafood barbeque dinners and got organized to do some serious tropical island relaxing. It was early morning but the parade of fresh sea delights were marching from a small boat to the kitchen and my stomach already started to rumble for the evening barbeque. Shark, snapper, king, barracuda, prawns and lobster still squirmed in the fisherman’s weathered hands. The first order of business was to immerse ourselves in the clear lukewarm waters, floating starfished under the blue skies lulled by the rolling waves. Food and drinks on the white sand beach in the relief of a staked umbrella. If you are picturing a Corona commercial right now multiply by 4 and that was the paradise I am trying to get across. Barefoot and clad in shorts and bikini (I won’t tell you which of us was wearing which) we perused over the day’s catch all laid out on ice under storm lantern light and watched our dinner slapped upon a sizzling grill. Our feet dug into the powdered sand as we awaited our dinner, the tropical stars overhead and lightening flashes of distant angry thunderheads. The meal was succulent and I don’t mind saying that I did not feel sorry for those fish that we witnessed walking the proverbial gangplank into the kitchen earlier in the day. We met up with some of the few travelers that remained on the island in the face of the soon to be monsoon for a few drinks. After a hopeless attempt at some internationally accepted drinking games we left the fire-lit group of untamable drinkers and put our heads on soft pillows.

The next day started with a morning swim and coffee on the beach. This would be my ritual for the next four mornings. We organized a boat ride and a packed lunch to a secluded beach called the “Blue Lagoon”. We wanted to escape the crowds of our current bungalows beach. (the beach is called Long Beach as it is about 1km long and the number of tourist hoards was about 40). Blue Lagoon was our private paradise for the day and we snorkeled and fished the day away.

The next day was scheduled to be our last as we expected the good weather to break but the stories of other travelers’ snorkeling excursions changed our plans and we extended our stay another day. Not to give the impression of being a total beach slugs, the early evenings held beach volley ball games that were interrupted by dives into the ocean to wash the sand from ourselves. Players were named by country of origin, I was Canuck, there was Yank, Fin, a Germany but several Swedes which sort of made it confusing. Our snorkeling trip on our last full day dropped the two of us at Turtle Bay in hopes of swimming with giant sea turtles. Our incredible luck continued as we not only saw one but seven of the ancient beasts. They munched on sea grass in about 12 feet of water in a bovine way. You could actually hear them yanking and munching on the stubby grass on the white sand bottom. We took turns diving down running our hands lightly on their smooth shells and let them guide us in slow acrobatics. Our fingers providing the bond and bridge between human and peaceful reptile. It was a dream come true for Brandy as she has always held a love for turtles and to spend an hour actually swimming with them was incredible. For me it was Brandy’s smile that made my day.

From Turtle Bay we made our way to Shark Point to swim with White Tipped Reef Sharks. I had seen a small one the day before but just brief enough to scare the hell out of me and I only just remembered that sharks are attracted to pee more than blood that stopped me from wetting my shorts. We slipped into the dark waters of Shark Point, our hands clasped together and finned our way along the edge of the reef our eyes scanning left and right. Within moments of entering the water a large torpedo shape materialized like a bad dream out of the deep murk. It was a 6-foot shark alright, what the hell were we doing here! It peered at us with complete indifference and slowly turned far below us leaving our field of vision just in time to stop me squeezing Brandy’s fingers to the breaking point.

With the artificial confidence the first harmless encounter provided us, we felt more at ease as smaller sharks quickly crisscrossed below us. With our heads down we were both surprised by a large shark that swam directly towards us just below the surface and as it glided towards us I could not help but back pedal in the water. It turned around us not more than 15 feet from where we held our position. We watched with fascination as it showed us its smooth gray sides, perfect fin and smiling toothy grin. That was enough for us we both met our fears in these blue waters it was time to get back to the safety of the boat. I could not help but scan the waters below me before I hauled myself into the boat, my mind expecting a final flurried rush from below. Luckily the prehistoric predators were happy enough with my fear and left my flesh alone.

We had met a young British couple, Sophie & Lester, with supermodel good looks but commoner friendliness. They were vacationers who had family on Penang, an island on the west coast of Malaysia. Not only did they provide us with hours of entertaining conversation on Kecil they had a car on the mainland and offered us a ride to Penang were we would spend a few days before heading to Thailand. As we got off the boat from Kecil I had to search for my sandals. We had been barefoot for 5 days! It is good feeling you should all try it some time. The six hour drive required a comical foursome of navigational skills and we appreciated the ride very much. Thanks so much Lester and Sophie! Don’t forget to send us an email.

Georgetown, Penang’s largest city, is on the cusp of the Muslim new year at the end of the month long Ramadan so most businesses are shut for a week but we toured the historic parts of the city taking in the Chinese and Malaysian cross culture architecture. It would be similar to visiting Canada on Christmas Day. Lots of celebrations, but everything is closed.

I’m not sorry if I invoked envy with this post as I warned you all at the beginning. It was really a paradise. It was our holiday from our adventures and I must admit that we both got a case of itchy feet to get on with our adventure but it sure was a nice break.

KLH

Photos:
Long Beach, Perhentian Islands
Brandy and the Boys - Long Beach
Snorkeling Trip
Sad to Leave the Beach
Malaysian Roadtrip with Lester and Sophie
Malaysian 7-Up
Georgetown Fountain
Storming the Fort
Georgetown Chinese Temple

Well this installment of FFP is brought to you by the good folks of the USA. The model had earlier in the day boasted of drinking three bottles of vodka a couple of days before I took this photo. I would have to say he at least matched that feat just before the photo. It was about 7:30am when I took the shot and the blazing sun had been up for about an hour and half. He smelled as good as he looks. We don’t know if he is dead or alive in this picture, but god bless his drunken soul!
FFP 13