Perhentian Islands

We took a boat to the Perhentian Islands in the east coast state of Terengganu, peninsular Malaysia. It was by luck that we reserved three nights at Alu Alu dive resort. Knowing little about the two Perhentain islands (aptly named 'big' and 'small') we planned to take a look around our base and then move on. When checking in to our accommodation we met Ben, a chatty and friendly diving instructor. We decided that we would try a Discovery Dive with Ben. Another couple, Catherine and Mihir, who were much more experienced than us joined us for a dive in D'Lagoon. The conditions were terrible under water, very poor visibility. We dived to around 12 metres and couldn't see much beyond a metre, two metres where it was good. We saw some corals and fish but mainly concentrated on where we were going, trying not to loose each other in the murk.

Afterwards we had a fantastic meal with Cath and Mihir of fresh fish and squid cooked to perfection on a charcoal BBQ right on the beach. It was great to hear about their upcoming wedding and share stories of our travels so far. Chris, now a squid conesieur, claimed that it was the tastiest squid he'd ever eaten, which is saying a lot! 

Although the diving hadn't been a beautiful serene experience, because of the poor conditions, our main objective was to see if we could both equalise underwater, as we'd had problems previously. On this point it was a grand success and we signed up to undertake our PADI Open Water diving course. This gave us the physical skills and basic knowledge to be proficient to dive with an instructor or dive master. 

We became quite hooked on the excitement of diving. It was most enjoyable to search for exotic fish and bright corals. Each trip we took we discovered and learnt about new (to us) species, and of course, built up our diving log. The waters were warm, the location stunning and the teaching support we received was "super good". We took our learning one step further and become PADI Advanced Open Water certified. This means that, though still diving with a Dive Master or Instructor, it primarily allows us to go deeper - down to 30m. Lucie was our Dive Instructor for the Advanced Course and she was very encouraging. 

We ended up becoming good friends with Ben and Lucie, having done 22 dives in total and hung out with them most nights. Lucie was kind enough to compose a video of our training, see below. 

So our three days reservation turned into a two week stay. Finally, with a heavy heart we had to say goodbye to our wonderful new friends. We left the pretty Perhentain Islands with a new skill under our (weight) belts and headed down the coast. 

Diving is a sociable pastime, and on the Perhentain islands we'd meet Carrie and Lee, expat colleagues living and working in Malaysia. Carrie invited us down to Kapas Island, two hours south and opposite her house on the mainland. We spent a great evening playing cards with Carrie and her friends. Carrie invited us to stay at hers, although she would be away with work. We were delighted to accept her very generous offer, especially when we discovered her place was right on the beach! 

Super Scuba - learning to dive in the Perhentian Islands

Home sweet home in the Perhentians

Beachfront gardens

 Some strange local beasties on Kapas

Roughing it at Carrie's place

Making good use of our time and jetsam from the beach

The storm clouds approach as we depart for KL

Cameron Highlands

Desperately seeking cooler climbs we left Penang during a rain storm, our first rain for four and a half months! Despite the rain it was still a sticky 36C, so we opted to take a luxury bus to the Cameron Highlands to get out of the heat. After the town of Ipoh the bus climbed higher and higher into the hills, the temperature dropped and we entered the cloud base at around 1000m. The central town of the Cameron Highlands is Tanna Ratta, famous for Tea Plantations and strawberry cultivation. As the road climbed higher pollytunnels extended as far as the eye could see, growing underneath everything from tomatoes to strawberries to flowers. Above them on the steeper slopes, the rich greens of the tea plantations and beyond them on the steepest highest slopes the remnants of the rainforest, moss filled jungles with giant ferns and bromeliads abound.

We checked into a cheery little hostel and savoured the delights of Tanna Ratta’s excellent foody places. This was by far the busiest tourist spot we’d been to since Railay in Thailand and we had to force ourselves to stop staring at the gaunt white faces everywhere. The weather was wet, humid and pretty chilly, actually requiring a jumper to sit out in the evening. It felt like being out in Fort William, on Scotland’s west coast, during a pleasant but damp June evening.

There were plenty of tours and day trips on offer but they all looked naff and a bit pricey, so we bought a local diagram-like map (artistically suggestive of trails with no scale) and picked our route, No.1 up Gunung Brinchang, the highest local mountain at 2031m. We set off the following morning, a taxi driver showing us the start of the route and after a few hundred metres the road gave way to a narrow mud track which weaved its way into the dense undergrowth and straight up.

We twisted and turned through the undergrowth and as the track got steeper we scrambled and crawled up and under tree roots, over rock outcrops and slithered up mud banks. The rain came down constantly and then heavily in sharp bursts. Sarah had her waterproof on but after an hour it was useless, saturated. The forest was thick with moss, it hung from every tree and vine, and giant bromeliads clung to boughs soaking up the fat rain as it fell. We emerged on a ridgeline, to the left the forest plunged steeply away and back towards the valley floor, to the right a steep drop into a raised basin full of bird calls and the sounds of monkeys. But with the cloud and the rain the view was very…….Scottish - cloud and bits of green!

After a two hour stomp, scramble and slither we emerged at the top next to a very attractive military radio mast and bored, damp looking guard on duty! Our walk down was much easier following the badly paved road which attracts the lazier of visitors by car to the top of Gunung Brinchang.  The 10km return journey brought us down through the forest emerging in the heart of the tea plantations. The lushness of greens almost blinded us despite the waves of grey rain and clouds that blew over and through us. Back on the main road after a few hours we waved down a car for a lift back to the main town, feeling guilt for drenching their back seats, but nobody seemed to mind. Back in Tanna Ratta for a well deserved cup of local tea to warm us up and a Rotti Chani (pancake) with curry sauce – mmmmmmm!

After seeing enough rain in two days to make up for the past 4 months we decided to hop on a bus and try Malaysia’s east coast.

Luxury travel, only 3 seats across in the big fun bus!

The start of a very wet, green, fun walk

Tree roots provide excellent ladders, these hardwood's roots were so tough that even the smallest of them didn't bend or flex

So much moss

More moss

An elf runs off into the dark wood from whence it came!

Two soggy woodland creatures

Sarah's first 2000m summit wahooo!!

Green and grey was thought for the day

These giant bromeliads were over two metres across

The ridge in the distance in the cloud was our line of ascent (we think)

A bit soggier

The siamese no headed fern (we named it)

Down to the tea and strawberry plantations

Very green tea

Penang's Jungles

Ready for something even quieter we took a bus along the north coast of Penang, avoiding the tourist hotspot of Batu Feringgi we settled into a brand new budget guesthouse in Teluk Behang. The guesthouse owner was a lovely man who made us feel very welcome. We visited the local spice gardens and got lost amongst the spices, herbs and ferns that covered the coastal cliff gardens.

We were based on the coast, 10 minutes walk from the Penang National Park and spent the next two days trekking in its hot and humid jungles, emerging at various spots onto sun baked, desolate, but beautiful, beaches.

Most people used the local water taxis to drop them off and pick them up from these remote beaches, but us Brits are made of sterner stuff, preferring a 6 hour trek through jungle and over steep 200m peaks, in 38C in order to feel the sense of achievement! Never was a man or woman more sweaty!

We bathed in the warm seas to get as cool as we could ignoring the prospect of our return journey. Just as we were starting to cool Sarah screamed and raced to the beach - jellyfish! She had become entangled in a real mean looking one. The sting coiled around her leg from thigh to ankle and had scraped the other leg too! She grimaced in pain and as she's a tough cookie I was worried. Not knowing whether it was a box jellyfish or not we did the only thing we could think of, sometimes a man's got to do what a man's got to do! Unfortunately after a long trek in the searing heat I was rather dehydrated and it took a few minutes to persuade the bladder to do what was necessary!

Within a few minutes the rash had eased but the pain still remained. There was a Ranger station not too far away so I ran and fetched him. He rushed back to Sarah who was sitting up but still in pain, he didn't think it was a box jellyfish but said I must pee on the rash. He looked surprised when we exclaimed I already had. He said Sarah would be fine but it would hurt for a while.

We waited for half an hour and let the rash, swelling and pain reduce. The Ranger offered to call us a boat but Sarah's made of sterner stuff, she scoffed at his pity and we strode back into the undergrowth leaving a perplexed but impressed Ranger in our wake! We made it back before sunset despite Sarah spraining her ankle on the last hill and a close encounter with a territorial macaque leaving its mark on Sarah's arm, luckily just a slight scratch! Oh well they say these things come in threes, hopefully!

Over two days we saw plenty of Macaques, Dusky Languars, Giant Malaysian Squirrels and even a snake. Around us were the calls of dozens of hornbills, although spotting them through the canopy was almost impossible. The canopy top walkway was a tad disappointing but was a good test of Sarah's nerve swinging and bouncing along rope bridges 40 metres up in the tree tops - especially with her run of luck!

Cat's whiskers in full bloom in the Penang spice garden

Miracle Fruit - lemba pinans: the fruit of this plant affects the tounge's tastebuds making everything eaten afterwards taste sweet

                         Now you see me

                                                                            Now you don't

Sarah showing her creative musical side

We walked to the meromictic lake in the west of the park. I is very unusual in that it has layers of water that do not intermix. The lower section is saline and therefore denser whereas the upper layer in brackish and almost fresh in the wet season.

Glorious deserted beaches and only 38C in the shade!

Tinned tuna and ritz biscuits - ahh the food of trekking kings!

An unwanted visitor left its mark

Ouch!

Hard as nails! Ready for more trekking?

This beautiful young long-tailed macaque was not camera shy

Braving the canopy walkway - a little bouncy!

We spotted a number of groups of Dusky (or Spectacled) Lunguars

And this guys hanging around for any food opportunities

George Town Street Art

George Town on the Malaysian island of Penang has a fantastic display of street art which, in a few particular streets, is positively encouraged. Pick your favourite.