Perhentian Round 2

Just got back home and yep, had a great and rejuvenating time at the beach with my friends. Along with some photos and wonderful memories, I also brought home some nasty and itchy insect bites. Bleh.

There are some pros and cons in returning to a familiar place for holidays. For one, we are more confident in knowing when's the best time to do certain activities. We know what to skip and what are the experiences worth re-savouring. And it's always good to note that certain gems in the island have remained the same. This includes the lovely place that we stayed in - Samudra Beach Chalet, Pulau Perhentian Besar. The beach is pristine, virtually unspoilt by the massive development that has been going on in other parts of the island. It was a good place to stay but no snorkelling can be done at the beach due to the dead corals.

Leafy trees at Samudra

From experience, we knew that the Perhentian Island Resort beach was worth going through the 30 minute moderately strenous hike. The hike there was fun!

And the PIR beach was as lovely as we remembered it to be. But alas, it was too hot for a dip. So, we spent a lovely time lazing the afternoon away and eating foodies in the restaurant overlooking the beach. The food at the hotel's restaurant was bland at best to cater for the non-Malaysian palate. And indeed the amount of Caucasians beach lovers outnumbered us Malaysians. But the ice cream was delicious. And that was what most of us had.

After ice cream, we headed to Long Beach at Pulau Perhentian Kecil and had a nice time dipping in the sea and playing Questionnaire Frisbee there. Unfortunately, we were dismayed to see massive jetties built on a couple of once-beautiful beaches. The contraptions were such an eyesore that I didn't take any photos there. The only place where we could view the sunset was blocked by a huge jetty under construction. The place was also not maintained well. Stinking sludge gathered at a pool very near to the beach.

So that was part of the cons of revisiting those once-pristine beaches. The current reality could not match up to the memories of what it once was.

But this time around, I had plenty of cats to play with. It's been months since I last held a cat. And there were heaps and heaps of friendly and cuddly cats walking about the island. This souvenir shop had 15 cats which can be found unexpectedly snoozing on the product shelves. Aaaaaah, the cat cravings in me has been satisfied for now

We ate a lot, played a lot of UNO and board games. I managed to finish reading two books and journalled to my heart's content. Would I return to Perhentian again? Probably not in the near future.

Next stop, next year: Bali.