If paradise has a paradise...

...then I definitely visited it this weekend! It's name is Pulau Perhentian and it's two friendly sized islands in the middle of the South China Sea here in Malaysia. Any Malaysian that reads this blog listen up carefully... if you have yet to visit Perhentian, drop whatever you are currently doing (reading my blog I suppose) and get your butt to Terengganu so you can visit the MOST beautiful place your country has to offer! Maybe one of the most beautiful places any country has to offer, at least in the way of tropical paradises!!

The two islands are named Kecil (little) and Besar (big). I stayed on Kecil the entire time, on a beach called Pantai Panjang (Long Beach). I have never seen more white people in Terengganu in my whole life (or my whole time here)!! The beach was gorgeous, like powder sugar, and it was rustically developed. All the chalets and hotels and bars and stores were made from bamboo and it just felt like the exact image of an awesome island get away (and trust me, nothing EVER seems like one imagines it, or else everything would be as wonderful as Perhentian). I went there on a program for the ETAs, so I didn't have to pay for anything which was wonderful. We had a dinner one night with every kind of meat imaginable including lobster, we drank wine, and had the best fresh pineapple. Fresh pineapple is a wonder in itself! So, to the exciting part, the pictures! By the way, any pictures I show from my SCUBA diving is courtesy of my friend Aaron, a fellow ETA, because he has skill and the underwater camera. Under all the pictures I'll have a link to his website where he has pictures from all over the world, check it out, they're interesting. He also gave me my SCUBA diving photos from Pulau Redang.


Here is the view of the beach as our speed boat arrived... our hotel is in the background. The water was crystral clear and you could see the bottom everywhere.


Here we are walking up the beach on our arrival... look at the wide white beach with clear water!!!


Right away I put my SCUBA license to use because I was only on the island for a day... with plans to return frequently.
Photo courtesy of Aaron J. Pratts


Here I am underwater...
Photo Courtesy of Aaron J. Pratts


This is called a swim through... it's not a cave because you can see the other side. It was awesome to swim under coral (profound thought, I know).
Photo Courtesy of Aaron J. Pratts


This is called an Angel Fish... it's neon orange and purple... I've seen them a lot here
Photo Courtesy of Aaron J. Pratts


Here is a grouper among a school of sardines
Photo Courtesy of Aaron J. Pratts


This fish is called a Bumphead Parrot Fish... it's huge! It was 3/4 the size of me! It's a vegetarian fish and eats coral. This is how white sandy beaches are made (or part of the way). Also, vegetarian fish tend to smell and taste more fishy, so people generally do not eat them. With SCUBA you learn lots of useless information if your career is not headed into
Photo Courtesy of Aaron J. Pratts marine studies!


Just floating around... I'm in the blue fins. The dive ended after 39 minutes because I guzzle air likes it's my job. I was at 30 bars while everyone else still had about 100... if you SCUBA, that makes sense, if not, just know I'm still panicky in the water.
Photo Courtesy of Aaron J. Pratts


Later that night the hotel had a "fire show" which pretty much amounted to burn out hippies throwing giant cigarettes in the air with only a 50% catching rate. It was still interesting to watch. Lindsay, I think they're accepting applications!


Finally!! A night where I actually felt like a 23 year old American again!! This island is 5 billion times better than Redang for the simple fact that it has an active nightlife!! Redang tried, but it just wasn't happening.


My friend Audrey and I decided to take advantage of having the world's 7th best bartender by ordering one of his flaming drinks... You can't see the flame, but trust me, it was there!


This symbol is great... I think it should be on T-shirts because tourists woul buy it up. It is the symbol that lets muslims know if something is edible, or Halal. The other ETAs and I want t-shirts that say "Tidak Halal" on it. Tidak means "not." I think it would be a huge success in the tourist industry.


Hey Matt, what's wrong with your government issued car back to your home??? Oh, it got a flat tire! That's too bad! It's just a hazard of the trade.

My tour of Kuala Berang is ready to go, but I'm not going to post for a few days so this entry can be read first. Check back to have a visual of the town I now call home! Talk to you all soon!!