Firefly Tour in Semporna

There happened one weekend where I sat and wondered what else Semporna has to offer apart from its world-class islands. I googled and I came across the FIREFLY TOUR!!
Immediately got all my colleagues on board with me to fix a date where we are all free from any on calls.
In the process of fixing an appropriate date, we became cavemen! Every day we would judge by the clouds and the sunrise if it was suitable. Google AccuWeather has let us down a couple of times. Fortunate case, that weekend where we all agreed to have the trip was blessed well by the Sun!
We couldn’t do any DIY trip for this as it is fully operated by a tour company plus it is just too expensive to rent a boat just for ourselves. But we managed to get a good bargain at RM120 per person.
Started on a sunny Saturday at about 3.30 in the evening, my 7 other colleagues and I were picked up by the tour company's van driver from the pick-up point.
About 25 minutes later, we were at the much-awaited place. Always loved any activities to do with nature.

A double-decked boat at the pier.

Local delicacies

We were welcomed by the friendly tour host. Served with local delicacies and free flow of local tea and coffee. Just a little something to fill the tummy before the 1.5 hours of the tour. Loved the setting of the dining area. It was comfortable with the backdrop of the mangrove trees and the river.

The start of the tour

The river cruise started at about 5.30pm. We were ushered to the simple one deck boat. Unlike the typical boats where its passengers have to sit cramped together, this boat was very spacious. The chairs are normal plastic chairs and we can be moved depending on the direction that we wish to see. Brownie points!

Saltwater crocodile spotting

The journey first started with cruise at the wetlands where there were mangroves on our right and left. Slowly the boat later entered the sea. We were expecting to see some saltwater crocodile here. Nature was not in favor that day, we didn’t spot any. I tried so hard to spot at least one of them. It's alright! Nothing is certain when it comes to spotting wildlife in their hoods.

Sea tour

About 20 minutes later, we were in the middle of the sea. The salty seawater was splashing on our faces. We were brought along the waters where we got to see the base of many armed authorities from afar. But that is not the purpose of the tour. We just spotted it because it is along the way. We even saw Bukit Tengkorak and got a glimpse of how does it look like from the sea. This part of the tour is not an agenda by itself. It is just something we saw on our way back to the wetlands.

View of Bukit Tengkorak from the sea.

Mangrove tour 

About 10 minutes or so, we were back in the river surrounded by the mangroves. I am always so fascinated by mangroves for some reasons. Caught a glimpse of sea osprey or known as sea hawk. Beautiful! It flew low at one point. I caught a clear look at it! What a beauty it was! I would personally pass this part of the tour as the birdwatching session rather than just a mangrove tour.

Sunset state of mind. Calm river and the sunset.

Long-tailed macaque feeding

The boat was brought close to the wetlands where a huge group of monkeys is. It's the feeding time for the monkeys!! So many of it! They were all long-tailed macaques! Very cheeky! The boatman and the guide were doing the feeding. Spent a few minutes watching the monkeys and how fast and precise they are when it comes to food. It was almost like survival of the fittest.

caught a picture of this cheeky monkey

Proboscis Monkey  

We were on the hunt for the proboscis monkeys initially. Unfortunately, their counts are decreasing at an alarming rate. The proboscis species have a different digestive system. Plus, they are easily porn to diabetes. A lot of them died of banana induced diabetes from all the bananas the tourists are feeding them. Which happens to be the main cause of the massive decrease in the count. There are even research papers on it. Maybe there shouldn’t be any feeding in a wildlife cruise or tours in the future.

Knowledge sharing session

I enjoyed this session very much. It is always a blessing to come across new information that educates and expands our knowledge. The tour guide shared many pieces of information about mangroves and how the whole process of mangrove growth and sustainabilities in the wetlands. It was about 10 minutes of the knowledge sharing session.

Sea fishing

Once we were done with the mangrove tour, off the boat went to the sea. This time is to do sea fishing with simple fishing instruments. No fancy fishing rods here. THE only thing we were given is a plastic bottle coiled with the fishing lines and the weight. Pieces of squid were hooked as the bait. We just threw the bait with the weight into the sea and waited. Patience is the key for fishing after all right. At first, one co-tour buddy caught a tiny white fish, and another after that. Two of similar fishes. About 10 minutes later, one of them caught a big grouper!!! We were given about 20 minutes here. I waited for my bait to be eaten while enjoying the horizon. About 20 minutes later, the guide asked us all to pull the baits and weights off the sea. And guess what? I caught a crab! A huge red crab. Just a few seconds before I could get him on board, he let go of the bait! Lucky day for him. Be free and happy craby!

Was so close to catching a fat crab. 

The beautiful sunset 

While I was fishing, or shall I say very impatiently waiting for any fishes to get hooked on my bait, I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets. Sabah, in general, has blessed me with beautiful sunsets and sunrises. But that day, the sky was pink and later turned a darker shade of pink and slowly transited into purple with a  hint of gold. It was so beautiful! Witnessing such sunset in the middle of the sea was the highlight of the day.

The little thing in life, like catching a beautiful sunset in the middle of the sea.

Pink sky and the moon.

Buffet dinner

The sun went down and the moon came up! It was a bright night with the full moon. We were brought back to where we had our tea earlier to have our dinner. Loved the dinner buffet. Widespread of crabs, squids, potatoes, rice, vegetables. It was filling.

The buffet-style dinner. It was  a good dinner.

A local dance show

The dinner came with some entertainment as well. The staffs who are mostly of the local Sulu boys did some singing and dancing live performances. They sang and danced to local Sabahan songs. The boys did an amazing job to keep us well entertained. Considering the huge crowd of the tourists on that day was from China, the Sulu boys went the extra mile to sing a mandarin song! It was nice to hear. Very entertaining.

Firefly tour

The whole reason I went on this tour is for the fireflies! Before this trip, I have only seen one tiny firefly in my whole life. I've been longing to see a pool of them in the longest time. So after dinner, when the sun has already set we got back onto our boat to hunt for some fireflies. 5 minutes into the tour, we spotted none. It was a bright night lighted up with the full moon. A beautiful night I would say. But it also made it difficult for us to spot these beautiful lighted up bugs. When we were all in the disappointment of not being able to spot even one of it, one tiny bug decided to show up. Shrieked in excitement. I thought my mission of the tour was accomplished. The boat went further, and a few seconds later, there it was!! A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS TREE!!! I would call it that. So many fireflies on a single tree that it looked like a Christmas tree. Excited beyond words! Unfortunately, my phone camera couldn't capture the beautiful sight.

Photography session

The tour came to an end at 8.15pm. We were dropped off at the jetty. Took some pictures with my colleagues who were equally excited throughout this trip and the very accommodating host. The Sulu boys later joined our photography session as well.

Drop off

The same van that fetched us from our meet up point in Hospital Sempoirna, dropped us back at the same point. And off we go to our respective homes with a big happy heart and an even bigger smile.

Perhentian Island's gem- Windmill Station and Blue Lagoon!

A few months before my visit to Pulau Perhentian, I came across one of the most beautiful pictures on Instagram. It has the most beautiful sea view and staircases. Almost looked like stairways to God’s Lake. There were no locations tagged. Only a few hashtags. I googled about the hashtags and VOILA!! Its windmill station hill in Perhentian Island. PERHENTIAN KECIL to be exact!

Love snapping candid pictures! The background view, a dream came true!!

I was very sure about wanting to visit the windmill station hill when we planned our impromptu Perhentian trip. That afternoon when we were in Perhentian Kecil form Perhentian Besar, we had a quick drink under the shade of a coconut tree bar and made our way to find the path to the windmill station.
We started our journey from the long beach. We walked along the white sandy beach along with the wooden shops and stall until the end of the shop lots where we spotted Senja Cafe. We asked the worker how to go and he pointed at the path beside his stall.
Once we entered the path next to Santai Restaurant, we came across a campsite. At that moment when we were there, it didn’t look like a very pleasing campsite. But we just walked along anyway. We even came across some half-built houses. It can be quite tricky to find the path. But you can always ask for help!

The path next to Senja Cafe. But this picture is taken against the path. 

After a couple of minutes, we came across a path that splits. We had no idea which path to take. We gambled the path and took the right side of the split path. And we were RIGHT! We kept walking into the path we chose.

the path split away. And we gambled which to take... RIGHT is was! and It was RIGHT! 

At this moment we still had some shade from the well-planted surroundings.Sooner, we came across some slightly elevated path with lots of stones. There is even a rope to aid in case anyone has trouble balancing at the uneven terrain. This path is still well shaded with trees and plants.

Uneven rocky terrain.

A couple of minutes later, we came to an open path. This was not in my favor. The entire path was open with no shades. The sun was blazing directly on us. We should have known what to expect when we decided to hike in the afternoon. But we completely forgot to take a hat/cap with us. Still kept going. We came across a monitor lizard while hiking. He was just crossing the terrain to the other side.

There are no shades here. A cp/hat would be a big help.

Walked for about 10 minutes, and we saw a glimpse of the windmill. The broken windmill to be exact. But I've never seen a windmill before. So I will take this view anytime over nothing at all. The windmill is in a fenced area. We saw some locals resting here.
We just followed the signboard. It pointed to the left. We just walked along and there it was!! I spotted the beautiful staircase to God’s Lake!!

BEAUTIFUL!! The staircase here leads to the viewpoint hut.

The condition of the staircase is terrible. It is not well maintained and it can be dangerous in case of any negligence. Those with little children should pay extra attention to their children here. Nobody wants mishaps on their trips. We walked down carefully until the viewpoint. It was windy. We did not want to walk anywhere else. We just sat down admiring what makes 70% of the earth! It was not the prettiest place to sit down at the viewpoint. It was all half destroyed. But like I said, all eyes on the view of the sea. PRICELESS!
From here, there are paths to walk down to the blue lagoon. One is by the broken staircases and another is to hike down the hill. We witnessed people getting down to the old jetty to jump into the blue pool by both paths. The blue lagoon is the sea. But the stone arrangement at the sea formed almost a complete circle that it looks like a pool. We didn’t get to the blue lagoon though. We were pretty settled at our viewpoint. It was so ZENNNN! Plus, we did not bring any change of clothes.

Panoramic view of nature's HEARTWORK!

It was high tide that day. So the old jetty near the blue lagoon looked like it was so close to sinking in the water. Later we realized, if the tides are low, the jetty can be seen properly. But it looked like it was about to collapse anyway. It looks like it is not being used frequently.
After a good one and a half hours of just enjoying the view and the breeze, we decided to ascend down. Ascending was easy because the sun was not blazing at us. But be mindful while getting down. It doesn’t have much grip for our shoes to hold on. Some of the paths are just dry with fine sand. We even saw an older woman falling on her back because she couldn't get a grip of her steps. It is a completely safe path but just be sure to ascend slowly if you can't get a grip of the path.
Took us about 15 minutes to get down. Once we were down, we ran to get us a coconut shake each! It was a hotttttt day!
This hike/trek doesn’t need any guide at all. But if you feel like you need one, you can ask any of the local boys to guide your way up. A couple of families did that.  Not sure how much their service costs though.
This hike is completely do-able by anyone. We even saw old people climbing. But they took one step at a time. In case any short cut needed, a boat can be hired to take you across to the jetty at the blue lagoon. So you will be able to enjoy without much hassle. The boat can be taken at the LONG BEACH. If I remember correctly, it costs about RM15 per person for a return trip.
We also saw a couple kayaking around the blue lagoon. That means it is possible to kayak to the blue lagoon from long beach. Might take awhile but i presume its feasible. We did not manage to find out how much it would costs though.
We had a good time. But we would have had a better time if we brought along a hat or a cap and enough water. We only brought half of the small bottle. We had to ration with that.
Anyone who goes to Perhentian Island MUST make enough time to visit this place. And please go well prepared. Bring:
 1) cap/hat:  for the crazy hot day
 2) Water: Golden liquid! Hydrate.
 3) Sunblock: protect your skin from harmful UV. Especially after sweating and being by the seaside.
 4) Mosquito repellent: Got bitten all over. But that fine, the view made up to it! But if you can avoid it, why not?
 5)A small towel: Gonna sweat a bucket under the hot sun.
 6) Bikini/ swimwear: If you are planning to jump into the blue lagoon.
 7) Footwear: I climbed with a flip flop, and it was fine.
Lastly, a big huge smile! Enjoy the climb at the view! The view specially designed by Earth for us, the Earthling’s. Keep the cleanliness and enjoy nothing but the view!

A short day trip to Perhentian Kecil Island

We made a quick day trip from Pulau Perhentian Besar just to get the feel of being in the much happening island.

How to get to Perhentian Kecil Island from Perhentian Besar Island?

It is super easy and quick.
The only way to get across is by the boat taxis. It not hard to find them, they are everywhere offering services. You can even ask your resort or hotel to arrange a boat taxi for you.
The drop off point is the ever buzzing Long Beach.

the water taxi stand near our resort in perhentina besar

How long it takes?

Approximately 20 minutes, one way.

How much does it cost?

RM25 one way per person. So it costs us RM100 for two ways but I bargained for RM80. Not much of a difference, but something is better than nothing at all. HEHEHE!
Always try negotiating the price before agreeing to the rate at any tourist spots. Most rates are accustomed to spending capabilities of tourists.

Perhentian Kecil Island 

The first thing I noticed about Perhentian Kecil is the crowd. It is so much crowded compared to Perhentian Besar. They are more backpackers hostels here. There are accommodations to fit all types of travelers here. From luxury resorts to chilled backpackers hostels. There are more convenient stores and food stalls here as compared to Perhentian Besar. But got to give the credits to Perhentian Besar for its spectacular beach!
We spent around 4 hours plus in Perhentian Kecil Island and we managed to experience the island for a bit.

Having my favourite drink on a hot day by the beach.  Perfect moment!

Windmill station and blue lagoon.
 It is the gem of Perhentian Kecil Island!! If you are in Perhentian Island, regardless of Besar or Kecil, make sure you find time to get here. It is HEAVEN ON EARTH!
It requires quite a bit of hiking under the hot sun to get to the view point. But the view up there makes up for all the struggles under the hot sun. We enjoyed our little walk and hike to this place. Give yourself about 25 minutes to 45 minutes to make it to the viewpoint. You will definitely want to spend some time at the view point. If you are a vivid lover of ariel panoramic view like us, we might spend even longer gazing away. So, plan your timing accordingly.
Beach bar
The main reason Perhentian Kecil is more preferred than Perhentian Besar is because of the tiny beach bars with music by the beach. The bars made out of wood with coconut leaves roof by the beach will surely give you the tropical beach vibe. The bars serve both alcohol and non-alcohol beverages. Our pick was a refreshing coconut drink and a chilled beer. Cost us about RM28 for both. Considering the location is on an island, the price is reasonable.
Evening by the beach.
We had our tea time right after getting down from the windmill station. There are a lot of stalls selling local delicacies and fried food by the beach. They even have chairs and tables that we can grab for a seat. We ordered 2 sets of keropok lekor, pisang goreng, waffles, and coconut shakes. A bit too much food for a simple teatime for the two of us. But, YOLO! Hahaha! Plus we don’t always get to have tea time by the beach.

We spent more than hour here just looking at the view from the wind mill hill view point

That is all we managed in about 4 hours plus we were there. We were advised by our boatman to not delay too much after 5 pm. According to him,the tide is not predictable and it's not too safe to ride on tiny one engined boats past the sunset. W did not want to argue on that. Out boatman, a local Terengganu man was already waiting for us before 5pm.
Speaking from my experience, always take note of how your boat looks like or ask for your boatman's name. There will be a lot of boats waiting by the shore and some of them may look very similar. It can be confusing. Thank god for us, we could easily remember our friendly boatman's face. So it was not  much of  struggles.
We didn’t get explore much in the lesser taken paths of the island, but we were so happy to be able to tick off the one must-do activities in Pulau Perhentian. Worth the ride, money and our time!!
We were told, the island comes to life at night. We can imagine. They even have the fire dance shows  and movies at night. Didn’t have any first-hand experience of witnessing that, so I can't be too sure about that.
I think both islands has its pro and cons and are beautiful in its way.

Our Amazing Perhentian Island Experience!

Perhentian Island was a last-minute plan in which we decided to book through a travel agent for their attractive package of 3 days and 2 nights inclusive of two ways transport from the jetty to the island and 3 meals a day at the Perhentian Island Resort.
Being an east coast island, there were a couple of things that we needed to take into consideration to ensure a smooth holiday. Be sure to look into all these matters if you are going to Perhentian Island.

The beautiful seaview otw back to our resort after trekking In Perhentian Besar

Which Perhentian Islands?

Even though Perhentian Island is always referred to as one island as a whole, it is actually made up of two islands. There is quite a difference between these two islands. And it is very important to decide which island you would prefer in terms of budget and vibe. There are:

1) Perhentian Besar Island

Known for more beautiful beach and less crowd. However, it is not very budget-friendly and also there are no night lives here. It is solely for a calm and relaxed holiday.

2) Perhentian Kecil Island

Known for its tropical beach nightlife and vibe. It is more crowded and the beach is not the prettiest. There accommodations that fit all type of travelers be it high-end resorts or backpackers hostels.

Morning situation in Perhentian Besar after breakfast.

When to go there?

The islands are empty during rainy and monsoon season between December to February. Most accommodations and eateries are closed during these months.
You are planning a trip to Perhentian, be sure to book between March to November.
The best months to visit the island is in July and August. It is also the peak months, so the accommodations can get booked pretty earlier. You definitely want to book your rooms well in advance.
Do not enter the island during the peak season without booking a room. You might not get rooms to stay.

How to go there?

To get into Perhentian Island, we will need to Jetty Kuala Besut located at one of Malaysia's east coast state called Terengganu.
Two options to get there:

1) By a flight

Take a flight to Kota Bahru airport ( the much closer airport to Kuala Besut Jetty) or Kuala Terengganu airport.
It is suggested take a flight to Kota Bahru airport. Once you have landed, you got to travel by land for about an hour to the Kuala Besut Jetty.
There are daily flights to Kota Bahru airports from Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Penang, and Singapore!

2) By Bus 

Take the bus from TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) bus station at Kuala Lumpur. Each way costs RM50. The bus will drop you at the Kuala Besut Bus Terminal.
Kuala Besut bus terminal and Kuala Besut jetty is about 10 minutes walk away. You can opt to take the taxi, but we decided to get some exercise after long hours of sitting. Just GPS Kuala Besut jetty and you are good to go.
We recommend taking the night bus. It is a much better option compared to day trip, because you can just sleep your way through. You wouldn't feel the journey. We did just that to go to Kuala Besut Jetty. We took the 10.30 pm bus and reached Kuala Besut bus terminal at about 5am. We didn't feel a thing. But on our way back home, we decided to take the day bus at 1pm and it was a dreadful 9 hours journey back. Instant regret!!
But on the bright side, the transportation cost from KL To Kuala Besut costs us only RM 100 each.
We chose to go to Kuala Besut by bus. Mainly because the flight ticket was expensive considering the peak season at our time of travel. Both bus and flight have the pros and cons. So you can decide for yourself. :)

What to do at the Kuala Besut Jetty?

We reached the jetty way too early at about 5.30 am. We thought of going for a hike at a hill nearby called the Bukit Keluang. We even came prepared with only two backpacks so that it won't be much of a struggle to carry our bags uphill. But we got a little lazy that morning when we were there. hehe! We just wanted to walk around and look for decent places to have breakfast. We did spot many decent places and we had two rounds of good breakfast. We even managed to check out the souvenir stores nearby.
At about 8am we decided to get back to Perhentian Island Resort kiosk at the jetty and just wait till person in charge that we have already spoken to earlier calls us to hop onto the speedboat. And a short while after, she did! We managed to get onto the earlier boats than what was scheduled for us.
Just a little reminder for anyone who is planning a trip, just wait by your respective hotel's kiosk at the jetty. You might be able to get into the earlier boat than scheduled if there are any empty boats.

The boat ride journey?

Our boat ride was bumpy! We actually had so much fun! The water was splashing at our faces but we were so excited to finally be able to see an east coast island.
The boat ride was about 40 minutes. If you look at the sea, you will notice how the waters change color from murky brown to ordinary deep blue sea to clear turquoise water towards the island. You can see corals while you are on the boat.
Cost: It was inclusive in the resort package that we purchased. If you were to buy on your own, it costs RM60 two ways.

The colour of the water got us excited! Clear turquoise!! 

The boat drop off/pick up experience?

The boat will drop you off at the designated jetty for each resort.
In Perhentian Besar, most resorts have their own mini jetty like drop off point.
We were dropped off at Perhentian Island Resort jetty at Perhentian Besar Island. It was high tide that morning and we could barely get off the boat. It was such an experience to hop out of the boat to our jetty without falling into the sea.
The pick up from the Perhentian Island Resort jetty was smooth, unlike the drop-off. It all heavily depends on the tides. Either way, it was all new and enjoyable experiences!

I can't speak much about Perhentian Kecil though because I didn't notice any drop-off point there. I presume they will drop you off directly at the shore of the beach. We were dropped off at the shore when we made a quick trip to Perhentian Kecil Island

Million dollar view! Caught this view at Perhentian resort Island Resort Jetty.

Our AMAZING Perhentian Island experience. 

Our plan initially was to just to relax by the beach. Hence, we chose to stay in Pulau Perhentian Besar which is known to be a more quiet island with lesser tourists.
Contemporary to the popular statement, Perhentian Besar  Island is not a boring island comparatively to Perhentian Kecil Island. As mentioned, it is a much quieter island with equally fun activities to do.
We reached our resort at about 9am. We were greeted well by the resort staffs and we were given welcome drinks. Since we reached our resort way earlier than the check-in time, the staffs couldn’t accommodate us for an earlier check-in because our chalet was still occupied.
We had no choice but to roam around the resort. We found a nice place to sit under a tree by the beach. Just sat and chilled there for about two hours. Thank god for the great weather. We stayed by the beach till the lunch hour at about 11.45am. Had our early lunch and we finally got to run into our chalet at about 1pm. We were so happy to finally be able to chill in our resort.
We didn't have much planned for our 3 days and 2 nights trips. We wanted to just go in the flow and take the trip as it is. We did a couple of impromptu activities and it was  just nice to keep us occupied.

Perfect book to for the perfect place. Found a beautiful spot to chill whilst we were waiting for our room to be prepared.

What to do in Perhentian Besar Island?

Island hopping.

We booked the island hopping tour while we were aimlessly roaming around the resort in the morning. We booked for the package that covers around the Perhentian Island area which consists of Shark point, Teluk Keke and Turtle Base. Tour started at around 10am and we were picked from the jetty of the resort. We got to snorkel at every pit stop. The tour costs RM40 for about 2 hours and its inclusive of the rental snorkeling gears.
Totally recommend this package because it delivers everything that it claims. We got to see huge turtles, colourful fishes, corals and even sharks!! Spotting sea animals are solely based on luck but just give this quick island hopping a go if you must!

The snorkelling point differs according to the time. So choose whichever suits your fancy. We highly recommend the 10am trip!
Also, be noted that the snorkelling packages from other tour companies may have slight difference in terms of price and time. We booked ours through our resort. 

Explore the island.

You can only explore this island by foot. There aren’t any cars on the island. We walked along the beach to from our resort to the other resorts until we reached the end where we can't walk anymore. You will spot many kiosks selling drinks and snacks along the way. It is cheaper to get your snacks here than to buy at the resort. We came across many beautiful photo spots along the way. Oh, and also look out for birds. We saw a few different species of birds, colorful ones. Just not too sure what are the called.

Picture perfect spot at Perhentian Besar Island!

Watch the sunset and sunrise.

Sunsets and sunrise are the most beautiful time of the day. We try and get a glimpse of sunsets and sunrises anywhere we go if the time permits. got to be thankful for our chalet that faces the beach with no interruptions. We sat by the verandah of our chalets with some coffee and just watched the sunset. It is safe to say, we witnessed beautiful sunsets both the days.
If you are planning to stay in Perhentian Island Resort, take the older chalets that faces the beach. The newer chalets may be more comfortable, but it doesn't have these wide perfect view!! So be sure before booking your rooms.

The view from our room

Morning walks.

Who doesn’t love morning beach walk? Yet to meet someone who dislikes it. We love morning walks by the beach. No beach walks are the same. Imagine walking by the beautiful beach in the morning. we went for our walk right after our heavy breakfast! There was no one at the beach but us and the waves. it will still be one of the best beach walks we had as of now. I think we would have spent more than an hour walking by the beach. And also, the morning sun helps with vitamin D production in our bodies. So, why not?

Make a visit to the Perhentian Kecil Island.

we were truly in love with the calm vibes we were absorbing in Perhentian Besar. But we were quite curious to see what's at the island at the opposite end. We took the water taxi at the end of our resort and asked the boat taxi man to take us across. About 20 minutes and RM50 (RM25 for each for two ways) later, we were at the said to be much happening island, Perhentian Kecil. We spent about 4 hours here before running back to our much quieter island.

Definitely worth a quick trip to Perhentian Kecil. The windmill station hill! 

Massage/spa time

After a whole day of exploring, what we look forward to is to unwind and just chill. We checked out the Resort's traditional Malay themed spa with decent rates for a resort's standard. It didn't really tickle our fancy.
What really got us into wanting a massage was the outdoor massage that we spotted while roaming around Perhentian Besar island.
We really wanted to the outdoor spa by the beach. Imagine your aching muscles being massaged while you get to enjoy the sound of the waves and the birds chirping?
Unfortunately, we didn't stand a chance to enjoy the luxury. there is only one masseur and he was completely booked. They did offer us a slot the next day, but we were already leaving. So the next time perhaps?

The outdoor spa we came across at Perhentian Besar Island

Jungle trekking

Who would have thought of this right? While we were aimlessly walking around on the first day before the check-in, we came across a tiny walkway into the forest at the back of our resort. We then asked our receptionist if we are allowed to trek it and she was more than happy to explain the route to us. The trek starts at the back of Perhentian Besar Island Resort. Look for the open-air badminton rink, it is just a few steps away from it. The beautiful and peaceful trek takes about 30 minutes and it took us to the other end of Perhentian Besar.
We just sat there for a moment, enjoying the other end of Perhentian Besar which was much more crowded. There were more locals here.
From here, we can only get to our resort by trekking the same route out or by a boat. We cannot walk along the beach because there is no route for that. We opted for the boat ride to our resort at the cost of RM25 per person just so we can enjoy the sea view on our way back. I even managed to catch a glimpse of a bird catching a fish and flying away!!

The end of the trek from Perhentian Island Resort brought us to this. The other end of Perhentian Besar Island.

Dessert by the beach.

I can have dessert anytime, anywhere! so can anyone! who doesn't love dessert and beach combo? And what not after some morning trekking. There is a little kiosk like café at our resort that sells some cakes, pizza, and drinks. We got the drinks and sat facing the beach. Love, love, love mornings like this. We did this on our last day in the resort and I still remember how bad I was hoping for that moment to never end. EVER!

Photoshoot

Every single corner in Perhentian Besar Island and Perhentian Kecil Island are amazing! Instagram worthy spot everywhere. Kid you not, even the coconut trees looks so beautiful there. Get your insta boyfriend/girlfriend/ husband/ wife/ friend or just whoever and have a mini photoshoot of yourself. I promise every single picture going to be BEAUTIFUL!  I personally preferred the Perhentian Besar island because of the much lower density of visitors. I had beautiful spots all to myself on multiple occasions. HEHEHE!

Additional information

1) There are no ATMs in both Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil Islands. Bring enough cash to sustain your trip comfortably.
2) Most resorts do accept credit cards. Restaurants, on the other hand, prefer cash.
3) Watch your heads while you are here on the island. There are coconut trees everywhere and you don't want the coconut to fall on your head. We witnessed a lady slipping away from the mishap by a few seconds. Thank god for that.
4) There are monitor lizards on the island. Watch out for that you are terrified of them. They are harmless though.
5) Lastly, don't forget to have tonnes of fun!

Perhentian Island is the first east coast island that I visited in my country. It exceeded my expectations! We bid farewell to the island with the fullest heart. So thankful for this experience!

while waiting for our taxi boat to take us to our resort after our trekking session.

A complete guide for Bako National Park.

When we decided to make a trip to Kuching for the first time, the one thing we were sure about was to visit Sarawak’s oldest national park, Bako National Park.

We did not do much research prior to our trip and learnt a lot about the trip along the way. And I thought why not just put it up. Information is wealth after all :-)

beautiful silver leaf monkeys greeting at the entrance

From Kuching to Bako Terminal.

A night before our trip to Bako National trip we stayed in Basaga Holiday Residency in Kuching. We figured out a couple of ways to get to Bako National Park, which is located, approximately 25 KM apart.

1) By Grab

The easiest and comfortable but the most expensive. Costs around RM45.

2) By Bus

Least expensive and could consume a bit of your time. Take the Petra Jaya bus #6 from Kuching bus station to Bako Village. Costs RM3.

We opted for Grab. Not the cheapest way, but it did help us to make the journey much easier. We were dropped at the Bako Village. We just had to walk to counter that sells the boat tickets that will take us to the national park.

To Bako National Park.

By Boat

The only mode to go to Bako National Park. The costs differ if you wish to cater boat to your convenience. We opted for the shared boat trip. Do note that the boat only leaves once there are more than 5 passengers. If you are going solo or smaller group and wish to go on the shared boat, it is advisable to come early by 8 am, which is considered the peak hour for visitors to enter the national park. In that way, you can share the boat with other passengers and save the waiting time.

We only reached the terminal at about 9.15am and we had to wait for about 20 minutes to make up to the number of passengers.

The boat ride is approximately 15 minutes. Enjoy the ride. Look around and try to spot animals and plants. You can even see the beautiful Mount Santubong on your way there.

all you need to know about the boat transfer and its pricing.

 

Entrance fee to the park.

The fees differ for Malaysians and Non-Malaysian. It’s a one-time entrance fee. Which means, regardless of the day trip or overnight trip, the entrance fee is still the same.

RM10 for Malaysian Adult and RM20 for Non Malaysian Adult

Accommodation

When we were deciding on the trip, one thing we were sure about was to stay the night in the park. We wanted to soak in all of what Sarawak’s biggest and oldest national park could offer us.

You can book your accommodation through their official website.

https://ebooking.sarawak.gov.my/eBooking/public/locationInfo.htm?type=of&cat=park&fid=2

Be sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment. Walk-in booking is not encouraged.

There are several options to choose from.

We opted for Forest Lodge type 6.

It is a twin sharing room with attached bathroom/toilet with fan and basic amenities. Remember you are staying in the middle of an old national park, so don’t expect a fancy stay.

Also note, check in to you lodges can only be done after 2 pm. The check-in was easy and we were given one clean towel each at the lobby like counter at the entrance. If you happened to be in the park early and wish to attempt a trail before the check in time like us, you can leave your bags in the designated room at the lobby. However, be mindful of your belongings that you are leaving unattended. The room does not have any surveillance camera to monitor.

Simple twin sharing room at only RM50 per room.

Keep your rooms locked at all times, our primate friends are pretty cheeky! Smart enough to open the doors.

Meals

There is a comfortable café in the park itself which provides indoor and outdoor table seatings. Anticipate our primate friends to visit if you opt to dine at the outdoor tables. They serve breakfast, lunch, teatime, and dinner. However, it is all self-paid. It doesn’t come in a package or whatsoever. In my opinion, the food and drinks are fairly priced considering its location and the mode of the goods transfer. The only way to bring the goods into the park is by a boat.

If you are on a budget, the one thing you can do is to stock up on enough water for yourself. One 1.5L of mineral water bottle costs RM4 in the park's cafe.

The food is clean and tastes good enough to give a decent meal experience.

Each meal costs us around RM7-10, depending on what we chose from the mini buffet-style presentation. There were not many vegetarian options. Let alone vegan. So if you are a vegan or vegetarian, you might want to pre-plan your meals ahead.

My lunch, costs me RM6. Exclusive of the drinks.

What to do in Bako

There are a total of 18 trails. All the trails are well marked with colour code. You will be given a simple map of all the trails in Bako National Park with the estimated time needed to complete the trail on an A4 paper for free upon arrival.

Be sure to register before and after trekking on the registration book at the lobby for your safety.Also, always keep track on your trekking time. Try to complete your chosen trail before the sun sets. It gets really dark after the sunset. There are no lamps along the trails.

All trails well explained. Kept this with us throughout our stay. Our guide!

We tried to explore as much possible and I think we managed to see more than we hoped to see.

1)Paku Trail

The first trail we chose is the Paku trail. The trail is beautiful and easy. We spent about 2 hours here. Be sure to look out for the proboscis monkeys on your way. Along the way, you will be seeing mossy forest-like terrain as well. Just pay attention to the trail.

spotted some fiddler crabs on our way to Paku Trail.

2)Telok Tajor

This is another beautiful and well-paved trail. Here, we encountered many bird species' and can even hear some of them singing away. We are not vivid bird watchers to know the species' we encountered. But we did have a heap of fun time! The clean and cool air, birds flying and singing away and shadowed by the big trees, it was a therapeutic walk. If you are a bird watcher, be sure to attempt this trail.

3)Beach

Don’t ever miss the beautiful beach and the sunset. We spent the evening strolling along the beach admiring the million years old sandstone and limestone rock formations at the beach.

This got me dazed at the beach. Huge sea stone.

Look upon the trees, you will see proboscis monkeys just chilling on the tree. Watch your head, some of them are cheeky. One of the monkeys threw a mango seed at us for nothing. LOL!

If you have the time, go for a morning beach walk. There is something peaceful about having the whole beach to yourself. We got lucky on that morning, it was just us and the waves and a wild boar! He came for his morning walk too. Fret not, the wild boars around that park are not harmful. Don’t disturb them, and they will do the same for us. We even managed to catch a glimpse of mount Santubong from the beach. Thank god for the fantastic weather.

Dhasa on his morning stroll by the beach.

Spend a good few minutes looking at Mount Santubong view from the beach.

4)Guided night walk

As excited as we were to go for the night trail, due to bad weather we had to cancel it. I'm sure this would have a worthwhile walk because some animals are nocturnal, and its perfect time to watch them being active in the wild. If you are planning, the trail takes about one hour to complete and it starts at the cafe which is the meeting point. The guided walk costs RM10 per pax and you are required to bring your own torch.

5)Night walk

We went for a short night walk after dinner just to help our digestion after dinner, " the digestion walk". It was not planned. Just randomly looked up at the sky. And we were mesmerized! OMG! BEAUTIFUL! A sky full of stars!!! We love stargazing but we have never seen a sky full of stars like that night. Spent a while looking up. Wished we could just camp there but unfortunately, it's not available. You don’t have to go too far into the forest, we just walked from the cafe to the rooms and a little further. Its safe and well-paved walkway. We went back to our room with such big smiles from the peaceful walk.

6)Teluk Pandan Kecil

The most famous trail of all. There are two ways to get here. One is to trek for about one and a half hour to get there and it is free of charge. Another option is to take a boat to get there which costs a little extra.

We chose the latter and will tell you why we chose that instead of trekking the whole way up.

About 25 minutes boat ride later, we reached the beautiful pristine beach that leads the way up to Teluk Pandan Kecil viewpoint.

It only takes about 5 minutes to hike up. Quick and relatively easy trail.

The view at the top is beyond beautiful! Watch the rock formation from the top. It's unique. We even managed to drone from up there.

On our way down, we saw two tiny mountain crabs racing away. Watch your steps on your way down because the mosses on the stone can be quite the slippery.

7)Bako signature sea stack

You can only go close to the sea stack by boat. This is the sole reason why we decided to rent the boat. Since Teluk Pandan Kecil is not too far away from the sea stack and we were in a rush of time, we decided to take the quicker way to get there instead of trekking for 1.5 hours. The sea stack is located in the middle of the sea on the way to the Teluk Pandan Kecil.

Along the way, the boatman showed us many stone stacks that formed to look a lot like animals and there is one that looks just like the Sphinx in Egypt.

The return trip back to the terminal.

Do note that the boat ticket purchased to enter into Bako is inclusive of a round trip. You don't have to purchase separately. However, the boat only leaves from the Bako National park around 2 pm to 3 pm.

We decided to customize our trip to suit our itinerary.

We did the Bako signature sea stack tour right before leaving Bako. We took our backpacks along with us. We were charged a total of RM100 for the two of us to make a trip to the Teluk Pandan Kecil, Bako signature sea stack and also a trip to the Bako village where the Bako terminal is located. It is a pretty good deal, considering that we got to save the time and also we managed to cover all that we wanted to see at the convenience of our own time. You know how the saying goes "kill two birds with one stone", by doing this boat trip we killed many birds with one stone. It's just a saying, we don't kill birds. Jokes aside. If you have immense interest in plants and the swarms like myself, you will enjoy the boat ride. It was a good ride back to the terminal.

There are a lot more to do in Bako National Park. With just a night, I think we managed to get a decent amount of activities covered.

Safety.

No matter where we are, always keep track of our surroundings and whereabouts.

We are in the million years old habitat of the animals there, be respectful. Don't bother them too much.
Bring enough cash to sustain throughout your stay. There are no ATM in the park.

The beach, as beautiful as it is, unfortunately, there are sandflies all over. We got bitten everywhere and were scratching badly. Pack your antihistamines and soothing lotion.

Bring mosquito repellent, sunblock, plasters and the necessary first aids in case emergency.

Bring enough water during your hiking/trekking.

Do not swim in the sea. There are sea crocodiles there. Huge famished ones. Not sure how famished though.

Additional information.

Once you are at the village, try the Bako Seafood restaurant. Too good to miss that out! Delicious and very affordable. Loved the homemade tofu. Also try the three layer pandan tea!!
https://dhashachandran.blogspot.com/2019/07/food-hunting-in-kuching-sarawak.html

Lastly, enjoy your stay in Sarawak's oldest and biggest national park. It left us in awe!