Adventures of Travel Slippers: Perhentian Island, Terengganu, Malaysia…..a short family trip to Abdul's Chalet..Part 1

Perhentian Island, Terengganu, Malaysia

Thanks to the Internet, even small family owned island resort can be assesed by the global market by a click of a mouse…and the price, depending on the season can be quite fantastic…

My lovely wife and I had decided to go for an ‘No-Frills’ island holiday for the school holidays a few years ago, this was after I lost my pitch to ‘look & see’ an ancient city in ruins called Baghdad….so we called up my parents to let them know and suddenly the whole family was excited, In the end the group had balooned to 8 adults and 4 kids!!

The Plan:

Drive to the nearest jetty, take a speed boat to the island

No frills resort as we will be outdoors all the time

Bring some pre-prepared food and have the essential meals at the resort

Play by the ear….

As we fooled around on the net (yes...its called making love in cyber world) Abdul’s Chalet caught our eye….simple no frills yet they were recommended by quite a lot of readers on TripAdvisor….

Booked 3 chalet units for the whole gang together with the speed boat transfers return.

http://www.abdulchalet.com/

Done! ….Let’s Jom!!!

They just built this wooden deck

The Drive

KUL-Kemaman-Kuala Besut

We pushed early…..really early…cacophonously early… from Kuala Lumpur by-passed Kuantan and had breakfast at the famous Hai Peng in Kemaman, Terengganu. Tasted their famous Kopitiam and toasted bread …they even had the most wonderful Nasi Dagang Terengganu…Heavenly!!

Lotsa antique stuff...

Yummmm...

The famous coffee blend...

We were advised to arrive during high tide which was before 11am in order to get the speed boat to the island, at low tide apparently you’ve just gotta lay low…

Arrived Kuala Besut, dropped the gang and proceeded to look for the office and the person in-charge….the office was closed!!!! A nice lady told us to go straight to the jetty…with her heavy Terengganu accent..

We had to park the car about 500metres away at the end of the township….apparently that’s where all the cars were parked if you’re off to the islands. Some are covered and some are not….by the number of Singapore registered cars…I know I was at the correct place…

Perhentian consist of 2 islands Kecil (Small) and Besar (Big), the main development aka town which means the administration centre , school, post...are all located at the small island.

For those who do not wish to drive:

From Kuala Lumpur International Airport you can get a flight to Kota Bharu, Kelantan. From Kota Bharu airport, you get a taxi cab direct to Kuala Besut. Kuala Besut is a small town and it is the nearest gateway to Perhentian Island from the mainland. A boat services are available from selective travel agent. A further more 21 KM, then you'll arrive at the island.

You also can get a train from Kuala Lumpur Station towards to Wakaf Bharu, Tumpat Kelantan. From Wakaf Bharu you need to take a bus or taxi cab towards Kota Bharu. From Kota Bharu you take a cab or bus to go to Kuala Besut. In Kuala Besut you can make a hotel reservation and buy a boat ticket from the local tourist operators. Please view our latest Kuala Besut map at www.kualabesut.com

By bus? Get an express bus from Putra Terminal Kuala Lumpur or from Pudu Raya Terminal, Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Besut fact:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Besut

Kuala Besut is a small town at the northern of Terengganu, Malaysia. It is situated next to South Chinese Sea where lies a Perhentian Island. In 1970, it was a hub for fishermen to sell their fish. Now, it is the last town for Perhentian's tourist, before they depart to the island. A gateway to Perhentian Island.
Nowadays, Kuala Besut is no longer a busy small town compare to the year in 1970’s and 1990’s. Kuala Besut has lost its pride as the busiest port for fishermen and the best place for fresh fish in the north state of Terengganu.

Although Kuala Besut is no longer a great hub for fishermen still it has another pride to serve foreign and local tourist for Perhentian Island tourism activities. Kuala Besut is the official of Perhentian Island boat terminal by the government of Malaysia to provide transportation for local and foreign tourists.

It is a small fishermen tourism town. It has hotels and motels. A few coffee shops, retail shops, one pharmacy shop and one clinic. Kuala Besut always welcome any foreigner or local tourist to stay for short and long term holidays….long term?? Go figure..

The Boat

Was there a system of FIFO First In First Out? No… Loudspeakers? No….Who was in charge? Dunno….OK…this is gonna be interesting, and the sun is high and we’ve got grumpy kids with us…in my mind, I wondered if things will end up like a Taiwanese Parliament where shoes, files and fists defy gravity!!

In the fiasco, we see all the Singaporean groups were leaving boat by boat and we did not know who to speak to. We finally got hold of the person from Abdul’s Chalet and he said that another boat will be coming to fetch us, had to send the other group first. Since we were 8 adults and 4 kids….we would require 1 whole boat…plus driver.

I was told that we can pack ourselves like sardines with the other boats if we wanted to go earlier…My advise….DON’T….Stick to your ground and insist…The boats capacity is supposed to be like 12 pax?? But I see more than 12 per boat….life jackets? Some do and some don’t…OK…this is not good….The marine police was around but I suppose he is also a local boy and these things are not regulated or enforced until a tragedy occurs…

Remember, don’t overcrowd a speedboat, this should be avoided like unprotected sex with a Nigerian transvestite !

I’ve always believed that an honest answer can get you into a lot of trouble, so in order to get our boat issue settled I lied…..how are they supposed to know that my dad was the next ‘big shot’ to be transferred to Kuala Besut’s Municipality….Heheheee

We agreed with the boat owner that we shall wait for the other boat and he will go with us straight to the resort….not knowing he is the son of the owner…heheheee

At last the speed boat arrived and we had the ride of our lives!!! A little bumpy at times but Dang it was fast and fun!! The kids loved it…drizzled along the way which was quite pleasant…cool and not blistering hot…as we reached the island the rain stopped and the sun was shining again….he stopped us right in front of the resort!!!

The gang!!!

This IS paradise!!! The clear water…like an aquarium with fishes galore!! Then we thought, we brought along only 4 loafs of bread!!! What are we going to feed the fish with!! Haiyaaa!!

Upon reaching paradise, we were dropped right at the doorstep...literally...

The Resort: Abdul Chalet

A cluster of simple wooden chalets with its own en suite toilet and shower, don’t know about today but when I was there electricity was only between 7pm – 7am….who stays indoors during the day anyway!!

No Air-conditioning, just a ceiling fan ..Unfortunately for us, the fan was working as efficient as a donkey with 3 legs....at times it felt like an asthmatic hanging from the ceiling blowing at you through a straw...

….I did say No Frills right? Very Spartan but clean…. Check out the pics…

The café or restaurant served hot Malaysian food which was surprisingly very good value..there’s also a small shop selling pretty decent swimwear!!