I arrived at the Perhentian Islands, two small islands off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia on Wednesday. It is paradise! White sand, lush green trees, mountains, tealish blue water...I'm living on a postcard! From the pier on Wednesday, I spotted several parrot fish, 5 reef sharks, trigger fish...amazing visibility!
I am staying at a resort that is ridiculously nice considering how much I am paying. Built 3 years ago, the resort was developed to host conferences, meetings, etc. Business wasn't going so well in that department so they converted conference rooms into dorm rooms by throwing beds down in the rooms. For $6.50 a night, I have air conditioning, free wi-fi, a bed-bug free bed, private beach and amazing food (seafood buffet for $5). Awesome! It's all I can do to keep myself from drawing a flowchart on the whiteboard behind my bed though...ha ha!
I've met some awesome people here and we've pretty much hung out together the whole time. Trish, a girl from NZ, and I spent Wednesday night hanging out on the beach on the other side of the island (a 7 minute walk over the hill, through the jungle). Drinking beer, sitting on a mat near a bonfire, we contemplated how ridiculous all of the tourists must look to the locals as we spend what is to them fortunes on enough alcohol to be able to get up and wiggle around on the dance floor. Hilarious! I slept through the ABC (Anything But Clothes) party on Thursday night. Oops!
Friday, I finally went diving again! I successfully passed the refresher course and saw some cool fish I'd never seen before. We didn't venture too far or too deep for my first time back underwater, so I look forward to getting out to some better dive sites. Back on shore, as I was turning off my tank I started to feel dizzy. The instructor had to hold me as I basically fell in slow motion to the ground. I've never experienced that feeling before..never lost consciousness, but scary none the less. It took me a good hour to feel like even taking my wet suit off. We decided that I almost fainted because I hardly ate anything before diving and was basically out of energy. I'll be sure to at least eat lunch before I dive next time!
Trish and I went out again Friday night and had a lot of fun (I'll save the details for another blog, another time!). I spent most of Saturday hanging around the resort because it was rainy most of the day. Once the weather cleared, I took a taxi boat to the fishing village to the health clinic. Since leaving the jungle, I have had a rash on my face that has spread and gotten worse since Monday. The boat ride was beautiful..got to see a side of the island you can't walk on. At the clinic, a boy (maybe 26?) wearing shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops was my doctor. He asked great questions, listened to things, poked at things, etc. He gave me an anti-histamine shot, anti-histamine pills, a day time cream, a night time cream, aspirin and a face wash. The entire consultation took 15 minutes and cost me 15 RM...$5, including all the medicines! Incredible! The boat ride to get there ($6) was more expensive than the doctor! I am thoroughly impressed by the health care system in Malaysia...where they actually treat people who need help quickly and cheaply.
In addition to all the medicines and creams, I also can't put my face in the salt water, can't get sun, can't eat seafood and can't drink alcohol. So, my time at the beach has become a little less than what I'd imagined, but nonetheless I am enjoying sitting under the palm trees for hours at a time reading and chatting with new friends. Later this week, I will force myself to leave paradise and head inland in a quest for a visa to India...my next destination! Goodbye from paradise!
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