It was on early to mid August 2019 that I have decided to make a short getaway to a local island in order to spend some quality “me-time” for myself.
When my ex-husband was planning and keep insisting to bring our daughter to his hometown during the Eid al-Adha last year, I believed that it was the best time for me to go on for a short vacation.
DOUBLE EXPERIENCES ON LOCAL ISLANDS
It was actually my second time being on an island ever. I was spending some time with my aunts, uncles, and few maternal cousins several years ago in Tioman Island, Mersing, Johor. We were having a family vacation in Salang Beach. When I mentioned it was during several years ago, I really mean it. I was maybe on my early 20’s.
This time around, I was in Perhentian Kecil Island with my paternal cousin, Fara and it was such an amazing hours of long-distance driving journey as well as a once in a lifetime experience on a very beautiful island just for the two of us.
DRIVING FOR HOURS
Since it was a festival holiday weeks, I had failed to make an early reservation on bus tickets and we were finally agreed to drive my one and only mid-night blue Viva Elite city car to Kuala Besut Jetty.
On August 11, 2019, we started to drive from Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan to Balakong, Cheras. We were heading to Cheras around noon at 1500hours and finally arrived during the sunset. I was suffering from a serious headache condition after few hours driving in quite a sunny and hot weather during the day so, I took a little amount of sleeping pills to have a good night rest. We agreed to start our journey for the next morning somewhere between 0100hours or 0200hours.
Geez. Fara woke me up at 0400hours instead! We were two to three hours late from the actual driving planned and we woke up in a hurry, leaving my sister’s house in panic.
Even though we were two to three hours late from the actual driving plan, we managed to stop by to perform Subuh prayer in a surau at the first stop after we entered the Karak highway.
I regretted taking sleeping pill but felt quite relieved to have some quality sleeps to drive for long miles on that day.
STOPPING BY FOR SUBUH PRAYER
We were finally arrived at one of the R&R to perform Subuh prayer. It was around 0530hours to 0600hours that we reached at the surau.
The R&R was so quiet and chilly. We were actually facing some horrific moment after performing our Subuh prayer.
Me: Fara, do you bring your phone to the prayer room?
Fara: Nope. I’ll just leave it in the car.
Me: Okay then. I’ll bring mine just in case.
Few minutes later…
Fara: (Sitting in front at the passenger seat) Do you hear anything?
Me: (Trying to find something at the back) Nope. Why?
Fara: Someone is singing.
Me: (Whispering to myself) Shoot. I thought it was only me.
Fara and I: Looking at each other. (We were actually heard a soft singing voice).
I had goosebumps. She had goosebumps. The surrounding was very quiet and chilly until we heard that soft singing voice.
Fara: (She took her phone) It is my phone. The singing voice is from my phone.
Me: (Hundred percent reliefs and thankful it is just a phone)
Fara: But how? It is played on Spotify. I am very sure I put it off.
Me: Well, maybe it is accidentally played on a surface while you put your phone just now.
Fara: Impossible. And the song?
Me: Well, let’s just continue our journey and let’s not talk about it.
It was pretty scary actually to talk about it cause we heard the singing voice clearly.
SOME SERIOUS FOGGY ROAD
After a few hours driving, we survived the singing voice and kept ourselves busy to not to talk about the horrific moment.
I could not remember where it was but surely we were driving along some serious foggy road on that particular morning on August 12, 2019.
Another new experience for us after that horrific moment. LOL.
I slow down the car and turned on the lights while driving along the foggy road. We even turned the windows down to enjoy the breezy and chilly morning.
We were some happy kids on the block.
QUICK BRUNCH BEFORE CHECKING IN
Since we were successfully skipped our breakfasts, we managed to stop by for a quick brunch just about one and a half an hour before reaching Kuala Besut Jetty. We were having the Terengganu famous evening snack, Keropok Losong for brunch.
The travel agent who was responsible for our boat tickets had several times texted us and called us to confirm our arrival time. I honestly talked to him that we will definitely be late and please avoid waiting for us. Well, I was quite puzzled to think of why they had to wait for us as from what I had read online, boats are available every hours before 1600hours.
I put my words on him that we will arrived around 1400hours.
I stepped on the accelerator and kept driving for 80 to 90 kilometers per hours. It was a small two ways road and we could not expect more.
ARRIVING AT KUALA BESUT JETTY
When we had finally reached at the last check point on Waze, and we saw the Kuala Besut Jetty signage, we were so happy and there’s a man guiding us for a parking spot. He brought us to a parking square and asked us to park our car there. I believed that he was the owner of the car park and we need to pay a MYR30 for three days. MYR10 for each day.
Fara did handed him the MYR30 and he handed us a small coupon to be placed inside our car.
We unloaded our bags and walked just few steps away to the Kuala Besut Jetty. Yay!
OUR LAST DEPARTING BOAT
I texted the travel agent man to tell him that we had finally arrived at the Kuala Besut Jetty. As he had spoke to us that the first boat trip will be leaving us, so we had to wait for another boat.
So, from my personal observation, boats will be departed with a group of passengers only. A boat would not depart if there were only two or three of passengers. There must be at least 10 persons on the boat.
I was having this deja-vu that I will be on a ferry just like my previous trip to Salang Beach, Tioman Island in Mersing, Johor.
I was totally wrong. This time around we will be on an actual boat ride with a high tide!
We were waiting for about two hours I guess for our last boat departure and we were holding our hands together since it was our first actual boat ride.
My advice is, never ever ride a boat on the high tide during late evening or you will get wet entirely!
In order to avoid myself from a sea sickness during the boat ride, I had filled up my tummy with the Keropok Losong and two cups of local English Breakfast Iced Tea also known as “Teh O Ais”. I was also avoiding myself to focus on the deep blue sea below me and kept my eyes busy to enjoy the serenity surface of the sea as well as to some islands nearby.
During the very challenging medium wavy and bumpy boat ride, we managed to see the Perhentian Besar Islands.
As I read online, Perhentian Besar Islands is not too remote as the Perhentian Kecil Islands as the Perhentian Besar Islands are quite a famous spots for many local families.
Another point is, I enjoy watching sunsets over sunrise. In Perhentian Besar Island, it is a very nice spot to enjoy sunrise. Meanwhile, in Perhentian Kecil Islands, they were describing the sunsets view was very beautiful.
I was born on 1835hours and of course I enjoys the sunsets a lot more than the sunrise.
It’s actually reminds me of Selena Gomez song, When The Sun Goes Down.
CHECKING IN AT PETANI BEACH CHALET
When the boat driver yelled for the next stop “Petani Beach, Petani Beach!”, I raised my hands and…the boat was suddenly make a stop at a white raft. It was not a wharf or a even a jetty, it was some pieces of woods with benches and some roofs few meters away from the shore.
We handed our bags and finally went off the boat. Goodbye boat and hello white wooden pieces whatever it was called. We had to wait for another small boat to fetch us in order to bring us to the shore.
In just 120 seconds, a man with his boat arrived and we were practically jumped inside the boat! Our pants had slightly wet.
So, we made it to the shore and, the chalet owner handed us the room key. I was so excited to see only foreigners were there.
The room was not so bad for a short vacation on an island for two. There were bath towels, a huge bathroom, a queen bed and a single bed, shower gel and shampoos were being provided and the most obvious commonly found on an island, a mosquito net. There was also a set of plug extension to charge our phones and camera.
We got a room just beside the chalet’s restaurant. Few steps away in front of our room, is a nicely hanged old wooden swing.
After inspecting every corner of the room, we were having a walk through the Petani Beach. The Petani Beach was situated at the lowest point of the Perhentian Kecil Islands. The sunsets view was tremendous.
DINNER BY THE SEA
We were being informed that dinner starts at 1900hours. We decided to have our dinner at 2000hours.
After having quite a super fresh shower, and performing the Maghrib prayer, we headed to the restaurant.
The most wonderful thing during the short vacation on the island is, we need to wash our feet in a bucket of water before entering the room as well as the restaurant. Shoes must be taken off inside the old wooden classic restaurant. This is to remove the small particles of white sands from our feet. I took the practice as a piece of mind and I will surely never done it on mainland since there will be no white sands at home.
For the first dinner, we were having two plates of white rice and some local dishes such as ‘daging goreng’, seafood tomyam, some stir fried veges, omelettes and my favorite drinks Teh O Ais.
There were few foreigners enjoying their dinner and we can barely heard the waves hitting the sea shore. It was a slight windy too. The man who fetch us by the smaller boat told us that we could see turtles on the beach if we are lucky during the night.
Nope. I will never get lucky for the rest of my life. Never ever I won a lucky prize in my whole entire life. So, we just talked about our long-distance miles and hours of driving during the day.
I personally regretted to leave for the island quite few hours late since we will be enjoying the beach during the evening and afternoons.
My bad. I took sleeping pill to ensure a safety road driving journey.
ANOTHER HORRIFYING MOMENT
After having dinner, we just stayed in our room and prepared ourselves for tomorrow.
We went to bed and trying to sleep but, no. We did not fall asleep easily. Another silent and another darkness. We only heard the waves hitting the shore and some quietness.
So we talked to each other until it was 0300hours. The bathroom seems to be scarier during the night since there were some holes that we could see the darkness outsides. I was afraid of spiders and insects actually. Fara was afraid of some ghost.
There we were. We took half tablet each of traveling pill and fall asleep just like that.
…goodnight Perhentian Kecil Island.
Yours truly,
Sharifa Mastura S M Shah
Sharifa. 