Wow water, who put that there?

Look right....

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After leaving Taman Negara it was another boat trip back to the "gateway" so another 2 hours relaxing boat journey up the river, this is the way to travel as long as you aren't in a hurry that is, only to find that the bus I am supposed to get on to take me to the Perhentians isn't running... *doh*

Not that I could have predicted this, just a storm has created a landslide which had blocked some of the roads (or so I was told) so I ended up going via the Jungle train.

What can I say about the jungle train, well it's a novel way to travel, basically it's an old train that has desk fans attached to the ceiling of the carriage to keep it cool, it's just a shame that they don't work or maybe that they forgot to turn them on, but either way, the carriage was packed and very hot.

Look left......

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And when I say packed, the best way to describe it was that the doors remain open and people literally hang out of the exits while the train is in motion, along with their assorted boxes and bags.

With the doors open, the train packed and hotter than it was outside, smoking being a national pastime in all areas and the fumes of the diesel engine coming into the carriage, I began to feel a little faint, which may have been ok, but I was crammed next to the entry doors, not a good place to feel light headed.

So, for all your amusement, just imagine the sole tourist on a local train, full of men in the standing area (most of the ladies appeared to be seated) feeling faint trying to bend down to stop myself passing out!

I got a few odd looks until one of them saw how pale I had gone (or maybe they just thought I was totally mad) and then some how, space appeared around me - ahh the relief that I felt, especially when 3 stops later (it was a 9 hour train journey about 3 hours in at that point) we hit  main station and there was space to sit on the floor, total bliss....

look under the water ... well I had to really...

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Finally arriving in Kota Bharu late in the evening, does any train arrive on time? It was time to hit the Perhentians the next day and of course first on my agenda was, you guessed it, working out which dive operator to go with ;-P

What can I say about the Perhentians, if you like long white sand beaches, relaxing days by the sea, or being 10-15 mins from some diving, then this is the place for you, its a laid back place unless you go to the busier, small island, but there really isn't much to do bar relax, dive and eat.

So with that in mind, who was I to kick the trend, so for 3 days, I relaxed, I ate, I dived and I sat on the beach (in the shade) reading books, but I only did it because that was what was expected of me, I didn't enjoy it honestly, no really I didn't. ;-P

You have to remember that sometimes we backpackers have to do things for the good of everyone.... ;-)

Anyway, not many pics, but they can be found here....