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Aisa

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Aisa

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Aisa’s rating of destinations - Perhentian

Diving & Snorkeling

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The Perhentian Islands are a small group of islands off the coast of northeastern Malaysia, close to the Thai border. It belongs to Pulau Redang National Marine Park.

Perhentian are known for the white and soft sand beaches, and the reefs and crystalline water which host to a wide variety of coral, sea-turtles, sharks, etc. There are no roads and not many paths and relatively difficult to access, thus still peaceful and somewhat unexplored.

There are two main islands, Perhentian Besar (”Big Perhentian”) and Perhentian Kecil (”Small Perhentian”). Besar means big and Kecil means small in Malay. Perhentitan Kecil is more popular with backpackers and younger tourists with cheaper accommodation.

Teluk Pauh is the main beach in north Perhentian Besar, and Teluk Dalam is in the south-east.

The most popular beach in Perhentian Kecil is Pasir Panjang, also called Long Beach. Teluk Aur, also known as Coral Bay, is smaller and quieter than Long Beach.

Perhentian is great for diving and snorkeling. Many came to take the diving course in Perhentian. Perhentian is a great place to see sea turtle or shark, particularly blacktip shark. The sharks are harmless unless provoked. The best place to see sharks is between Shark Point and the Teluk Dalam large beach. Sharks are usually seen cruising the bottom of the reef. For turtles, best place is the middle of the beach in front of Perhentian Island Resort, where the sandy bottom is covered with algae.

Most of the Perhentian is covered by virgin tropical jungle. Hiking and trekking are popular activities here. Long Beach and Coral Bay are connected through a 20 minutes’ jungle path.

Read more about Malay Seafood at Seafood

Did you know Perhentian means stop over in Malay.

Seasons The tourist season in Perhentian are limited to April to October. The sea in Perhentian can be rough during the rest of the year, due to eastern monsoon. The peak tourist season is July & August.

Beware of jellyfish. They are not deadly but they can sting!

Official website http://www.perhentian-island.com/

Aisa’s rating of destinations - Tioman

Beaches | Diving & Snorkeling | Wildlife & Nature

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Tioman is an island located 32 km off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, and it’s only 200 km north of Singapore. It’s the biggest island at the east coast of Malaysia.

Tioman is densely forested and is still sparsely inhabited. It’s scenic, peaceful and inexpensive although still somewhat primitive. The local are very nice and friendly.

Tioman boasts long white sandy beaches. Juara is a very quite beach at the east coast. Air Batang (ABC among locals) is at the west coast. The sand is not as nice as Redang or Phuket though.

Tioman is a water sport heaven. It is surrounded by numerous coral reefs with diverse marine life great for diving and snorkeling. The water is so clean, it’s almost pristine! There are large turtles, different marine lives, a few shipwrecks and some massive boulders underwater. Visibility is about 30 meters.

The interesting attractions include Marine Parks, Tulai Island, Monkey Bay, Renggis Island and Malang Rock.

The soft-shell turtle and the Tioman walking catfish are unique to Tioman island. And there are several protected species of mammals on the island.

There is not much nightlife in Tioman, especially in the east coast.

Did you know Tioman is a duty free zone and offers a good selection of alcohol and cigarettes at very cheap prices.

Tioman is already the most developed among Malaysia’s eastern island. And the government is speeding up the pace of development by building a cargo jetty there. Go there before it’s too late.

Seasons The monsoon season is from late October to mid/later Feburary, which makes March to October is the best tourist season.

Beware of the sandflies in both Juara & Air Batang. The road on the island is bumpy. Be careful with the sea urchin, Aisa once stepped on one, and it hurt!

Text partly derived from Wikipedia and Wikitravel

An Emerging and “Wide” Tropical Island

Aisa’s rating of destinations -Borneo

Wildlife & Nature
Diving & Snorkeling

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Aisa votes Borneo one of the Top 10 Tropical Paradises in Asia. Sipidan of Borneo is a world known dive Mecca, ranks one of the top 5 dive sites in the world, and definitely the best in Malaysia. Borneo is becoming a hot spot for well-traveled divers!

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

On the west coast of Borneo, Turtle Beach and Golden Beach are part of the Similajau National Park. Both beaches are turtle nesting grounds, within a larger nature reserve full of tropical wildlife, jungle streams, waterfalls and plenty of animal residents. The natural parks of Sarawak are the perfect place to enjoy an invigorating jungle trek, bird watching, or just relaxing on the many perfect beaches.

Borneo has abundant wildlife. It’s rainforest and eco-system is one of the oldest in the world with a huge variety of flora and fauna. This is probably only matched in some areas of Africa and in the Amazonas region. It is also the centre of evolution and radiation of many endemic species of plants and animals.

Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre is the worlds largest Orang Utan Sanctuary, it’s about 25 km west of Sandakan. The village of Sukau is a secondary forest and also a natural sanctuary of various wildlife species, including elephants and Orang Utans. Proboscis Monkeys is a species unique to Borneo. Turtle Islands Park comprises a group of three beautiful and unspoilt natural islands. Selingan is the main island in the group to see where the Green Turtle comes to lay eggs all year round.

Sipadan Island is on the east coast of Borneo. There are vibrant white beaches. Sipadan Island is one of the top 10 dive sites in the world, so be prepared to see great amazing marine life! (The other two top 10 dive sites in Asia are Maldives and Similan Islands of Phuket in Thailand).

There are many breeding greenback and hawksbill turtles, white tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, barracuda, manta rays, eel garden, pipefish, nudibranches, flatworms, trevally and horse-eye jacks. Aisa has seen the most amazing greenback turtles here, they can be huge - up to 2 meters long! They are extremely graceful creatures in water despite their sizes. The rare mandarin fish can be spotted at the reefs of Mabul and Kapalai. Comparing to the marine life, the coral are not that great though. Aisa would not recommend Sipadan for inexperienced divers as the currents can be strong sometimes.

Borneo’s highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with an elevation of 4,095 m (13,435 ft) above sea level. It’s the highest in southeast Asia and this makes Borneo the world’s third highest island Mount Kinabalu is also a major center of biodiversity in Borneo. Visit Kota Kinabalu National Park to experience it!

The island is an environmental reserve area so there are limits to the number of visitors per day.

Seasons The Monsoon season is normally November to January in areas around Kota Kinabalu, and different months in other districts like Sandakan or Tawau.

Official Website http://www.borneotravelguide.com

Text partly derived from Wikipedia and Wikitravel