Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- redang island resorts travel tips discussions

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[> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Mara, Tue, Jul 26 2005, 16:53:50

Thank you very much for you reply and assistance.
Maybe you could help me with another matter regarding this vacation. My husband is a diver, but due to a surgery on his knee, he has problems climbing into the boat after the diving with his equipment on. I've seen pictures of the diving boats and they seems rather small and uncomfortable especially for people with his kind of problem. Do you (or somebody else) can tell me how the boat-diving is managed? Is it possible to take off the equipment in the water and have assistence with retriving it into the boat?
Thanks in advance.

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Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Khairil Anwar, Tue, Jul 26 2005, 17:07:42

It really doesn't matter if you are staying in Besar or Kecil (unless your staying at D'Lagoon which is fabulously private with excellent snorkling). You will find that almost all the chalets and resorts there will have a restaurant. And it is all accessable to everybody, not like Redang where only a couple of chalets and resorts have proper restaurants or foodcourts. A basic meal should cost you around RM10 depending of course on where you stay. Perhentian Island Resort, Tuna Bay Resort and Coral View Resort are a bit on the upscale side of Besar so expect to pay more than that.
Yes, the are a couple shacks selling bottled drinks, snacks,sunblock etc along the beach. Just walk around when you arrive and you not be disappointed. A word of advice though. Things on the island are more expensive than they are in the mainland. Last time i was there, a box (12 bottles X 1.5l) of drinking water in K.Besut cost RM10 but in the island it's RM3 per bottle. 3X12=36 so that is more than triple the price.

I sure hope that my reply will help in your journey. Enjoy your stay and "Selamat Datang"

Khairil Anwar,
diveredang(at)gmail.com

>Hi!
>My husband and I are planning a vacation at Perhentian
>Besar Island in October.
>It is the fist time we are visiting Malaysia, we don't
>know much about the place, so I have a few questions
>to ask:
>1) We saw that the prices given from the resorts are
>B&B only - is it beacuse there are other places to
>have meals beside the hotel's restaurant? Are hotel's
>restaurants very expensive?
>2) What is the cost of an average meal (in hotel and
>outside)?
>3) Are the resorts secluded or there are shops (where
>is possible to buy water, drniks and such) near?
>
>Thanks in adavnce to all who can help me!
>Mara

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[> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Mara, Wed, Jul 27 2005, 16:59:49

Thank you very much for you reply, in fact we were considering Tuna Bay Resort.
Since from your signature I suppose you're a diver, maybe you could help me with another matter regarding this vacation. My husband is a diver, but due to a surgery on his knee, he has problems climbing into the boat after the diving with his equipment on. I've seen pictures of the diving boats and they seems rather small and uncomfortable especially for people with his kind of problem. Can you tell me how the boat-diving is managed? Is it possible to take off the equipment in the water and have assistence with retriving it into the boat?
Thanks in advance.

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[> [> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Khairil Anwar, Thu, Aug 04 2005, 19:07:46

>Thank you very much for you reply, in fact we were
>considering Tuna Bay Resort.
>Since from your signature I suppose you're a diver,
>maybe you could help me with another matter regarding
>this vacation. My husband is a diver, but due to a
>surgery on his knee, he has problems climbing into the
>boat after the diving with his equipment on. I've seen
>pictures of the diving boats and they seems rather
>small and uncomfortable especially for people with his
>kind of problem. Can you tell me how the boat-diving
>is managed? Is it possible to take off the equipment
>in the water and have assistence with retriving it
>into the boat?
>Thanks in advance.

Most dive boats in Perhentian will not have ladders for you to climb up on. How they get out is by taking off their equipment and kicking themselves out of the water. I think in your case, find an operator that have boats with ladders. Your husband can take off his equipment in the water and pass it up. The boatman and DM will be glad to help him if he tells them the problem. The only thing is please make sure you remove your weight pockets if you are using weight-integrated BCDs. They will smile but swear in their hearts if you dont do it. The other option is to not use the weight pockets but wear them around the waist. That way, it becomes a comfortable situation for everybody. Your husband will have the tanks off his back (and knees) and the boatman/DM will have your husbands weights out of their hands (and back). Hope the explaination helps.

DiveRedang(at)Gmail.com

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[> [> [> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Mara, Thu, Aug 04 2005, 23:30:48

Thanks a lot for your answer!
I don't think my hausband can get on board by kicking himself out of water... Can you advise which diving centers have boarts with ladders?
We are considering Tuna Bay Resort, so one near it would be OK.
Thanks a lot!
Cheers
Mara

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[> [> [> [> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Alex Kang, Fri, Aug 05 2005, 3:01:04

I stayed at Tuna Bay last year and used Steffen Seasports dive centre next door. I have also had knee surgery before (ACL reconstruction) a few years back and now have 3 screws in my right knee. After 6 months of sports physiotherapy, I was able to go back to most activities including climbing dive boats with all gear on. I think such a rehab programme which includes training with weights will strengthen the muscles in the leg which will compensate for the weak knee, assuming your husband had the same problem.

Anyway, to answer your question, I believe the dive boat Steffen uses has a small ladder - I don't remember ever having to fin and pull myself up while diving (but did that on the snorkelling boat as other snorkellers were using the ladder to get up). Still, these ladders would pose a problem for someone with weaker knees. Removing the weightbelt and BC/tank and passing them to the boatmen before climbing as Khairil suggested will surely help. To take the weight off the bad knee, use both hands and the good leg to pull oneself up the ladder. The boatmen or other divers will help out esp. if you inform them of your husband's condition.

You can check out more info from my Perhentian trip diaries (www.redang.org/diary_perhentian04a.htm).

Wish you a pleasant holiday at Perhentian.
Alex.
Redang Island Rendezvous
www.redang.org

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[> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Mara, Fri, Aug 05 2005, 17:18:44

Thank you very much, Alex!
Unfortunately, my husband had a much more serious problem with his knee... After the surgery, his doctor forbid him all the activities that involve putting pressure on the knee, such as running, skiing, jumping... the only sports he can practice are swimming and diving. His physiotherapy was aimed on enabling him to walk again... Now, he's OK, but you can understand that's quite impossible for him to climb on boat all by himself.
Why are you saying the the ladders Steffen uses will pose a problem? Every time we used a dive boat we climed back using ladders without problems... We used either a normal ladder and a frech type. What kind of ladder is Steffen's?

I've read you diaries and would like to compliment you: they're so full of useful informations!

I know that October is not the perfect month for a vacation on Perhentians, but that's when we have our leaves... Is it such a terrible period? Does it rains very often? Are the rains short or it rains for days? And how's the sea condition?

Thanks in advance!
Cheers
Mara

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Alex Kang, Sat, Aug 06 2005, 15:37:03

When I mentioned possible problems with ladders, I've experienced a few dive boats where the ladder doesn't reach very far below the water. I'm about 1.82m tall, so from a floating position in the water (with BC), in order to get up, one has to put the feet on the lowest rung with the knees bent and drawn up near the chest and then push with the legs while also pulling with the hands on the side of the ladder. So if your husband is unable to put pressure on his knee in this way, then it's best to avoid pushing with that leg. I've found that for ACL patients like myself, it's the knee bend and push (like climbing a steep step or getting up a small speedboat by stepping on the hull) and the reverse (like going down a steep step or from the hull of a low speedboat to the water) that's the most strain on the knee. Perhaps your husband's case is quite different so he may not have the same problems I experienced.

Perhentian in October should be like Redang in October given their close proximity - monsoon doesn't begin until November, though being that close to the rainy season, you might have scattered rain in the evenings/nights and the sea may start to get a little choppy, esp. the 2nd half of October. If you do experience rain from time to time, it doesn't last long - it's not the monsoon rains which have cycles of continuous heavy rains for a few days followed by calm, then rain again and so on. I've visited Redang twice in late October (see Trip Diaries Oct 03 & Oct 04) and found snorkelling/diving ok except viz wasn't as good and waters choppy but it's really empty and you can have the whole beach to yourself! :)

Alex.
Redang Island Rendezvous
www.redang.org

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[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Meal cost on Perhentian Besar -- Mara, Mon, Aug 08 2005, 16:57:31

Thank you very much for your reply: you've been very exhaustive!
I'll print your answer and take to my husband to read!
Cheers
Mara