“Have you ever been scuba diving?”
“No.”
“Do you want to try?”
“Sure.”
“My Lonely Planet book says this island in Malaysia is one of the cheapest places to take a certification course.”
“OK, let’s go.”

If only all life-changing decisions were made this easily and arbitrarily.

We thought the night bus would bring us directly to Kuala Besut where we could catch the morning jetty to the island. But of course that would be much too easy. Instead the bus drops J and I off on the side of the road at 4 am. It’s pitch black and we have no idea where we are. Luckily, a man with a “taxi” (see: unidentified vehicle) is waiting to take us the rest of the way. How did he know we were coming? It’s better not to ask these questions in Southeast Asia. After a brief half-hearted negotiation on the fare — I did mention it was 4 am, right? — we hop in. He does take us to the correct destination and four hours and a jetty ride later, we arrive: Pulau Perhentian.

Map of Pulau Perhentian and dive sites (Photo credit: Julia Thompson)

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