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“JUMP”, the boatman shouts, from 10 meters below. “Jump into the water, and swim to
my boat!”
I stared. I was standing on a pier that had been broken into half by the strong,
relentless waves. The pier was 10 meters below. I’d never jumped anything this high.
“My camera is with me!” I shouted back, holding up my DSLR camera bag. Not to mention
my phone, wallet, money, and glasses that were on me. Still, I contemplated jumping.
“Your friends are leaving in 10 minutes! They’re waiting at the jetty for the last boat to
the mainland already!”
I prepared to jump. I grasped my bag with my hands and calculated how much strength I needed to throw the bag far enough for it to land on the boat deck.
From 10 meters below, I saw the strong waves crashing against the rocks and I froze.
“I can’t,” I gasped. “I can’t, I’m sorry.”
My heart sank. I had work on Monday. If I missed this boat, I’d have to wait a whole day for the next one, and I’d be in deep trouble if I didn’t show up for work.
I stood at the edge of the pier. It was partially sunk into the seabed from all the
harsh winds and relentless waves that had been buffeting it.
That was when I saw a nearby beach, D’Lagoon Beach. It was the nearest beach to the boat, about north east from my location.
“There’s a beach,” I exclaimed, “Meet me there!” From this distance, I could see a few boats moored to it.
“That’s too far away!” He shouted.
“How do I get there?” I asked him. “I have no idea!” He said, shaking his head.
I called my friend and he told me “Good luck.”
It was almost 4pm. I called my friend, Aaron.
“Hey Aaron, I can’t make it man. The pier is broken in half, the waves are too strong, and it is a 10 meter jump into the water with my camera. I can’t make it in time. And I don’t know how to get back to either Long Beach or D’Lagoon Beach.”
He replied, “Well, go back tomorrow then. You finally have one more day to be alone and go out with chicks — which is what you want, right? We are at the boat now anyways, sorry.”
I fell silent. Then I explained, “Listen man, I’m lost. I can’t find my way back, and the boatman just told me he cannot pick me up. I’m gonna miss the ferry, and I’ll be here on the island alone.”
“Who told you to go hiking without us?” He said. “Sorry man, but we’re all going back. Good luck.”
I was quiet and shocked at such a nonchalant reply. I didn’t know the way back, but instead of offering help or at least some solutions, my friends were about to completely abandon me on this island.
How did my vacation end up like this?
I went on vacation to Perhentian with 5 friends
It all began with 5 of my friends who decided to go on a diving trip to Perhentian.
There were two couples, while me and another guy, Aaron, were the two single men tagging along.
We departed on Wednesday evening by car from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Besut Jetty on a journey that took 7 hours and 30 minutes.
After that, we hopped on a 45-minute speedboat to Perhentian Kecil. We arrived at Coral Bay, with boats and anchors all around.
The couples started to argue that maybe they should have gone to Perhentian Besar Island instead – apparently, it’s more beautiful, lush, and with a pristine beach that you could swim in.
So we decided to split up. The two couples and Aaron went to check out Perhentian Besar, while I decided to explore Perhentian Kecil on my own.
After some time, they called me and said that as it turned out, after going to the other island, Kecil was the cheaper place to stay. It had a pleasant view, and a promise of a much more ‘fun’ nightlife, whereas everything at Perhentian Besar closes by 10pm.
So everyone came back and we enjoyed going swimming, having BBQ dinners, smoking shisha and of course, diving.
We went diving at Perhentian and saw so many beautiful fish
Diving at Perhentian is truly beautiful. We were able to experience the various dive sites:
The Temple Of The Sea, the Police Shipwreck and lastly the Sugar Shipwreck, a merchant ship that sank while transporting several tonnes of sugar.
Cobias, coral catsharks, bamboo sharks, scorpionfish, barracuda, lionfish, giant puffers, and boxfish all make their home here.
I must say, it’s a must-visit if you plan to get your first PADI Open Water Diver’s License, as the crystal clear blue waters and gentle sea conditions makes earning your license a breezy experience.
On Saturday night, I sat down with my friends at dinner. We had been through so much fun together.
Since I needed to go back to KL for work on Monday, I asked them whether we could take Sunday’s ferry service at 12 pm.
As university students on extended breaks, they wanted to stay longer, so my request went unheeded.
I was frustrated at this – even if I had wanted to go back home alone, I couldn’t because my friends were the ones who drove their car.
My car was parked at their house back in Kuala Lumpur, and the only bus available was at 9am and 9pm.
I went exploring the Windmills at Perhentian Kecil
After a few days of diving, snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing, I noticed there were a pair of windmills on the top of Perhentian Kecil.
The locals told me they had been built to provide energy for the island. However from afar, I noticed that they weren’t moving, due to a lack of strong winds.
They mention that if you follow up the trail of telephone lines, you will arrive at the windmills and the viewpoint, giving you a splendid view of D’Lagoon beach.
So on that Sunday, before leaving the island, I decided to go for a hike in the afternoon, up to the Perhentian Windmills and the viewpoint.
Why waste my day, especially when my friends didn’t bother calling me up to join their activities?
The receptionist told me that it takes around 30 minutes to go up, and that there are no further trails north of the Island.
So I started my hike by following the telephone poles leading up to the top of the island.
Usually when hiking, I’d bring a day pack chock-full with emergency items: A first aid kit, 2 flashlights, backup batteries, 2 compasses, a knife, a poncho, water bottle, food, a fire starter, and extra clothes.
However, thinking this’ll be a short hike, all I took was my camera bag, whistle, my watch with an attached compass, and my phone (with a half-empty battery), as I’d forgotten to bring my charger for the trip.
I had no water, no first-aid kits, and no maps. And I didn’t even inform anyone of my plans. I know – careless and cocky.
I lost my way and called my ‘best’ friend Aaron
When I reached the viewpoint and the windmills, D’Lagoon Bay looked beautiful, with steps leading down the hill into a pier.
As time was running out to return to the ferry to go home, I took some good photos and headed back down the path to Long Beach.
After 30 minutes of hiking down with no sight of Long Beach, I began to wonder, where are the telephone poles? Where am I now?
I stopped and checked my watch compass. To my shock, it showed that instead of getting closer, I was heading away from Long Beach!
“Damn,” I muttered under my breath. Time was not something I had now. I had to make it back by 4 pm, or I’d miss my ferry.
The longer I followed the path, the less sure I was of where I was headed, and I was getting worried. Did I miss a trail?
Tired and exhausted, I made the slow hike back up again to the windmill’s viewpoint and made an emergency call to my “best” friend, Aaron.
I told him I had gotten lost and was in danger of missing the ferry back home. After some back and forth, he passed the phone to the boat driver.
After explaining my predicament to him, and telling him about this steel pier I could see in the distance ahead of me, the boatman agreed to send a boat taxi to that location.
So I headed down to the steel pier from the hill.
I met with the boatman at the pier and realized it was a 10-meter drop
I made my way down the steel steps to the pier. I wondered why it seemed so deserted.
10 minutes before 4 pm, the boatman, clad in a red shirt, arrived.
When I arrived at the pier, I had a terrible realization. Turns out…the steel pier was broken in half, and the worst part — there were no steps leading to the boat.
And that brings me to that critical moment at the start of this story: I had to decide whether to risk my life (and possibly some broken limbs) to make it in time for the ferry.
I could see huge waves crashing against the rocks, a 10-meter drop below me.
With the choppy water and strong winds, the boat was struggling against the current to keep away from the rocks. There was a 1-in-a-100 chance the boatman would catch my camera.
I refused. Even if I did jump, I had to swim to the boat with my glasses, phone, and wallet. I could feel the stress building up in my temples.
5 minutes before the ferry was to leave, I was stuck at the broken pier. I called my friends who were already on the ferry waiting to depart.
“Well, there’s nothing we can do.” Aaron had said. That phrase echoed in my mind.
And that’s when I realized that my friends had chosen to abandon me to my own devices, not knowing whether I can even find my way back to the chalet.
I was shocked. I’ve had dinner, lunch, and dived with them. We all came together in a group, and we all should have left together in a group.
Why were they giving me the cold shoulder like this?
Distraught, I made my way to the D’Lagoon beach
Now that 4pm had passed and my friends had left the island, I headed back up the steel steps to the viewpoint again.
I made my way down from there to the D’Lagoon Beach, where the boat should now be waiting for me.
Again I got lost, because when I checked my compass, the trail was heading away from the beach.
I saw a separate trail into the jungle, with a sign which said “D’Lagoon Beach Resort”, followed by a helpline number.
I called the number and the person on the other end said yes, follow the trail to the Beach. I took that trail into the jungle, only to find that it ended after 10 minutes in.
Looking left, right, and front — it was clear that the trail had not been used for a very long time.
Logs had fallen everywhere and not a single footprint was to be seen, the trail half-hidden by fallen leaves.
With no way forward, I turned back. It was now 4.40pm and I was totally exhausted.
My friends had left, I had missed my ferry, and I had no water. I called my “best” friend, informed him of my situation, and he noted down the name of my chalet.
“If you don’t make it in 3 hours’ time back to Long Beach, I will call the police,” Aaron said.
I thought, instead of calling the police, why can’t you come look for me instead? But I kept silent.
Imagine, I returned to the windmills the 4th time that day
In the end, I went back up again to the windmills — my 4th time up there.
Thankfully I noticed a bottle of water underneath one of the benches and I thought to myself, this was God’s sign that he wants me to live.
Even though it was only half full, and probably left for some time, because I had been hiking since 2 pm under the extremely hot sun with no shade, the water was definitely a God-send.
I blew my whistle and shouted for help, but as it was off-peak season, mid-afternoon and just
generally being in the middle of nowhere, there was no one around who could answer my calls for help.
Eventually I traced my steps back, and found the right trail back to Long Beach.
When I finally arrived at Long Beach — it was 3 hours and 15 minutes after I first started, way past my estimated time of 40 minutes.
I was so exhausted that I collapsed and napped at the white sandy beach.
On my journey back to KL, I reevaluated my friendship with my friends.
The boat ride back was shrouded in heavy rain that stung your eyes, and was carrying 24 passengers instead of the legal 12 (I thought the boat would have sunk).
And the bus ride back to Kuala Lumpur took an arduous 9 hours 30 minutes. On the way back, I thought back to my experience and more importantly, how my friends reacted.
I was shocked that my friends were treating me this way, especially after we had stayed up all night to help find Lani’s missing purse.
A few nights ago, we had a 2 am swim on the beach, leaving our valuables at the shisha table beside the beach.
After the swim, we had discovered Lani’s purse was stolen – including her old phone, passport, identification cards and cash.
Luckily, the next morning someone who knew the thieves had told them to give her back her belongings, which they did — minus the cash and the phone.
We had stayed up till 4 am, looking for her belongings. We had asked many passers-by if they had seen it.
I thought we had bonded as being closer than friends, since we’d stayed up all night to help find Lani’s missing purse.
But when I got lost hiking, not even a single person in the group cared.
Coming back to the city, I just quickly wanted to get my car back from my friends — and to avoid them at all costs.
Sure, we had fun — but a vacation that was supposed to be the best had gone so wrong in so many ways.
The lessons I learnt from this experience
The ordeal taught me a lot. In terms of survival skills, here’s what I learnt:
When planning any hike, make sure you bring all the required gear and water, as well as a map and let someone know of your plans. Make sure to charge your phone, and check the weather forecast.
During the hike, keep yourself oriented, always go back the way you came, trust your gut, pay attention to boot prints, never go out too late, never go hiking alone and always stay calm.
I also learnt that group dynamics matter a lot when traveling.
Never travel with couples, not unless you have your own girlfriend/boyfriend with you. There will be differences in opinion on how to do things.
For example, if you’re a single backpacker, a dormitory is all you need, but if you’re a backpacker couple, you’d prefer a hotel room with a beach view, because it’s easier to split finances.
If you ever want or need to separate from the other couples who have a different way of traveling, if you have a partner, you can watch out for each other.
Thirdly, when in good times, your friends hang around, but when you need them in your hour of desperation — the ones who stay are your true friends.
Another friend, when I told him this story, said, “I would have felt really sad if I were you. I might give up in the jungle and won’t find my own way back.
Even if I safely found my way out, I will never meet any of them again. They are not what we call friends.”
Yes, I felt abandoned, but this became a lesson for me, which I sure as well hope this does not happen to you when you plan for your next group vacation.
I can’t say for certain that it was a perfect holiday, but all things happen for a reason.
I am glad that I made it out alive, and nothing terrible happened.
That beautiful view of D’Lagoon Bay, beautiful as it may look from on top, but up close, the pier and the bay revealed itself to be a broken and unsafe place.
And until today, whenever I think of that broken pier, with the other half fallen into the sea, I will forever remember my friendship with people who only stick around in good times, but when the bad times come, they are all gone.
The broken pier was symbolic that people might look great outside, but once you get to know them inside, things turn out bad.
I hope that they can learn from this lesson too, that no matter what happens — you must never abandon your friend, even if he isn’t your girlfriend or boyfriend.
And if you ask me, would I ever stay back on an island to help a friend who was lost in the jungle?
Yes, I definitely would.
If you’ve got a travel story that went hilariously wrong, let us know at: hello@inreallife.my
For more stories like this, read:
https://inreallife.my/i-travelled-a-lot-when-i-was-younger-heres-why-it-sucks/
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