Kuala Besut -- Gateway to the Perhentians

by Backpacking Tips Asia
(Oslo, Norway)

Kuala Besut is a sleepy town on the east coast of Malaysia, located in the state of Terengganu. For travelers, it serves as a gateway to the Perhentians.

There's nothing much to do in Kuala Besut, besides waiting for the boats to Perhentian Kecil and Perhentian Besar.

If you some how don't make the last boat to the Perhentians, you have to stay the night in Kuala Besut. When we last visited the Perhentians in June 2009, we didn't catch the last boat at 05.30 pm. We walked around to find accommodation and stopped by Yaudin Guesthouse.

Since we couldn't find the staff at Yaudin we went on. We met some travelers during our hunt for accommodation, and asked if they knew of places to stay in Kuala Besut. One of them suggested the Nan Hotel right by the harbor.

When arriving at Nan Hotel, we were greeted by an elderly lady who hardly spoke English.

Our room was OK, very simple and we had to sleep on uncomfortable beds. There was a power outage around midnight and the air-con didn't work for almost an hour. It was a sweaty hour! :-S

In the middle of the night, we heard someone chanting outside. It sounded like they were chanting through speakers. This was very odd to us because it was the first time we heard this in Malaysia.

All in all: You can stay at Nan Hotel for one night, but not more than that!

Nan Hotel:

Price per night: RM 35 (with fan), RM 65 (with air-con and attached bathroom)

Food in Kuala Besut:
We only had to eat once in KB, and we found a decent restaurant right by the harbor (can't remember the name). Lots of travelers occupied this small restaurant, and during the evening large VIP-buses with Japanese and Korean tourists arrived in town.

Soon there was a queue to get a table.

How was the food?

Had fish for dinner and it was alright. After traveling for many hours, we appreciated the fact that we could just sit down and relax :-)

For more information about the Perhentians, please visit this page. It includes details on how to get to Perhentian Islands, accommodation and restaurants on Long Beach and much more

Last updated: Oct 10, 2010

Amanda

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