Dive Trip - Bubbles Dive Resort, Perhentian Island, Jun 21-24 2014

2nd dive trip of the year. It was not unusual, if timing permits, we will usually grab a trip from the yearly MIDE event. Here goes our deal for 2014 - Bubbles Resort was our choice. Indeed, it was a good choice. I will describe more later.

Some time in April, we grabbed an air ticket deal from Fire Fly with only RM78/pax round trip. Good deal! It's all inclusive of 20kg luggage, in which we need it most for diving gears. Our started off from the office after work, we headed to Subang Airport. Post check in, we walked over opposite for seafood. I made a greatest mistake just before I stepped out from office - took a pill of Vitamin C. That means, no seafood for me within 2-4 hours. Gosh!! I didn't get to enjoy my early dinner.

In order to fight tiredness, we stayed over night at a budget hotel at Kuala Besut, walking distance off jetty to Perhentian island. T-Lodge, quite some good reviews from Agoda.

There goes our wait at the jetty...

Besut jetty

Testing GoPro

Bubbles Resort location

Upon reaching the resort, we had to wait for about an hour before lunch. It was a very leisure and less crowd day. Just nice for the laid back group of ours. 9 of us, including a non-diver and an open water student. Let get around the small family operate dive resort.

Wall mural

Turtle Sanctuary and gathering room

Trail Luggage car

Lovely couple

Our room - Nearest to the jungle

Open air shower room

We enjoy each of the meal served. It was superb, extra ordinary compared to other typical resorts. They serve good quality food, diet and health conscious us will know and feel it. Selection of food were just nice, not too much and not too little. Best was NO MSG! Indeed, for real we don't taste MSG in our food. One of the lunch meal which made me remembered well was the juicy satay! The beef satay tasted like steak! Wholesome yummy! Other days, we had local food with the mixture of Western. Nasi dagang (the healthy red rice type) was a plus. We were well treated with healthy and quality food. Thumbs up!

Check in counter

Tasty satay served with wedges!

Salad wrap with pancake, gado-gado and nasi dagang

Here's the highlight of the trip. Scuba diving. Dive center was well organized, most of the dive masters were from overseas. We didn't had good experience with the Westerners in previous trips, but those in this trip was just awesome. They were real friendly, perhaps its due to the less crowded environment, and not-so-commercial attitude of the owners. We had great chat with them, great dive waiting area, lots of hammocks, and other facilities like kayak and so. It was excellent place if one likes quietness and family get-together. Owner's kids do get to play along the beach, and even in the sea kayaking. Whole lot of child-hood activities, where a typical kids today won't experience or even dreamt of.

My GoPro Hero 3 was functioning well this time. Happy me! Was able to captured some good shots, but visibility was rather low. Light was low too, some days were gloomy. We didn't get to do our last dive, which was supposed to be a night dive. Storm came by and went swept away our heart. No worries (told ourselves hard), there will be next time...

GoPro shots

More of little fishes

School of fishes

Divers too

Creative shower area

That was the storm coming!

Relaxing at the bench

Lastly, a little self-made video of the dive trip. Sorry for the shaky and low quality video, as I was too eager to produce it fast :)

It was a 4D3N trip. Upon checking out on the last day, we had our lunch at Kuala Besut before heading out to Kota Bahru. I had lunch here several years ago... when I had my other dive trip for AOW certification. The restaurant serves Vietnam coffee, it was my first trial with the little tool. Kinda exciting. Coffee after meal is a blessing.

Seafood Lunch 

Our dishes 

Vietnam Coffee

Coffee for all of us 

Our hired van 

Lastly - Flight off

I kinda missed Bubbles Dive resort. Had a mixed feeling if we should be trying other resorts next year, or continue to visit this place again.. till then, hope we have decided for our next year 2015 dive calendar.