Perhentian Island - A tale of Asia

I have recently read an article about Perhentian Island. What interest me in this article is it talks about one dangerous creature, SHARK. Have a look at the article below.

“I wanted an island - peaceful, attractive, and with good snorkeling as I still don't dive, though the day may soon come when I do. We decided on the Perhentians, particularly Perhentian Kecil as it's cheaper and there was supposedly good snorkeling on the north end of the island. I wanted quiet and I wanted snorkeling at my doorstep. The guesthouse provided both as well as friendly staff.

There's a large reef in the lagoon. Still, while the coral is brown and broken the marine life is plentiful. Lots of colorful fish, mostly small, a few large groupers, many barracuda, and sharks. Supposedly turtles are frequently seen but I saw none.

This was also my first shark encounter. Prior to this day the most seemingly menacing things I had ever seen were, in the Florida Keys - stingrays, a lion fish (or one of those prickly colorful poisonous things), and barracuda and more recently I met a moray eel off Koh Lanta in Thailand that had, like all the aforementioned critters, no interest in me at all. For as with most marine life, none of these animals are the least bit dangerous if you leave them alone.

I was on the opposite side of the island, a ten-minute walk through the jungle on a cleared path to a nice secluded beach. It's quite rocky offshore and just beyond the rocks is another dying reef but it's abundant in marine life. Floating through it all in water streaked with sunlight I caught a glimpse of something flashing about five or six meters away. Looking closer I saw it was a blacktip shark about six-feet long. First thing I thought, "Blacktips! They eat people!" And like the silly underwater novice I am, I got the hell out of there pausing one time to consider the irony that if this shark really was interested in me, my hasty exit and the vibrations I would have made in the water in this retreat would surely have attracted the fish.

Before long, one shark swam by a few meters below me completely ignoring my presence. A few hours later, on my next swim, I had my closest contact of the day. While I was gently treading water, trying to be as motionless as possible, it took all of about five minutes for a shark to turn up. This time it was swimming straight at me, however it showed no signs of aggression whatsoever. It came within about two meters of me then satisfied with whatever it needed to know, it turned to the right and disappeared. We had bonded. A special moment between man and beast. We were one. Our respective slots in the food chain, on the ladder of evolution, we knew where we stood (or swam as the case may be).

Before long, the shark returned, swimming in a wide circle around me. More bonding. We were a team. Secure, confident, I watched my soul mate disappear in the murky, sunlight streaked depths in front of me. Then I turned to look behind me. Another shark. Wait. I had bonded with... which one? Oh, never mind. Lastly, my quick impression of the Perhentians are of attractive and peaceful islands.”
Source of Article: www.talesofasia.com/malaysia-perhentian.htm

Well if you want to experience all this by yourself, come and visit Perhentian Island. For more info about Perhentian and the accommodation, visit www.tunabay.com.my.