Beside the calming effects of warm waves and the thrill of swimming with turtled, the chalet owner of the smal island off Terengganu shows an amazing level of trust and generosity. And that makes him a treasure too. HARBANT KAUR GILL writes from Melbourne, Australia. (taken from News Straits Times, Saturday August 5th, 2000).

There I was, on one of my regular trips home, and bussing up to Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu, for some recommended snorkelling, when a tall San Franciscan named Sandy says she's headed to a remote, isolated part of small island.

Tell me more, I implore, unshamed that a native needs to ask an oreng puteh for directions to what sounds like a Malaysian paradise. She was there for a week, she says, before going to KL, and now she's going back for two. Just can't stay away. A few hours of such tempting talk later, I'm hooked. So when the bus reaches Kuala Besut soon after dawn, my partner and I just follow her. Off we go on a speedboat for an our-long ride, drop off others at various spots on Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil, then head for the last stop, a beach cut off from the rest of humanity by rocks and sleep cliffs.