I finally figured out a plan for the islands that I wanted to dive. I had realised that I would probably find swimming with whale sharks quite exciting, and so it would be better if I got more diving experience in first. With that in mind, and the difficulty of getting roads, I headed to Pulau Perhentian first. This involved getting a night bus from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Besut, and then a ferry.
I totally miscalculated the train journey to the bus station however, and ended up having to pay for a taxi so that I didn't miss the bus.
It was very difficult to get to sleep on the bus, as the roadas very twisty and turny, as well as the fact that I had forgotten that they turn the Air Condition really high so I was really cold too! I did manage to nap a few times, and was glad of getting a chance to stop at around the half way point to stretch my legs.
We made good time and arrived in Kuala Besut around 5am, and were greeted by someone at the pier asking if we had ferry tickets yet. I was making it up as I went so didn't have one, so just went with the flow and bought tickets there. At this point I also determined that I would go to the small island and the recommendation was for Long Beach, which I accepted.