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Beach at Berjaya Tioman |
I was in Tioman Island in June after hearing much of its merits such as it being one of the ten most beautiful islands in the world. And even though I've never heard of the movie Bali Hai, it was filmed here.
The first day, we assembled at 6.30am to board the bus to Mersing, a small town on the eastern seaboard of Peninsular Malaysia. The bus trip towards Mersing was relatively uneventful. Upon arriving at Mersing, we were lucky enough that the ferry that would take us towards Tioman Island would set off in just a while. The ferry terminal had many travel outlets all specialising in tours to the nearby outlying islands but the majority of it was focused on trips to Tioman Island, which is the largest of a group of volcanic islands in the South China Sea. Soon we were on board the ferry, Seagull Express which would bring us over to Tioman. Although the ferry travelled at a relatively fast speed, it still took about 2 hours over calm seas before we arrived at Tekek Village, Tioman.
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Twin peaks of Tioman |
My first sight of Tioman , which was of the famous twin peaks , perked me up instantly after the monotony of travelling over the sea where not much land was in sight . Finally we could set foot in Tioman Island . The weather seemed good , it seemed that things couldn't have been better . This was a long awaited vacation.
Upon setting foot into Tekek Village, we were ushered onto a bus which brought us to Berjaya Tioman Resorts which was to be our lodging for the next few days. Upon checking in, we were told that phone lines in the resort were all cut after a recent thunderstorm. After checking out the various eateries and their exorbitant prices , we decided on the relatively cheaper though still pricey Sri Nelayan Coffee House. The food portions are meagre and the food can hardly be described as gourmet cuisine. After this, we checked out the various snorkelling packages available at the activities counter and signed up for the Coral Island package at RM$50 which will set off the next day at 9.30 am. Thereafter, after heading to Tekek to grab some mineral water (at a much lower price than those offered n Berjaya ) we had a swim at the murky swimming pool , followed by dinner at Sri Nelayan (SN) again! Nightlife in Berjaya is restricted to disco at the Bali Hai Continental restaurant where nobody goes , drinking at one of the beachside water holes or simply just lazing around . Thus we just settled for playing bridge in our room.
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Sunrise |
The next day, we woke up early in anticipation of the snorkelling trip . Choon Nam and Kai Yen decided to breakfast at SN while Yiliang and me decided to head to Tekek in search of a cheaper alternative . It was a rewarding experience . We had nasi lemak which is basically coconut rice with whatever you want to add , in our case it was fried eggs , at just a fraction of the cheapest meal in Berjaya.
Back at Berjaya , it was about time to assemble at the jetty for our snorkelling trip . Together with other travellers , we were bundled onto a speedboat that brought us to our first of many stops of the day , Tulai Island . This was our first time snorkelling . It took us probably half a litre of extremely salty sea water before we started getting the hang of snorkelling which is basically to breathe using your mouth . The sea was close to crystal clear but there are just dead corals for us to see . Well , i guess this is just a practising session as the water was shallow . Hopefully the next spot would be better.
It was. And it wasn't. Our next drop off point was in deeper waters and there were much more fishes which hovered around you if you keep still enough . One even had the nerve to bite me . However if you were looking for corals , they could be found in patches and were not in abundance . This is also where i discovered that i had somewhat developed the hang of snorkelling . I wasn't ingesting as much water as before and snorkelling became more relaxing and my breathing more natural as i took my time to explore the underwater world.
After lunch at Salang , the boat took us to Monkey Bay where we encountered much better corals than before . The waves here were much stronger too . Our last stop of the day was at the Marine Center . Upon hearing it , we were all conjuring up images of colourful corals as seen in the documentaries . However , when we got there , we found out that the water here was even murkier than at the other 3 sites and we couldn't see any corals around . What it did have in abundance was fishes . The fishes here were larger than those before and i could see sea urchins lying at the bottom of the sea . The water was murky but visibility is still not too bad . After this , it was time to head back for Berjaya and our nice warm baths.
This time , we managed to persuade Kai Yen and Choon Nam to head out to Tekek for dinner and we had a meal at One-Stop , a chinese restaurant where we were the only customers around . But , at least the food wasn't bad . After this , we walked around town , checking out the souvenir shops and the exchange rate and we decided that we will attempt a hike to Juara , a village on the eastern side of Tioman , the next day.
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Tekek, Tioman |
Both Kai Yen and Choon Nam decided to sleep in late the next day. Yiliang and me headed to the swimming pool to relax and swim a bit . Later on , Kai Yen joined us at the pool and informed us that Choon Nam was ill but it wasn't anything serious. After the refreshing swim and a short rest , we headed out to Tekek to have lunch and then hike to Juara . Big mistake number 1 , we should have started in the morning . After lunch at the highly recommended Sarang Restaurant , we rented bicycles . Big mistake number 2 . We'll find that out later . After following directions , we arrived at the turn off to the path leading to Juara and followed it . It narrowed off after a while and led to a jungle trail . Not willing to give it up, we followed the ascending trail for a while before the others gave up. I wanted to make one last attempt before i could go no further so i stayed on while they turned back. After going through what could be described as an obstacle course whereby i was carrying my bicycle most of the way, i encountered the final obstacle; a flight of steps leading up with no end in sight . I left my bicycle and headed up the steps for a while before i came to the decision that i'll turn back.
Upon turning back , i decided to head for Ayer Batang village (ABC). Along the way , i passed by the marine park we visited yesterday . A little while more , i came upon another flight of steps which led to ABC . Not willing to attempt another disastrous obstacle course , i turned back and headed for Tekek.
There i met the rest at a souvenir shop (Tekek isn't that big a place, just a street) and bought some t-shirts . After that , we went back to Berjaya and had a game of tennis at the price of RM$20 per hour for the court . Dinner that night was at SN and we had buffet.
The last morning at Tioman, we boarded the wrong bus which led us to Berjaya suites which was 2km away from Berjaya when we wanted to go to Tekek which was the other direction . Fortunately we didn't go to Tekek either because the ferry docked at the Berjaya Jetty . The journey back was pretty uneventful and this is the end of my Tioman Trip.
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Colourful fishes |
Coral reef |
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Pictures taken while snorkelling |
