Tioman Island
Trip Start
Jan 02, 2009
1
18
32
Trip End
Dec 11, 2009
Pulau Tioman,
Pahang,
Malaysia
Friday, July 3, 2009
We walked to the boat jetty in the blazing afternoon sun and then boarded the ferry after first handing over our backpacks which were to be transported on the front exterior deck of the boat under a piece of tarpaulin. Literally within seconds of the ferry leaving the dock, black clouds appeared from nowhere and a storm closed in. The sea became incredibly rough and flashes of lightening and a torrential downpour accompanied the entire journey. After about 15 minutes out to sea, the engine died and the boat rolled around in the choppy water. We both started to feel nervous and a little green at this point, although Dean, trying to be manly, denied it. Eyeing the stack of old and fraying life jackets in the corner, we hoped that the boat was going to turn back, but after a short while the engine revved up again and we carried on. The journey took a couple of hours and as we reached Tioman, thankfully the storm disappeared as quickly as it had started. However, when we were handed our backpacks from the front of the boat, they were completely soaked through and every item of clothing we owned was sopping wet!
We decided to stay in Air Batang (ABC for short) as it is pretty undeveloped, but with a couple of beach bars and a few restaurants. It is possible to rent a hut on the beach for the equivalent of £5 a night, but for that you get a very small space with only a bed, a fan, a toilet and a cold shower. We decided to go "upmarket" and rent one of the posher huts on the island. Ours had plenty of space, a large balcony, air con, a fridge and hot water. The only downside was that the beach directly outside our hut was not great, with lots of shingle and dead coral on the sand and very rocky water that you couldn't really swim in.
Tioman is the largest island off the east coast of Malaysia and was the setting for the film “South Pacific” in the 1950’s. The interior of the island is mountainous jungle which is home to monkeys, squirrels, huge monitor lizards and various other creatures. We spent one day hiking through the jungle from ABC to Juara, on the other side of the island, and back again after lunch. The walk was 8km each way through dense jungle of vast trees, creepers, giant palm fronds, huge boulders and a waterfall. Within a minute of entering the jungle, we were dripping with sweat due to the extreme humidity and the hike, although enjoyable, was quite a slog.
Tioman is famous for its diving and snorkeling and the waters of the South China Sea are a beautiful clear blue-green. As he hasn’t dived for 9 years, Dean spent one afternoon doing a PADI refresher course. A couple of days later, we spent the day on a dive boat and Dean did two dives while Tracey snorkeled.
Everything is incredibly cheap on Tioman and as it is a duty free zone, alcohol costs around half the price it does on the mainland. Although the restaurants are more or less beach shacks, the food was absolutely fantastic and a decent meal cost as little as £4 for both of us, including a large bottle of mineral water. We spent a few evenings drinking and having dinner with two British couples we had met on the ferry – Nick & Zoe and Sian & Richard.
Malaysians seem to have a real fondness for cats. Tioman has hundreds of cats and kittens running around who are all very friendly. Within a few minutes of sitting down anywhere, you can expect a cat to appear on your lap wanting some attention. During our stay, a ginger tom and one of his offspring pretty much moved in with us. We felt a bit guilty that we were being unfaithful to Matty and Munchy back home, but it was lovely to have some kitties around again.
On paper Tioman is the perfect island to chill out on, but we found it a little shabby and run down, with rubbish strewn everywhere, decaying boats lying around and quite a few derelict buildings. We also found that not everyone was particularly friendly and the service in the restaurants was, at best, pretty indifferent. We had wanted to find a place where we could hang up our backpacks for 2 or 3 weeks, but after 6 days, we decided that we could find a better beach somewhere else, so we decided to leave. About an hour before we were due to catch the ferry, the heavens opened yet again and another thunderstorm started up. It rained torrentially for the entire day. As neither of us could face another ferry journey on stormy waters, we decided to stay one more day and leave the following morning come rain or shine. Thankfully, the following day was sunny and clear and we had a very calm crossing back to Mersing.
