After a very nice sleep in a hostel in Mersing, Faye and I walked the five minutes to the dock to get the 10am ferry. After paying for our return ferry ticket as well as three other confusing fees ranging from national park to conservation fee adding up to about €20 we boarded the boat where we met a Belgian guy Will who had been on our bus the day before and a German called Nils who had been at our hostel in Mersing. Having chatted the whole way over on the boat we all went and got chalets located just a couple of metres from the white sandy beach called 'ABC' beach by the tourists. Faye and I booked in for four nights, already feeling like we would love it there. Even though ABC was called the 'backpacker' beach, it definitely had a much quieter feel to that of Perhentian. There was hardly anyone to be seen and only a handful of small restaurants, dive shops and corner stores along the beach front. We headed straight down to the abandoned beach for a swim. Later that evening we decided to talk to the main town called Tekek to get some 'duty free' beers from the shops there. After walking long the boardwalk for thirty minutes we ended up hitching a lift with a very rare by passing truck full of local builders, they dutifully dropped us off at the small Chinese shop selling a large array of tax free alcohol and chocolate. After having some toblerone and a beer, the four of us easily found a quiet spot on the beach to watch the sunset and drink our beer (being acutely aware that it was Ramadan on a very Muslim island).
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| our Chalets by the beach |
The next morning I woke up early and strolled the five metres from the chalet, across the small path into the beach and had a swim....absolute paradise. Later that morning, Will and I went to Ecodivers for a 'discovery' scuba dive course. Both our first time scuba diving, it was a great way to start. Geoffrey, the owner of the small dive school was such a friendly, relaxed guy who was also living in the same chalets we stayed at. After watching a video on the principles of scuba diving and filling out an extremely easy multiple question quiz we all geared up and headed for the beach. As it was our first dive we could go to a depth of 12m, once in the water I realised that I was not a natural! I struggled with the new sensations of breathing underwater and even staying at the bottom while also being careful not to damage the coral with my flippers. Still Geoffrey was a great teacher and made sure we were both OK for the hour in the water. We saw some really beautiful coral from their coral nursery and some beautiful fish including little Nemos. Hopefully I will be able to go back to Tioman island with more time (and money) to do some more diving in the near future. We celebrated later that night with some beers at Peace out beach bar, a few yards from our chalets followed by a good local meal at the restaurant, Mawra next door to YP chalets! It's very easy to get used to island life like this very quickly.
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| Mid sweaty hike in the jungle |
Eager to explore more of the island, the next morning Faye, Will, Nils and I decided to hike to Juara beach on the other side of the island. Geoffrey had told us it was a two hour walk along the road and was a 'little' hilly. Thanks to my navigation skills, we ended up taking the more scenic jungle trail straight through the forest (much to Faye's displeasure). It was hot and humid but the rest of us seemed to enjoy it. After two hours we made it to the road which we would follow a further thirty minutes to the beach, Faye here decided to turn back, opting to hitch back to Tekek. Sweaty and hungry, Nils, Will and I continued on and finally made it to Juara. We found a local, cheap place to eat on the beach. I had a huge bowl of very tasty vegetable and peanut curry with rice and we shared some sardine and curry empanadas. The next couple of hours we spent swimming in the wavy sea and I got annihilated by sandflies. At 3pm we decided to turn back, not looking forward to the very hilly road walk back, we did however find a lovely spot to go swimming in after the first thirty minutes of walking in Ali's waterfall (no clue who Ali is)! And after. Any failed attempts at hitching (anyone that stopped wanted to charge us extortionate amounts for a lift back), a lovely older couple in a pick up truck who lived in Tekek pulled over and dropped us back for nothing! Us and our aching legs were very grateful!
The next day we rented snorkels, flippers and masks from Geoffrey at had a beach and snorkel day. The snorkelling was so good we just went off the beach. The coral, fish and turtles were there to see straight off the coast and Nils even saw a bariccuda and reef shark! Later that evening we went down to Nazris where there was an Irish wedding being set up and apparently 65 Irish people had descended ok the island....this had been talk of the island for the whole time we had been there and some other backpackers we met who had been on the island for a week or two had been roped into bartending. As it was Ramadan and a Muslim population on the island, a lot of the locals could not handle alcohol. The beach wedding set up looked stunning and (if) I ever tie the knot, Tioman island is where it will be!
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| Beach wedding set up |
Alternating our beach days with other activities, the next morning Nils, a German girl we met Lena and I decided to trek to more of the island. This time we headed north for, ABC beach, again taking some snorkels with us. We trekked through the jungle to monkey bay and beach. The trail we had been warned was not overly obviously. We quickly realised that that was because there wasn't a trail...or maybe there had been at one stage. We still continued and followed the black cable lines, keeping them to our left as a local woman had advised us, while also keeping an eye out for snakes and monkeys who might grab our camera or water. Still, it was an experience and after over two hours we reached monkey bay, a small deserted beach surrounded by trees and the odd monkey hovering around. After some swimming and (disappointing) snorkelling we turned back. We stopped at a small beach resort fifteen minutes from ABC beach called panuba resort for lunch, a swim and a nap! We rejoined the Will, Faye and Lenas friend for dinner of seriously spicy Tom Yam and rice before going to peace out bar (beach shack) for some live music which I think is as lively as it gets on the island.
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| ABC beach |
After five nights on the island, I sadly left to make my way to Singapore. Even though I was excited for a new place to visit, Tioman is one of those places that I really loved and definitely want to return some day. Whether it be to dive, trek, eat....or even get married on the beach!
Next Stop: Singapore
Stayed: YP chalets 40RN per night
Nazris place for one night in the dorm 20RN per night
Food/Drink: Mawra, next to YP chalet for cheapest food on the island. Lots of local dishes and good breakfast, €2-3 per meal.
Johan's restaurants - local noodles and curries €3-4 per meal
Peace out beach bar for beers
ABC divers bar - good Long Island ice teas and happy hour
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