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Published: February 25th 2009
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On our second day in Tioman we decided to get a trip around the island in a boat with Belen, Nils, Henrik and Denise for 100RM each. We were picked up on the jetty by 3 locals at about 10.30AM and took off towards the first of 5 stops.
First off was Juara, one of the more secluded and quiter beaches and reputedly, also one of the most beautiful. It took about half an hour to get there at a leisurely speed across the waves. The beach is beautiful but unfortunately the sky was a little cloudy when we got there so we weren't really able to appreciate it in full basking sunlight. However, we were the only people on the beach and it was cool standing on around half a mile of perfect sand with not a single person in view. After half an hour or so of lazing on the beach and a quick dip in the warm sea we waded back out to the boat.
On the way to the second stop, a waterfall, we were told about the legend of the Tioman Dragon that started to come into view as we went south around the
island. There are two mountains in the south that look like ears sticking out of the jungle and the rest of the island is the dragon's body. The legend has it that a dragon princess was flying from China to visit her prince in Singapore and stopped for a rest in the South China Sea. She thought that it was so beautiful that she decided to stay there and became the island of Tioman.
When we got to the second stop we walked along the deserted jetty that was just sticking out of the jungle and followed the locals up a path that wound through trees and thick undergrowth. After a few minutes we started to hear running water and after about 15 we came to the waterfall. It was only small but gorgeous and clear. We watched as the locals scaled parts of it and took a dip in the cold refreshing water so we decided to do the same. No health and safety regulations here, clearly! I bounded up the slipperly rocks, clinging on to stop myself being washed away with the water but it was well worth it when I got to the top and sat
under the gushing water. After a dip in the still water at the bottom it was back to the boat and off to the third stop for lunch. Remarkably, after only about 10 minutes my clothes were bone dry again. I love this heat!
Third stop and lunch was at another one of the resort villages and we sat in a quiet little beach bar for some local food. On the way we spotted a giant turtle skimming through the waves next to the boat.
The fourth and fifth stops were both for snorkelling, in different parts of the island. We simply anchored up in the middle of the sea and just dropped overboard into the bath-warm water. The first of the two stops was in quite shallow water by a small rocky island no more than 40 metres across, just off the edge of Tioman. The water was crystal clear and we saw all the way to the coral reefs on the bottom. We had about an hour to swim around and watch all of the gorgeous multicoloured tropical fish swim only inches away from us. They were clearly not afraid of humans as you would occasionally
find yourself surrounded by a school of brightly marked and curious fish as they went about their daily business. The guys from the boat gave us handfulls of bread and crackers to feed the fish with and they would come take it straight out of your hands. So cool!
The second snorkelling stop was off a jetty with water deep enough that the bottom wasn't visible. Obviously we couldn't see any coral but there were larger and more interesting fish at this location, including angelfish and clown fish. There were also sea lice which are the larvae of the thimble jellyfish although we didn't actually find this out until a couple of days ago. When we got out of the water we did mention the the guys on the boat that we had all felt small stings on our body from time to time while in the water but they didn't know what it was. I actually think they thought we were making it up. Luckily we weren't badly affected by the stings, they just felt like small pin pricks occasionally.
Finally we were taken back to Salang for a shower an some food.
Also, the day
before the boat trip me and Amy had been joking that she hadn't had her usual quota of clumsy or comedic injuries that usually occur at the rate of around one per week and that, three weeks into our trip, she was due some. Sure enough, on the boat trip she cut her hand clambering aboard the boat, badly stubbed her foot on some rocks at the waterfall (over a week later this is still a bit swollen) and, best of the lot, she got bitten by an over-enthusiastic fish when feeding him a cracker. She didn't try and bite him back.
We've been in Kota Bharu for the last couple of days which is a cool city right in the very north of Malaysia, just below the border with Thailand. We've really enjoyed it and think it's possibly our favourite city in Malaysia but at the moment we're having trouble getting the pictures online, again! We leave tomorrow morning for the Perhantian Islands where we will be doing more lazing around in the sunshine and perhaps we will do our scuba diving course so that we will be qualified for when we get to Australia. The islands sound
just as beautiful as Tioman so we'll possibly be there for around a week. The only internet cafe is apparantely very expensive (I think some guy has to translate the internet into smoke signals at the coast) so we may not be in contact for a little while. Don't worry, I'll make sure Amy doesn't have any more biting contests with the local fish! When we get back we'll fill you in with details about Kota Bharu and the islands.
Oh, and mum - sorry we didn't get a chance to call you, after we called Jayne the phones on Tioman decided to go for a siesta, something that we're told happens quite a lot. We'll call when we next get a chance.
Love to all!
x
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shelley and david
non-member comment
you're in the wrong job!
Your trip sounds amazing still (hope Amy recovered). The blog is so informative i dont need to go there! Lee you should have been a journalist...keep it in mind for your return. What fantastic photos and a great way to rinse off all the critters! Going to see mother tomorrow so no doubt you and Clare will be a big topic of conversation....well untill the wine comes out ;) Keep having fun. Love to you both x