Blogs from Pulau Tioman, Pahang, Malaysia, Asia - page 10

Next stop: Pulau Tioman (a.k.a. Tioman Island)! We arrived around 4:30 in the afternoon and immediately dumped our packs and hit the water. After a four hour bus ride and and hour and a half on a "speed" boat, we were in need! Tioman, or more specifically Air Batang, became our new 'hood. We intended to stay for a night or two, and ended up staying four! Nazri's Place was the name of our set of bungalows, and let's just say it was a HUGE step up from our Singapore experience! We stayed in this lovely little bungalow (with a hot shower, flush toilet and A/C!), and for Melissa's birthday we even splurged for a proper "hotel" room in the main house. The Canadian dollar does pretty well when changed over to the Ringitt (sp?), so ... read more

Nasi Lemak makes a great breakfast. Coconut rice, chilli sauce and crunchy fish make an unlikely culinary delight, especially with the ubiquitous coffee (from a bag) with slug of condensed milk. After brekky it was time to head out for another days action packed diving. First stop was Fan canyon, and the second was around Soyah island. Two very good dives, but somewhat overshadowed by the night dive which was SPECTACULAR. It was the same site as yesterdays afternoon dive, but in the dark. The early part of the dive was nice, but pretty standard. The real greatness came tho when we headed across to the house reef, turned out lights out and started kicking around. A little like I experienced in Australia the water gave off bioluminescence when disturbed. Unlike in Australia this time I ... read more

According to a Malaysian legend, a dragon princess was once on her way from China to Singapore. She stopped to admire the charm of Malaysia's east coast, and promptly decided to cancel the rest of her journey, take the form of an island, and remain there as a place of shelter and comfort to passing travellers. Pulau Tioman was created! Legends aside, Pulau Tioman is a pretty relaxing place. For the movie fanatics amongst you: its beautiful beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie "South Pacific" as Bali Hai. Phil and I arrived on Pulau Tioman on Tuesday afternoon after taking a coach from Singapore to Mersing, followed by a speedboat, powered by three engines of 200 horse power each, from Mersing to Pulau Tioman. As we had not booked any accommodation prior to arrival, we ... read more

I woke up in my hostel bed in Singapore with a throbbing head ache. I felt the back of my head where two large bumps brought back a painful reminder of the previous nights proceedings. I would leave Singapore that morning. I caught the first bus to Johar Baru, then 2 connecting buses to Mersing, followed by a one hour speed boat ride to Air Batang on the island of Paluau Tioman off the East Coat of Peninsular Malaysia. Tioman is a sleepy tropical island filled with empty beaches, friendly locals, cheap accomodation and some of the best snorkeling and diving in South East Asia. I arrived at dusk and was taken aback by the stunning beauty of this place. The setting sun seemed to illuminate the beach and surrounding rain forest, the perfect place to ... read more

Hey you Guys. As you may remember we tried to get you all jealous of our trip to Tioman. Well there's more!!!! We have just got our underwater camera developed and here are the photos. They may not be amazing but it should show how amazing the swimming was in the fishtank like China sea. Take care all Andy and Melissa xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Thanks for all you comments, keep them coming, they keep us going. ... read more