Malaysia - Pulau Tioman

Selamat datang ke Malaysia (Welcome to Malaysia)

Leaving Singapore and a strange, frightening day at the zoo and Night Safari behind, I boarded a bus for Johor Bahru at the Singapore/Malaysia border, only about an hour from the city. Along with an older Australian couple and a bunch of locals, we made a few stops at the respective customs and immigration departments, struggled to find our same bus to continue to the bus station instead of being stuck at the border and finally made it to the crowded bus station right around noon. I wandered through the large station, hearing every different destination shouted at me, "KL" (Kuala Lumpur - the capital) being the most popular call. After getting some local currency and having an authentic noodle lunch, I was off on another bus, heading Northeast up the coast to a small town called Mersing.

Mersing itself is nothing to see, but it's the location of the ferry terminal to a few of the most picturesque islands in Malaysia, so I figured it would be a good start to my Malaysian journey. The second that I stepped off the bus, the few other tourists and I (somehow we stand out against the shorter, darker skinned Malaysians) were approached by a friendly woman who turned out to be a travel agent, trying to sell us package deals to Pulau Tioman, the most popular island in the region. I told her that I was looking for a certain hotel, which she immediately told me had closed a year ago. Not believing her and a few of her other stories about the inaccessibility of some of the islands, I politely listened and took her information, telling her that I'd be back later if I wanted to book something. Just down the street, I saw my potential hotel, windows broken, doors boarded up; I guess she was right. So, I headed down to the hostel at the end of town, excited to find a guy named Omar who ran the place and offered a highly-lauded day tour of four or five of the semi-deserted islands in the area. I found the hostel, opened the door and walked up the stairs. Things looked a little strange, though. There were a few pairs of sandals and shoes on the rack, all looking very old and dusty. All three of the rooms and the kitchen were open, with absolutely no one or no bags in sight. I figured that he may have stepped out for a while, but it was strange to see that no one else was even staying in the place. I also noticed a sign up sheet for the island tour, with the last entry being from someone in June. After ten or fifteen minutes, I decided to move on, booking a room in the cheap hotel down the road, content to stay in my concrete block for one night. Being right next to the main road in town, it was quite loud, but I was just happy to have a fan and a cheap place to stay.

I returned to the travel agent, trusting her a little more, and I ended up booking a trip with her, excited about my journey the next day. Pulau Tioman is supposed to be one of the nicest islands in Malaysia, one of its top tourist attractions. I had seen some wonderful pictures of the beaches and jungles, and I couldn't wait to see it in person. This was actually the island used to portray Bali Hai in the classic movie South Pacific, and it was also rated as one of the ten best islands in the world at one point in the 70s. So, I boarded the ferry early the next morning and got to the island after two hours on the water. The mountainous green island is completely covered in rainforest, with the exception of a few beaches and tiny settlements along the coast. Upon arrival, I had to wait for the 4 x 4 truck to take us up over the mountains, across the 5 mile road that traversed the island. Hopping in the truck bed along with one other French girl and a few people in the cab, we were off, heading up a very steep concrete path, winding in and out of huge trees, palm fronds and even a tiny bit of wildlife - we saw a monkey hanging out on the side of the path near the top of the island. Coming back down, the dense forest finally cleared, and we were all of a sudden in Juara, the lone settlement on that side of the island. I had chosen this beach as it is said to be one of the prettiest, in addition to being less crowded because it is so far from the more popular spots.

Seeing my hotel, I knew I had made a good choice. Located on the tiny concrete 'road', the restaurant of my hotel had a nice balcony overlooking the green water, with the rooms being slightly set back in a row of wooden huts in a grassy patch just behind the road. I was also excited that I opted for the room with air conditioning, as it was already really hot, and sweat was pouring down my face. And my splurge on the hotel actually means that I spent $23 a night, so I guess it's not that bad. Around noon, I headed out, ready to see what this small piece of paradise had to offer. The golden sand stretched around a half-moon shaped bay, running for around 1.5 miles before being cut off by rocky headlands on both sides. Only a small covered pier broke up the clear, green water, with tiny resorts and restaurants fighting with the massive palm trees for space along the coast. This was not exactly uninhabited, but there were very few people on the beach at one time, and coupled with the convenience of having 5 or 6 tiny restaurants to choose from, I was quite pleased with the situation.

I passed the days strolling up and down the beach, even finding a more secluded second beach a mile or two down the road, home to just a few local houses - colorful wooden box style houses raised on stilts or concrete blocks to help during the rainy season, and a turtle sanctuary that made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that uninvited guests are not welcome, so I stayed away from that. Militant environmentalists, I guess. Not wanting to leave, I extended my stay for a third night, giving me about four days in this picturesque, tranquil place. With the heat and humidity, there is not much else to do other than admire the lovely beaches. We even had a full moon to light up the dark nights, filled with the chatter of wildlife. During the day, if you didn't look closely, you may happen to see a monkey or large monitor lizard wandering around, but a closer look at the coconuts of the towering palm trees reveals large colonies of flying foxes, sleeping upside down during the day, wrapped in their own massive wings, just a brown ball with a bit of fur sticking out. But at dusk, these things come alive, making their presence heard. As the sky grows darker, they start waking up, chirping and clamoring, sounding like a mix of cicadas chirping and pigs squealing as they get ready for their nightly feast. The massive bats spread their wings against the dark night sky and head into the jungle. One night I sat on the beach and just watched them disappear, one by one.

Other than that, my main events during the day centered on meals, which were incredible. I found a local place near the pier, a sort of restaurant with cheap plastic tables and three walls, with the fourth side being open to the wide beach and ocean in front, just steps away. The local curry here is incredible, a mix of coconut, maybe potato and some other amazing ingredients, and I could eat it everyday. The roti canai, a flaky, thin, flash fried bread, is also a mainstay on my lunch menu. It's only about $0.35, and it comes with a curry dipping sauce as well. So, with the island culture and my reluctance to leave, lunch usually becomes about a two hour event, admiring the views and the food equally as I relaxed in the warm tropical breezes. Knowing that there's a lot more to this region, I eventually decided to move on, but it will be hard to beat this mix of relaxation, beauty and great food, all at really nice prices.

On my final day, we took the 4 x 4 back across the steep mountain road, all a little sad to leave this place behind. I was headed back to Mersing, hoping to find a bus to the center of Malaysia, to visit Taman Negara, the most popular national park in the country and the oldest rainforest in the world. When I got to the bus station, the tickets were sold out for the day, so I reluctantly decided to head up the coast on a long bus ride to the Northeast coast for another set of idyllic islands. While waiting in the bus station, having a plate of rice and some sort of fish and chili mixture, one of the French girls from the resort came over and told me that the ticket agent was looking for me. Apparently, one of the seats on the bus opened up, so I decided that it was better to just forfeit the cost of the ticket that I bought up the coast (about $15), and take the ticket inland, so I could enjoy the beach, then the jungle, then the beach again. The nice ticket agent did try to sell the ticket for me, but with only 30 minutes to do so, it didn't happen. Oh well, off to the jungle...

(The view from the back of the truck, traversing the rugged center of Pulau Tioman.)

(Taken from my hut, looking past the five or six huts on each side towards the splendid beach. Definitely one of the nicer hotel settings that I've ever had.)

(The 'hidden beach' on the South side of Juara, as seen from the end of the pier. One of the local pasttimes is apparently riding to the end of the pier and back on their scooters, for no apparent reason. Also, a few of the drivers on the island seem yet to have reached their 12th birthdays, but I guess that's ok when there's only one road on which they can drive.)

(One half of the main beach. Check out the thick forest behind and the tiny hut accommodation nestled between the palms. Later in the day, I'd be hiding in a chair underneath those palms, enjoying doing absolutely nothing.)

(Another view of the incredible beach. As you can see, I really liked this place.)

(Leaning palms and beach huts with sand at the front steps. It doesn't get much better. This is actually not my place, but I hung out around here, as it was pretty quiet in this area. And it was just about a four minute walk from here to my group of three great restaurants/cafes.)

(More water, more greenery. It didn't get repititive to me while I was there.)

(The classic beach and palm tree combo.)

(Me and my little chair. Check out the Malaysian flag over my shoulder. Notice any similarities to a certain flag that also uses a blue rectangle in the upper left corner with white symbols inside, along with 13 red and white stripes? Hey, maybe they had it first...in their 1957 independence...)

(A little creek coming from the mountains.)

(Whitewashed rocks mark the end of the public beach and the start of the crazed turtle sanctuary. Crazed people, not crazed turtles, though that would be quite an attraction.)

(One of my best meals ever. Roti canai on the top right with the dipping curry on the top left, along with beef, chili and other assorted vegetables as the main course. Not to mention, this all came with a wonderful view of the ocean for a total cost of something like $2.85.)