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Our journey to Tioman was a tortuous journey, we were both tired from the lack of sleep, the Ferry was absolutely freezing due to the a/c system! On approaching Pulau Tioman we felt as if we were approaching the haunted island in Pirates of the caribbean with it's eerie fog surrounding the island.
The boat missed our stop, as obviously the crew must have asked what stop people wanted and we just 'ignored them'. Nick got into a strop and Helen was trying to be cool as cucumber! We walked around Tekek which is meant to be lively?!? We had pre booked a couple of nights at 'Cheers' at the recommendation of Tioman Dive Center as it was Malaysian/Singaporean holidays! We had our own room but shared a bathroom. Our hostel was in Tekek, which apparently is the only place on the island in the 'modern world'.
Nicks first impression of the island was that it was very eerie and that where we were staying was like a ghost-town (do bear in mind it's Ramadan).
Pulau Tioman is noted for it's crystal clear h2o, as far down as 35 metres, Pulau Tioman is a veritable garden of colourful marine existence, providing scuba divers some of the best sites in the world. Tioman is said to be the ultimate resting spot of a fabled dragon princess who had turned herself into an island in the South China Sea!
There are no roads on the island so the five small towns which dot the west coast can only be reached by boat. Town hopping - island style!
After catching up on our sleep, we spent the first night at Capana, which is a hip beach bar stones throw from our hut. yet we were to know that this was the only night it would be open during our stay as the owners were heading to mainland for their holidays!
The next day we walked to Air Batang or ABC as affectionately known by the locals and introduced ourselves to the dive centre. We went for a swim in the sea, sunbathed, chilled our and ate at Chinese Sarang Seafood as recommended by our trusty lonely planet guide, it specifically recommended the bean curd dish which Helen had and it was tasty. The restaurant was bustling and really popular with the Chinese/Malay people!
The island, surprisingly is over run by tons of cats with partial tails (it is said to be a genetic defect common to most cats on Tioman, but locals love to joke that it is because cat-tail soup is soooo delicious. (Helen obviously had to google the reason behind their bob tails!!)
Both Nick and Helen were attracting the unwanted pesky sandflies, mosquitoes, fire ants, you name it, Tioman has it! We soon learnt that plenty of insect repellent was required which turned out not to help as they are immune! The sand flies on the island are a real problem. We didn't know what they were when we first arrived and wondered why very few people ever lay on the beach. Well, by day 2 Helen was covered in a huge red welts/bites that were so itchy and they turned into blisters!
On the Monday, it was Nicks first Open Water dive, with Tioman Dive Center who according to the Lonely planet guide and reviews online has a 'stellar reputation'. Nick was faced with monstrous waves as it had been raining all night/morning and we were faced with a dive with nil visibility. Dive was ok due to the visibility (2 meters at best) so was a great learning curve for Nick. However he did manage to see a Hawksbill Turtle and various reef fishes, getting back on shore was a struggle for all inc instructor as the waves kept knocking us over! Nicks verdict on his first ever open water dive was that it was fricking awesome considering that it was in awful conditions and set steed for the next 100 dives!
It got to the point where we were having Mars Bars for breakfast as Ramadan clearly affected the islands functioning and almost everywhere was closed for breakfast and lunch. Although Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim state, you would have thought there would be somewhere open for us tourists?!?
Tuesday was spent at the Dive Centre, the 1st dive which was Nicks 2nd OW dive which was in general enjoyable apart from the 2 singaporeans diving with us who could not dive/swim to save their lives, fins and hands everywhere!!!! This dive made Helen realise that she is a dive-snob and has no patience and therefore could never never teach! On the 2nd dive Helen decided to go with the experienced group only to abandon her dive as she injured herself getting on the boat! While getting up the ladder, One of her toes went back and the other went forwards hence splitting the skin in between and blood pouring everywhere!!!!!!! Charming(!) now she has a badly bruised toe and foot!
That evening we decided to go for a bike ride to ABC, as we were getting fed up of Tekek. Rosie, Nicks Scuba instructor recommended Sunset Bar for their Pizza and for watching the sun set. The Pizza was amazing and by far the best food we have had, we met a German woman and chatted with her. (Who Helen thinks has taken a shine to Nick). The look on her face when we said we were travelling for 2 years and Malaysia was our first stop! On our way back in the pouring rain, Helen found some paper on the floor and to hers and Nicks delight it was 50rm which means that they had just had a free meal :)
On Wednesday, Nick completed his OW course while Helen was curled up in their hut trying to sleep....she was feeling very sorry for herself! Weather was scorching, Nick sunbathed on the beach while Helen sunbathed by the hut reading. (and also supervising iTunes as we decided to download a film for 'film night'). We were also given free fresh fruit by the owner of our hut :) Mangoes galore!
The evening was spent chilling out once again, played Scrabble again to give Helen the opportunity to gain revenge!
Thursday, the day was spent diving. Nick did a deep dive, navigation and wreck dive as part of his AOW course while Helen did 2 leisure dives with the DM and can report that Tioman is macro paradise with numerous nudibranches, she has never seen so many on a single dive and some of them are approx 15cm which is massive for a nudibranch. (google it for you non-divers. They're basically a colourful sea slug). A message for Mum and Dad, we're pleased to report that we have used the new camera/housing underwater and managed to snap a Green turtle.
In addition she saw her favourite fish, the Moorish Idol. :) that made her day!
Nick has now completed his OWand AOW and it's safe to say, he's hooked. He is looking forwards to many more dives especially with Sipadan coming up. More on Sipadan in 1.5 weeks time! Helen has been waiting for Sipadan for many many many many and many months!
On Saturday, We woke up with the intention of trekking across island to Juara which is approx 5 miles through dense jungle. However as Helen was increasingly fed up with her sandfly bites, sore foot and generally fed up of being on the island (cabin fever) both Nick and Helen made an impromptu decision to head back to mainland. Fast forward the erratic packing and journey to the jetty (thanks to our hut's cheerful owner who gave us a ride on her scooter which saved us 30 min and sweltering in the heat!). We managed to arrive at the ferry terminal at 12pm.
A 12.30pm sail turned out to be a 4.45pm sail. They had given out more boarding passes than seats on the boat, it was the perfect time for Helen to seek revenge on Nick at scrabble! (Which Helen is pleased to report that she won!)
During our stay we were fortunate to see sea eagles, monitor lizards, turtles, strange insects, dragonflies and butterflies which make us think of Nicks niece Matilda as we taught her the sign for butterfly before we left the UK. Around our hut, there were loads of common hill mynas (birds) which are quite cute however they do not have any brains as their behaviour is very repetitive!
Our stay on Pulau Tioman turned out to be a long one, if there is a gem in the South China Sea. Tioman is it! Having said that, it hasn't been Helen's best week with numerous sandfly bites (inform, they're miles nastier than mosquito bites), ripping the skin between her toes, bruising her ankle and slicing her hand open while peeling a mango! (don't worry, all very superficial, Helen's a wuss!) Nick has grown fond of Pulau Tioman, however he will not miss the islands many different species of insects!
- comments
Rob, Kate and Matilda x Thanks for the update! Matilda was very pleased to hear you had seen some butterflies!
Anne & Brian (Mum & Dad Gregory) Looks and sounds great. Nick, well done for getting through the dives, you've got a long way to go to catch up with Helen!! Nick we hope you're spoiling Helen rotten (within the budget!) as she's had a tough few days. Start looking after her pronto. Lots of love xxx
Karl S Nick - Congrats for passing the dive certificates! Helen - sorry to hear that it was hard on you but don't worry as the time for you (and Nick) to visit Sipidan Island is much nearer at last! :D By the way, I saw your underwater photos at Tioman - great stuff! What camera (and its housing case) are you using?
Naomi Guest I take my hat off to you Nick - what a way to be introduced to open water diving and am glad that you are not put off! Helen, I do hope that you'll start feeling your normal self and get your sweet revenge on these insects.
Kirsty Graham Well Done Nick for the dives :-) Enjoy the upcoming dives with Helen. I shall look forward seeing more under water pictures as they are great! Helen hope u soon feel better. Looking forward reading the next blog. Xxx