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We checked out the Palace and headed for the TBS coach terminal. It was lovely, just like an airport and after a cup of coffee boarded a nice coach for Mersing. The sign out the front said to 'ensure seat belts were tightly fastened' but unfortunately there weren't any to fasten tightly or otherwise! The scenery mostly consisted of mile after mile of Palm Trees which have replaced the native forests to cater for the west's desire for Palm Oil which is used in many products that we use. Took about 5 hours and we arrived at Mersing and we wheeled our bags to the ferry terminal which was rather inconveniently located about 1km away! Luckily it was only 35 degC in the shade so it could have been worse. The ferry terminal was overcrowded and we wondered how so many people could fit on one ferry. Visions of tomorrows front page news report flashed to mind! 'Ferry sinks in the South China Sea' Anyhow we eventually got on and had to sit inside in a stuffy internal area with side windows only and an air con that couldn't handle the heat. Waited for the safety briefing which never came. Also they had a T.V. screen showing a violent video which I couldn't watch but lots of small children seemed to. Horrible! Arrived at Tiomen Island eventually which looked spectacular. Some very pointy looking peaks at the southern end and lots of green rainforest. Ferry berthed at Tekek and we got a shuttle to the Berjaya Resort which was about 2km. I was lucky to sit next to the driver but everyone else was in the back on plastic seats (it was like a truck)with open sides. They said it was a bit scary going around corners. No seatbelts of course! Got an upgrade which was nice and our unit faced the beach. Lovely! Had dinner in a restaurant outside the resort. Open air, duty free beer and great cheap Asian food.
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