Orangeous Dailies

Tioman was fantastic. The clear water, powdery beaches, and the scenery. All for only $350 (2 pax), we booked through 5-Star Tours. The only.. problem.. was the room..

Remember, Paya Beach Resort and Paya Resort are two different places altogether. Paya Beach Resort is closest to the pier and they look like Downtown East chalets.. but somehow we took the "Standard" package and we got Paya Resort, which looks something like this…

The floor boards had gaps between them (and we can actually see the soil beneath). The windows were those window panes you see in secondary schools, and they can’t be closed tight, so there’s a curtain to keep pests away.

And the toilet…

There’s a gaping hole in the ceiling and you can hear the neighbours next door. One morning we were getting ready to leave when we heard a lady opposite say "Boy, wait ah, mummy pang sai (take a dump)". Damn hilarious. The hot water failed on us every morning, so we had to bathe in cold water. The brown wood, the yellowish light makes taking a piss in the middle of the night quite the perfect horror flick scene. I leave the toilet door open whenever I take a piss!

This is the pathway from Paya Beach to our little hide-away. There’s an adult Komodo dragon lurking right beneath the bridge and we don’t wanna fall off. We were sitting behind this girl who wore heels to Tioman, so we don’t know how she got past this bridge. I think her boyfriend had to carry her. :D

Don’t scrimp like us! Get the "Deluxe" package for like just $100 more, definitely worth it. 

Travel time there is around 6 hours to 7 hours. The bus ride is really really long. From Golden Mile to Tanjong Gemok (near Mersing), it’s around 5 hours on the road. The sun’s really hot outside so you get kinda dizzy after a while. No 5-star buses, just the normal ones you use for excursions. One the journey back we sat right at the back, really stiff, we can’t lower our back-rests so we felt really fucked up and cramped up.  

Once you reach Tanjong Gemok, you pay the RM5/adult "Tioman conservation fee". It’s their nice way of saying "entry fees". And then you take the fast ferry down to Tioman, which is around 1 hour 45 minutes ride.

First day was free-and-easy. Walk down the beach, get some souveniers, and go for some satay under full-view of the starry sky above. Nothing much.

Second day morning right after breakfast, we went to rent snorkelling equipment for the trip down to Marine Park. The bum boat will stop midway, somewhere near a mini-island with really huge boulders for you to snorkel, so strap on!

Initially, this girl didn’t want to go down into the water. But after her first try she became addicted.

When you reach Marine Park, you’re told there’s a museum and some shops behind. Tour-guide hands you both two packets of lunch. Fuck the museum, fuck the shops, fuck the lunch. Go get some burgers, they taste way better. The packet lunch just use as cat food for the many stray cats roaming around. You have roughly 3 hours there. So if you’re not snorkelling, then you’re in for a really boring time.

The whole afternoon’s all about sight-seeing and snorkelling. Returned to Tioman around 5pm and we hit the beach again.

And then down to Rock Falls!

This has got to be one of the best places I’ve ever been to. The entire place is just so peaceful, and the only sounds you hear are the birds and the trickling of water. Fresh water flows through these rocks…

Drinkable water! And the water is naturally cold. 

That’s about all for Tioman. Sight-seeing, snorkelling, and more sight-seeing. I’ll probably go back there again to dive! That’s like the only thing left to do around there.

Oh, and there are no beach parties around on Paya Beach! Itchy-assed, dying to go wild, we were wandering around the beach in the dark trying to follow the slightest trace of hip-hop music. None! So we settled down for some beer by the beach… in the dark..

Photo Album :  http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukianto/sets/72157594166682327/

Bye Bye Tekong! We are now privates!

And they finally gave us the photos that we’ve ordered. 

and I’ve finally got my downgrade letter :D