The Island

We took an overnight bus ($15.00 one way for two people; CHEAP) to Mersing. The bus itself wasn't so bad and actually had nice reclining seats with A/C. The only odd incident happened at about 4:30 AM when something bit my big toe. Think it was either a mouse or a non-poisonous scorpion. Wasn't bad and just bled a drop of blood, but way too spooky since it was dark and I couldn't see my attacker. After arriving in Mersing we had a bit of a rest before boarding the first ferry to Tioman Island. The ferry took about 2 hours and when we arrived at our destination we were surprised. Tioman is a large island, however there is really only one road on the entire island. The beaches are truly seperated from one another by dense jungle. The only way to get from one village to another is by water taxi. Compared to our island trip in Thailand (Ko Lanta), Tioman is rustic and there isn't a lot of infastructure. Tioman is famous for being the Bali Hai in the 1958 movie, South Pacific. Tioman was also voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world by Time magazine back in the 70's. Currently Tioman is going through a transition and trying to do some things to bring back more tourists. The coral in many parts of the beach has been destroyed by past construction and boats. Currently the citizens of the island are trying to revitalize it and save the coral. In fact much of the water surrounding Tioman is now considered a marine park. We ended up staying 6 days on Salang Beach. It had a few restaurants and bars. We spent a lot of time lying in a hammock, relaxing on the beach, and swimming. We even spent one day following the electric line from our village to another village; quite a 2.5 hour jungle trek on a barely passable trail. Rich was able to get 5 dives in (I snorkeled) and saw some amazing things. There are quite a few smaller islands near Tioman and the coral is amazing and plentiful. I saw so many fish, creatures, etc that I can't even begin to name them. Their colors were iridescent. The highlight for me was seeing a giant green moray eel and a blue spotted stingray. Rich got to see a great barracuda and a hawksbill turtle. Truly unbelievable and a memorable trip. Photos!