Tioman has been fairly voted one of the most beautiful Islands in the world. It is largely formed of lush green jungle covered mountains surrounded by clear blue/turquoise seas where you can experience some of the most beautiful diving sights in the world.
We didn't like it. Bizarre i know.
We were in Tioman for 10 days flying in on the Berjaya airline from Kuala Lumpur. The flight was definitely part of the experience, it is an old prop plane which reminded me of holidays in my childhood and the view as we approached Tioman was sensational. The Islands rising up from the blue lagoons were as stunning and inviting as any i have seen. The landing experience was less exciting and more terrifying. The plane dives steeply in order to approach the short runway; on one side of the plane it looks like the plane is crashing into jungle and on the other, crash landing in the sea. Not being a lover of planes at the best of times, i crushed Daniel's hand for the entire 2 minute landing.
As we climbed out of the plane to see the small 70s style arrivals terminal i saw that at the end of the runway was a steep mountain wall. Glad i didn't know that's what we were landing into. It was lovely though, breathtaking even and we were all smiles. We were looking forward to a week of diving, hoping that being underwater would take our minds off the food cravings that had started when we left the health farm that had been our home for the last 3 weeks.
We were supposed to be staying at a hut on the beach in a resort called Swiss Cottage on Tekek Beach near the airport. They hadn't sent a taxi to collect us but there were plenty of offers from the local beat up car drivers around. A few minutes later we were dropped in a seemingly deserted sandy wood. We walked toward the noise of the sea, and found some wooden huts at the edge of the beach. A sign on a tree said reception and i actually thought that the tree was the Swiss Cottage office but as we walked toward it i saw an open fronted wooden hut. We stepped in but no one was around. Eventually a grumpy woman walked over and frowned at us, we said we had a booking and she looked in a book then thrust a key in our hands, pointed at one the huts and walked off again. Nice. We checked out the hut, which was facing away from the beach, we obviously booked in one of our money saving moments. I appreciate that you may not get this, and i may seem completely ungrateful, but the hut was dark, ugly and in essence it was built without any love. We have stayed in a few huts that were similar in description, wooden, dark, small and very basic bathroom, few furnishings etc but they had all been delightful. This place was just anything but. We sat on the slightly damp beds and sulked. Ridiculous but true. We decided to look around and see what our surroundings were like as the hut was really just a roof over our heads at night.
It was right on the beach, the sea was gorgeous, the location was perfect but it was really quiet, we couldn't find anyone to ask about lunch/dinner/breakfast/water etc and there were cats everywhere. We are not big cat fans and they were sleeping on our porch chairs, rubbing against our feet and lying on the breakfast room table. Someone at the dive centre then told us that the internet and phone lines were down all over the Island and had been for a few days so the chances of us finding another hotel online were slim.
We spent a few days walking around and enjoying the wildlife both above ground and below.
This is the main street along Tekek.
These were the chickens that hung around our feet at the BBQ restaurant while their cousins cooked on the BBQ.
These were the monkeys we passed on the side of the road as we went in search of greener pastures. The hotel we found was luxurious and the dinner there cost the same as our B&B per night - per person. So we walked back. Worth the walk though as we saw these monkeys and a shark in the clear water below. It WAS a shark, even if someone tells me they don't have them in Tioman. It was it was it was.
Then we hiked for an hour to another beach and found some nicer places to stay with nicer people to stay with. So we hiked back again, checked out and hiked along the same road once more, this time with our heavy backpacks. Daniel's is way heavier than mine though it has to be said.
Yes that was the best smile Dan could manage.
So to our new place - Bamboo Hill where we hiked an hour through the jungle to Monkey beach, snorkelled every day and swam with a huge sea turtle, watched it eating and then dive to the surface for some air. Totally awesome.
SOoo, yeah, i am sure you are feeling really sorry for us now but after the friendliness of Thailand and Vietnam, the unsmiling faces and begrudging service (for the most part) was not great and we were very happy to leave. Roll on the sympathy e-mails ;)
My trip was wonderful. The place where we stayed overlooked the sea and the staff at the hotels in Tioman served excellent food.
Posted by: Katlyn | 19/06/2010 at 07:32 AM