We arrived at Mersing on time at 3.30 am. We asked a local which way we had to walk to the jetty, to catch the boat to Tioman. After a short walk we arrived. There was nothing around but a closed ticket office and outdoor waiting room. We tried to get more sleep but the unfriendly mosquitos put a stop to that! Time passed ... 4am .... 4.30, yawn! A local man approached us and told us the boat goes at 7am and the price $35! Crikey, that sounded a lot. SCAM detected... as the ferry is tidal, it can only go at 10am today!
At about 8am the ticket office opened. Well, 2 men sat behind a desk outside the ticket office. Were the tickets they were selling real? It turns out they were so we bought 2.
We had some time to kill, so we thought we would eat breakfast at an Indian restaurant down the street. We had some huge dosas (like giant naan bread) and they were yummy!
The ferry eventually left at 10am. The journey fairly bumpy and it took around 2.5 hours on a fast boat. Tioman island appears to be covered in dense rainforest with expensive resorts hidden amongst the trees. We were the last stop. The name of the beach ABC. We tried a couple of beach bungalows and finally settled on a nice, clean one.
We sat and rested after our journey. A group of mischievous monkeys raided the bin of the bungalow next door but eventually they scampered off. Whilst we sat on the balcony a giant monitor lizard nearly 2 metres long strolled past. As soon as he saw us he bolted into the rainforest. Snorkelling gear on, we hit the beach. There was more sand than coral but there was loads of colorful clams and we saw a blue spotted stingray. The water was a little cooler than expected so we didn't stay in too long.
In the evening, we walked to the main town Tekek. We stopped on route to try these strange sticks made from mashed up fish. Quite delicious! We eventually found a small stall selling satay. We ate there and managed to find out from the owner a few ingredients that went into his delightful sauce. It was dark when we headed home but the track was lit. In the light we saw giant fruit bats hunting amongst the trees.
At about 8am the ticket office opened. Well, 2 men sat behind a desk outside the ticket office. Were the tickets they were selling real? It turns out they were so we bought 2.
We had some time to kill, so we thought we would eat breakfast at an Indian restaurant down the street. We had some huge dosas (like giant naan bread) and they were yummy!
The ferry eventually left at 10am. The journey fairly bumpy and it took around 2.5 hours on a fast boat. Tioman island appears to be covered in dense rainforest with expensive resorts hidden amongst the trees. We were the last stop. The name of the beach ABC. We tried a couple of beach bungalows and finally settled on a nice, clean one.
We sat and rested after our journey. A group of mischievous monkeys raided the bin of the bungalow next door but eventually they scampered off. Whilst we sat on the balcony a giant monitor lizard nearly 2 metres long strolled past. As soon as he saw us he bolted into the rainforest. Snorkelling gear on, we hit the beach. There was more sand than coral but there was loads of colorful clams and we saw a blue spotted stingray. The water was a little cooler than expected so we didn't stay in too long.
In the evening, we walked to the main town Tekek. We stopped on route to try these strange sticks made from mashed up fish. Quite delicious! We eventually found a small stall selling satay. We ate there and managed to find out from the owner a few ingredients that went into his delightful sauce. It was dark when we headed home but the track was lit. In the light we saw giant fruit bats hunting amongst the trees.
