butterfly mornings

deery-lou.
destination: tioman island, malaysia
monday, october 2
left royal peacock hotel at 5:30 am to head to bus depot. the tour bus for malaysia was leaving at 6 am. got there around 5:45 am. the bus was late and we didn't head out until 6:20. there were only 11 of us on the bus. singapore is a small island so it didn't take long to get to immigration. that took all of a minute then it was back on the bus. five minutes later we were in malaysia. we had to take our luggage through malay immigration. again not many people were there so it didn't long at all. back onto the bus we headed for mersing where we were to catch the ferry to tioman. the bus ride was pretty uneventful. i napped. in mersing we had about an hour to kill before getting on the noon ferry. it kind of reminded me of the harbor city we went to in thailand. there were some shops, restaurants, and lots of cats.

mersing

the ferry was packed. it took almost two hours to reach tioman island. we were the second stop once we reached the island. the ferry had made one other stop at rawa island. rawa looks amazing. along the way to tioman there was a small island with thousands of birds flying around it. it was like seeing something out of a movie. quite majestic and beautiful. we reached the paya resort dock around 2 pm. i almost busted ass jumping from the ferry to the dock while carrying both my backpack and suitcase. of course i was wearing the GIANT shoes so that didn't help much. we checked into our little chalet p1. there was one chalet in front of us but off to the right we could still see the sea. i was happy. we took a stroll up and down the beach. we found a little cove to the right of the resort. it looked like the perfect place to swim. since it was low tide we were able to get to the little island. there were some family fishing. we did a bit of exploring then went off to check out the other side of the resort. along the way were some local houses, abandoned boats, some gifts shops, restaurants, diving places, etc. most of these seemed to be owned by paya resort. at the far end of the island it look like some houses. we didn't notice any roads or any sign of a small town. there's was a boardwalk that headed off into the jungle. we would save that for another day. we grabbed a late lunch at the resort restaurant. at this time they were only serving western food. we both got the chicken burger. surprisingly it was good. the rest of the day was spent poolside swimming. from the pool was a great view of the jungle and mountain. it was quite relaxing. dinner was between 7-8:30 pm. although not starving we figured if we didn't eat we'd be sol later. nothing else but the resorts restaurant was opened. after dinner i opened some wine and had a glass or two on the porch. the evening was spent relaxing.

paya resort

tuesday, october 3
i awoke to the sound of pouring rain. it sounded like we had a tin roof. it immediately reminded me of rainy summers in florida. it never failed that we'd have a thunder storm everyday. i love storms. i opened the door to have peek. the wind was blowing extremely hard. back to bed i went. around 8:45 am we checked to see if the snorkeling trip was still on at 9am. it has since stopped raining but was still kind of windy. the trip was postponed til 2pm. since we were up we decided to grab some breakfast. afterwards we didn't to go exploring. we went back to the path we saw the other day. it lead to another part of the resort with more cabins. we walked to the end and thats when i saw some monkeys. the started to take off for the jungle. well all of them except the monkey king who jumped onto the ground and started to hiss at me. i didn't like that so i hissed back. we saw a sign that said rock falls so we decided to check it out. afterall we had plenty of time to kill. it was a mini trek into the jungle. the rock falls itself was nothing fabulous. however, it was cool to be in the jungle.

rock falls

we saw another path so figured why not check that out too. that lead us to an overrun soccer field. in the middle of the field were cows. jungle cows!! there was yet another path to check out that lead behind the chalets. the area where all the monkeys took off to. along that trail with saw some black squirrels. didn't see anymore monkeys but we didn't get too far because the mosquitoes there were off the wall. i could see tons of them flying behind don as he walked. we left mosquito trail and headed back. once on the boarded path that lead us to the beach i noticed some monkey. there were a whole mess of them. i snapped a few pictures. it was hard to see them in the trees.

beach to the cove

with still time to spare before the snorkeling trip i went for a swim at the cove. it was so beautiful there. the water was so blue. i couldn't figure out why more people weren't swimming there. i swam for awhile. enjoying the sea, the silence, and the scenery. it was like my own blue lagoon adventure. but where was christopher atkins? while swimming around i decided that i should buy an underwater camera. so i head to the store. my favorite store on the island where the "aunty" works. she's always so friendly. i bought a camera and she gave me a loaf of bread to feed the fish with. she also gave me an empty water bottle. she told me to break up the bread and put it into the bottle. once in the water open the lid and squeeze the bottle. the bread will shoot out like a bullet. she's so smart. i love aunty. at two we boarded the boat. there were only 8 of us not counting the crew of three. the first stop was at a marine park. it had a section marked off for swimming. the minute i jumped in i was surrounded by colorful fish. everywhere i looked fish. fish. fish. fish. all so pretty. of course i forgot my bread gun. but so many others were feeding the fish that i didn't need it. this area mostly had fish. not alot of coral . as i swam around i stumbled upon a group of concrete tables and chairs. it was like i had entered an underwater restaurant. i was so fascinated by these tables.

underwater table for two

our next stop was near a very small island. i jumped in this time with my bread gun. it was kind of hard to coordinate shooting the gun and taking a picture. the minute i squeezed out the bread there were a million fish surrounding me. it was cool to see them swarming the bread. that is until i actually got bit by a couple of them. i didn't like that. i was over the feeding of the fish at that point, so i squeezed out all my bread and watched them devourer it. with the bread gun tucked into my shorts i swam around pretending i was aquaman. there were lots and lots of coral to see here. it was all so amazing. being able to see underwater is way cool. its like another world. as i was swimming a large group of fish came towards me. once again i got bit on my back. damn fish. i came to the conclusion that since i'm so white i probably looked like a giant loaf of bread to them. little bastards. there was so much to see. besides the coral and numerous colorful fish i saw a stingray and lots of urchins. i also managed to see a lot of fish urinating. lucky me. that night we ate at the resort again. later i chilled out on the porch then on the beach listening to the silence.

wednesday, october 4
it was day three on tioman island. i rented a mask and snorkel for the day. headed off for the cove to check things out. don was going to meet me there later. how happy was i with the mask. it seems that there was a whole magical underworld to see right in my backyard so to speak. i brought my bread gun. figured i'd give these guys a try. they were a lot nicer. no bites today. since the cove is near an island there were lots of things to see. again i swam around for hours taking it all in. i was going to try to swim around the island but though it might be a bad idea. especially if i got really tired. plus the further i went the more jellyfish i saw. they were actually hard to spot. i didn't want to chance getting stung by one. so instead of going completely around i got out and walked to the other side to check it out. there really wasn't much to see. it was a lot rocker on the bottom. when i went to swim back to the island's beach it was going against the current and was kind of hard. it was nice to be able to swim at your leisure. no tour guide telling you 5 minutes left. the whole time i was swimming i kept thinking that i want to come back as a sea creature. how cool would that be. the ocean is so beautiful, magical, and peaceful. as long as i had a snorkel and mask i could swim all day. until i got hungry at least...

fish

after lunch i headed off poolside. i end up falling asleep in the chair. once i awoke i grabbed my mask and snorkel and headed back to the cove. i wanted to maximize my swimming. the tide was coming in so i left my shirt on the beach instead of taking it to the island. in the distant i heard some rumbling. couldn't tell if it was boat engines or thunder. the sky looked clear. i ignored it and continued on my way. during this swim time i picked out one fish and followed him all along the sea bottom. he took me on a wonderful journey. i saw another stingray. this one had a bright blue streak going down its back. i didn't get to look at him long though cuz he went under a rock. my guide was a hungry little fellow. the whole time he was swimming he was eating too. he dive down to the bottom eat something and then a couple of minutes later spit out a bunch of shells and sand. i was in awe. even though this was my third time out in the cove everything still felt fresh and magnificiant. i was looking off to my right and when i turned back my guide was gone. i thought it best to pop my head out of water to see where i was. the sky had turned dark blue. the wind was picking up, too. definite signs of an approaching storm. the wind had cause ripples in the once calm waters of the cove. i was actually pretty far out and started to head in. the wind picked up. the swimming was becoming much more difficult against the wind. it felt like i was getting nowhere. once i got to where i could stand it was all good. by the time i reached my stuff the rain had started. this wasn't a nice, soft, gentle rain but a hard, prickly one. it felt like little needles going into my skin. the wind continued to pick up and the rain started falling harder and harder. when i reaching the protective covering of the chalet it came pouring down. i sat on the porch watching the rain. it such a peaceful and calming sound to me. the storm didn't last long. when the sea had calmed down i went back out.

warning!

yes, this boy wanted one more swim with the fish before leaving tomorrow. the tide was much higher now. the once accessible island was becoming an island again. i had to start swimming much sooner than before. without realizing it the wind-current took me pretty far out in a short period of time. it was actually a lot rougher than it looked. again i found myself swimming crazily against the wind to get back. the land looked much further away than before. i think alot of this had to do with high tide coming. it didn't feel as safe to be out here so i headed back. i said goodbye to my fish friends for the final time. that night we ate at a different restaurant. yes, something else was finally opened. although i think it might be owned by the resort. one clue is that our server had a paya resort t-shirt on. the food was quite good and much cheaper than at the resort. the rest of the evening was spent strolling the beach and chilling. our time on the island was up. we leave tomorrow.

thursday, october 12
we opted to take the speed boat back to mersing. the main reason was that the ferry left at 7:30am. hi, too early. the speed boat was suppose to leave at 9:30 am. we actually boarded it around 10 something. i sat in the back outside. i wanted to feel the wind against my face and we zipped through the sea. on the way back we had to pull over so that someone could barf off the back of the boat. and no it wasn't me. there were alot of little islands to see. we also stopped back at rawa. i got a better look at this resort and so want to go there next. back on the water i put on my ipod and sunglasses and chilled. it was a great ride. again we had a few hours to kill in mersing before the bus left. we stocked up on snacks. i was trying to spent all the riglets i could. our bus back was upgraded to biz bus. much bigger seats and a lot comfier. again there weren't many people on the bus.

on the bus back

going back through immigration was pretty uneventful. although i had to smuggle in some smokes for don. smokes are a lot cheaper in malaysia than singapore. we got to the newton bus depot around 6 pm. our malay holiday was officially over.

to be continued…
next time: a return to singapore

photo albums
tioman island
snorkeling trip [note: these aren't the best photos]

be well…

p.s. while sitting on the beach one morning an actual coconut dropped from a tree right next to me. i heard the loud thud. good thing i wasn't sitting right under it.