Monday, February 17, 2014
Tioman is like a little gem in the South China Sea. 5 of us squadmates (YS, Robin, Mok, Kenny, Me) made the trip to this part of Malaysia where we've never been to, for a really short getaway. Unfortunately, it's still during the Monsoon season.. (so if possible, go during March to September each year).
The journey began at 6:30am from Newton Food Centre to Mersing, where a ferry awaited us at 11am. (There's only 1 ferry crossing each day during the Monsoon). The 1.5-hour ferry ride was very bumpy. The sea was highly choppy, and it wasn't easy to sleep properly, because every now and then, you get the same feeling as though you're on a roller coaster. I actually enjoyed it, but it may be a torture for some others with motion sickness.
Our resort was located at Paya Beach, and it's a really small resort with bare minimum facilities. There was probably just a small swimming pool, a beach bar / restaurant, a shop, a small SPA with 2 masseurs, and a Water equipment rental counter. We stayed at a Deluxe chalet, with the prime waterfront view overlooking the vast South China Sea. From our front balcony, it was just 5 steps to the beach! So close to the beach that you can hear the therapeutic crashing waves 24/7.
Though there's just 1 beach restaurant at the resort, they serve really good food there. We had 2 sumptuous zichar/seafood dinner, 1 full lunch and 2 breakfast buffets there. Their zichar spread was really memorable - we had tasty, cholesterol-loaded seafood (squid, prawns, fish, stingray) and I must say the duty-free beer was a personal delight (RM5.50 for a bottle of Hoegarten). Dinners are always the best way to end a vacation day.
Our main highlight of the trip was none other than snorkelling. (RM60/pax). (It was probably the ONLY thing one can do during the Monsoon season. Kayaking/Banana Boats etc were closed). It was my first snorkelling experience. Apprehensive of the cold South China Sea waters at first, it took me a short while to prepare myself mentally. But the moment I stepped out into the waters from the jetty, it was a crazy different world down there. Thousands of fish were around us, swimming along with us in the clear waters off Tioman. We brought bread to feed them, which attracted even more fish around us. I hadn't been so excited in the sea before. We also had our fair share of laughter here in the jetty area, having fun disturbing each other by secretly attaching bread on one another's lifejackets, which attracted a huge number of fish around the person.
The 2nd part of the snorkelling session was at the open sea off Pulau Renggis. Here, there was even more varied fish types, and there were coral reefs on the sea bed. It became more and more enjoyable, until the whistle to signal the end of the session was blown. I really liked how clear the waters were, and how funny to be able to touch the slower-moving fish. At just RM60 per person, it's really like a steal.
Back at the Paya resort, the lack of resort activities meant that there was a great amount of chill time. Without Internet / Wifi, it became a very rustic getaway where you just sit on the balcony sofa, sip on a cuppa, and just while away time looking at and listening to the waves. To us city-dwellers, it has become a luxury to be able to just simply "do-nothing", and the feeling was shiok. Of course, we spent quite a lot of time playing the card games that we had brought over too.
Not sure if I'd ever come back Tioman again, but it did give me a good short break.
Deluxe Chalet: S$138/pax.
Total Expenses (Meals & Activities): RM230 (S$88/pax)
人生是黑白的.
4:41 PM <3
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