Tioman Island 7N8D AKA The very very belated blog …

Tioman is an island paradise. If you are ever in this part of the world I highly recommend that you go there! We certainly plan to go back one day, especially as we had to leave in haste 5 days earlier than planned.

We got our first glimpse of the island after a very choppy 2 hr ferry crossing. The arriving ferries stop at four jettys all of which are on the west side of the island. Our accommodation, The Barat Tioman, was on the more remote East Side. At one of the stops prior to ours a family had boarded to go back to the mainland so we chatted briefly. They had been stranded on the island for an extra week due to the same bad weather that had prevented our earlier crossing to get there (see previous post) which in turn meant they’d missed a flight but when you’re travelling you do get used to having fluids plans.

We’d met a German chap when we arrived in Mersing a few days earlier and he was due to cross to Tioman on the ferry as we had been. We saw him again on the island a couple of days after we arrived and he told us that upon finding out that the ferries weren’t crossing, he had instead paid a lot of money to make this same journey on a small private boat. This is something we had been advised against due to the danger of capsizing. Although he did arrive safely he regretted the journey as it was so treacherous and terrifying. Of course all of his bags and kit got soaked through with sea water 🙄Given what our crossing was like in a large ferry, with sick bags being handed out throughout, I dread to think what it was like on that small boat!

With our extra night in Mersing I’d cancelled our stay in Singapore the following week due to the Coronavirus outbreak being pretty virulent there (I now realise how small scale that was and we should have just gone but hindsight is a wonderful thing. As we now had a spare 5 days to play with I booked us into a second hotel on Tioman to extend our stay. Once I’d glimpsed the shores of Tioman Island, I knew that I’d made the right choice for us to stay here longer….or so I thought!…

As we landed at Tekek Jetty it became clear that you need really big shoulders and sharp elbows if you’re to get anywhere. I planted the boys out of the thoroughfare and made my way to the back of the boat to catch our bags as they were flung from the rear. All present and correct we loaded up and started the jostle up the jetty. Those in the know had got their partners and friends to meet them there with a motorbike but alas not us, not this time. We made our way up the gangplank whilst dodging the occasional wing mirror of a passing bike. Often they were laiden with not just a chap up front but also a buxom beauty perched on the rear carrying a suitcase, a chest or two of stock or even possibly livestock along the planks and into the jungle that rose skywards ahead of us. We reached the main road and saw a sign with our name on it being held aloft by a guy with a very big 4×4. Our chariot awaited.

We very soon found ourselves in 2nd gear climbing up 45° roads and tracks in to the jungle. There is a spine of peaks running north to south down this island and we had to cross straight over them from west to east. We again saw some of the motorbikes and scooters that had passed us on the jetty. They valiantly worked their way up and down the steep inclines whilst being skillfully handled by men and women of all ages, heading to the villages on either side. We passed huge fallen trunks as they had fallen across the road and then been cut away to allow vehicles to pass. We held on tightly as our driver picked his way along sections of road that were falling away and deeply rutted. You got the feeling that a journey one way could be very different from the journey back and you never knew what would await you around the next corner.

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We pulled up in front of the Barat Tioman and were given a welcome drink. We’d arrived in paradise and were smiling from ear to ear. We dropped our bags in the room and went to hang out in a hammock whilst taking in the view. What a view.

Scrap that idea. We went jumping waves, laughing and whooping then momma took some time out and got a cocktail and sat in the sand, watching the boys jumping waves. Bliss.

This side of the island is just Juara village and it was so laid back. It was only just starting to open up to tourists following the monsoon season. With Coronavirus being so prevalent in nearby Singapore, it meant there were very few tourists and whilst places were open, we never saw more than a handful of people on the whole beach or around the cafes that are dotted through the village. By cafe I mean someone’s front yard with a few tables and chairs put out. The best kind.

There are various options of excursions and trips you could take and whilst we had planned to just chill for the majority of our stay, one thing that we’d been itching to try was some snorkeling and this island is known for having some excellent snorkel and dive sites. We went out with 5 others for our first ever snorkel experience. Wow! We’re hooked.

Of course I hadn’t even let go of the steps on the side of the boat before I’d dropped my mask and watched it rapidly descend 20 feet to the sand below me 🙄 One of our guides kindly stripped off, dived in and retrieved it for me. I must remember that trick for next time 🙂

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We visited 3 dive and snorkel spots and were the only people there at 2 of them. We saw turtles and even a black tipped reef shark swimming amongst the rocks. It was magical and the kids felt so free and relaxed.

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The Barat Tioman is situated at the southern end of Juara beach. The only thing beyond it is The Juara Turtle Project and Little Planet, an outdoor education centre. If you walked North along the beach you’d pass one small beach cafe/ bar/ front room with extra seating and service with a smile and at the end you come to The Beach Shack. This place has a vibe all of its own and we instantly felt at home there. We were surrounded by coral, driftwood, shells, cats, surfboards and hammocks. We found ourselves back here about 4 times, had our laundry done here and rebooked to return in June (sadly we weren’t able to fulfil that desire). We even got to take our pick of which of the beach side chalets we’d like to stay in. The service was awesome, laid back and friendly and they absolutely adore cats. They had lots of veggie meal options for Alfie and some other favourites too. Their dessert of fresh apples and stewed bananas in a thin custard was yum too. When we can travel again, we’re definitely returning to here and staying for a fortnight. It felt like home.

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We had been told about 2 waterfalls on this side of the island and we wanted to visit them. You could pay for a guide or you could trek into the jungle yourself and follow one of two paths for an hour uphill. We were cautioned about snakes etc and then set off on the easier path.

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I was on high alert for snakes as there was a lot of leaf litter. We kept chatting in the hope anything ahead would scarper before we reached it. I also walked up front to brush and tap the ground with a long stick to be sure! We later spoke to a ranger on the island who confirmed there were over 25 types of venomous snakes on Tioman and the most deadly were the slower ground dwelling ones. We didn’t come across any but I’m still glad I took the measures that I did.

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We eventually heard the waterfall and dropped down off the path. What a lovely surprise we had. There was no one else around, it was beautiful and perfect for a cool swim. We did actually have to share with a few large and rather chatty frogs and at one point a baby monitor lizard sailed past me heading downstream but otherwise, we had the place to ourselves for a couple of hours 🙂

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We spent another couple of days very much relaxing on Juara beach, enjoying the laid back lifestyle and lack of WiFi. It was bliss.

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Now mistakes are inevitable and whilst I had made some excellent choices during our travels, I’d also made some rubbish ones. When I cancelled Singapore and planned to spend extra time on Tioman I thought that it would also be a good idea to change hotels on the assumption that we’d be bored of the East Side of the island……… I was wrong. We were sad to leave, very sad and rightly so.

Everything went a bit haywire at this point. We moved to the far more expensive Berjaya hotel on the west side of the island. It was meant to be a resort although we found it tired, remote, mostly closed and a long long way from the tranquility and desert island feels of our previous digs. The weather was also changing again and before we’d even spent one night in the new hotel we were making plans to leave before another storm prevented us from doing so for the next week. Everyone on the island had the same idea and some were luckier than others. As we’d got return tickets booked we stood a better chance of a place on the remaining ferries. Those that didn’t had to take pot luck but may have had to stay, unable to get back to the mainland.

A few shots from our brief spell in this new spot…

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We spent one night in Mersing before catching a coach back to Kuala Lumpur early the next morning. Randomly, Alistair was picked by the coach company to win a prize as part of a social media campaign they were running. One very happy little chappy!

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I apologise unreservedly for the delay in getting this post out there.

I do plan to continue writing our remaining stops up as we’ll rely on it to prompt our memories later down the line.

This place was magical and we fell in love. It was a shame that we had to leave early and if we hadn’t been heading on to Cambodia I may have just stayed here longer.