Moving Through Malaysia
I had a mid-day bus from Malacca (also spelled Melaka), to the town of Mersing, the port town for Tioman Island on the south east coast of Malaysia. Tioman Island is where they filmed the musical ‘South Pacific’ many moons ago. The last time I was on the island was in 1988.
I had pushed biked up the east coast of Australia with a friend from Sydney all the way to Cairns and climbed the 25 kilometers to Kuranda and back down to Port Townsville where we caught a lift across the desert to Darwin and flew to Bali. We resumed biking through Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, and Flores Island. We stopped for some time in Gili Trawangan off Lombok and again a brief stop on Komodo to see the dragons. Eventually we split and I flew to Batam Island and ferried to Singapore where I put my bike back together and rode to Mersing and ferried out to Tioman Island with some college girl friends. Things have changed as they would.
The bus ride from Malacca to Mersing was uneventful passing through miles upon miles of Palm Oil plantations and little else. Fires are burning in Indonesia, Borneo and they are already planting more palm oil saplings in the smoldering ground. The haze has been steady since Kuala Lumpur with a few windy days pushing it back out to sea. I wish they would stop destroying the jungles in South East Asia for this crop.
This was the first chance I was going to have to jump in the ocean since March when I left Thailand. In Mersing, Hornbill birds flew overhead as I walked to the jetty to catch the ferryboat to Tioman. The boat takes about 2 ½ hours to make the 32 kilometer trip with numerous stops on Tioman for the same price of 70 MR round trip. On your return check with your guest house at least one day in advance because the returns are subject to change and if you’re on a schedule you might have to make alternative plans to make your connections.
The morning boat leaves at 7 am and you should be there at least a half hour in advance because you might need to buy a ticket if you haven’t already purchased one, you will have to get in another line to give your identity details and then still pay a chunk of change to get onto Tioman. I think the whole run round trip cost a little over $50.00 USD. The boat leaves and the sun rises through the on coming monsoon clouds that have yet to become a steady morning experience but it is early November and the monsoon season unofficially begins on the 15th or there about.
The island has lots of variety as to accommodation from $100/night on down to about $10 or camping. I made a mistake and got off at Tekek, the main center, and there’s not much you want there, everything you want is somewhere else. As I arrived at the island the rain pelted the boat and washed off the upper deck and poured down the stairs. The wind picked up and the waves perked up.
I pulled in to Tekek and had roti and some sweet tea waiting for the rain to stop before I walked off toward a few dive shops on the next beach. I should have, could have gotten off at the next pier but my memory didn’t give me any clues when I got there. For one thing, there were cars and motorbikes on the island. That was not in my memory because they weren’t there before. As I walked along the beachfront I noticed that the island had recently taken a monsoon beating the year before, concrete roads were undermined by flooding, whole guard rails were bent out of action. When I asked about it later I was told that last year around the end of December massive rains, flooding and landslides had changed the geography of the island bringing down hardwoods and mountainside into lagoons and tearing out hotels in some spots on the island and they had yet to recover. Sometime in my absence an airstrip ad been put in and the costs split between Malaysia and private interests in Singapore. Apparently the project ran into some financial snags and yes the airstrip is there and some private carriers but originally it was supposed to be a joint venture run by a Malay airline with Singapore, KL, and Tioman Island as a flight circuit.
I got to the end of the beach and walked up on a concrete catwalk through a chunk of jungle to the next beach called ABC beach where I was sure to find what I was looking for. Air Batang (C?). As I walked through the jungle above blue water I saw two types of monitor lizards scampering along the edge of the path in front of me. I remembered that the island was packed full of snakes and monitor lizards that grow to 2 meters. I later learned that the monitor lizards are fond of kittens. Awhile back one of the monitor lizards attempted to eat a baby child and the islanders were forced to cull the reptile back in population but they breed pretty quick. There are a lot of cats on the island and not so many dogs. Cobras and Pythons are consistent visitors to the beach and sometimes cross each other’s path. I spoke with a Brit that has been traveling with his wife in the area for 15 years or so and he had a picture of a python taking down a cobra on the beach by biting behind the head and squeezing the life out of it.
I saw two people I had come in on the ferry with sitting in Nazri’s Place and I pulled in just because Nazri said hello. I ordered a tea and had a chat with the brother and sister from Sacramento, California who had lived in Fairbanks, Alaska for a spell. He had been coming to the island because he’s a hobby herpetologist in search of the Tioman Pit viper indigenous to the island only and he’s an avid fisherman as well. He explained that the pit viper is boreal and nocturnal so finding one would be a rare feat. He just wanted to find snakes and sister came along for the fishing and hiking. Good people. He was a bit put out because his fishing rods didn’t make it as far as he did but Nazri took care of it and it was sorted by the next day.
I was going to stay there but when everybody disappeared to check rooms I decided to wander on and found Mokhtar’s next door for 40 MR/night. I don’t do air-con because it messes with my sinuses so this was perfect and it turned out the owner was Nazri’s nephew so all’s well when spreading the wealth amongst family. A British couple lived in the next bungalow so we had some great conversations over the rail. Along time ago the British gent was in the British Navy and had some great stories to tell. He is writing an autobiography at the moment.
There were not a lot of tourists around due to the onset of the monsoon season but those that I did meet were all really relaxed and in good spirits. I spent the afternoon swimming and exploring the beach. The jungle backs right up to the beach except where the bungalows are. Nazri has a large resort with great food and lots of activities available. He took me for a stroll through his compound and I was impressed with the cleanliness and his consideration of nature. He has all sorts of rooms for solo travelers all the way to family arrangements and a convention room for wedding parties, business meetings, whatever you need it for can be sorted.
Lots of the restaurants are closed but there are a few that will remain open year round. I was in Nazri’s for breakfast and some book cover business and Neil and Valerie were off through the jungle with his snake hook in hand headed over the island mountain pass to a small community called Juara on the other side. I finished up and chased after them. The jungle is thick and the threat of rain was steady. Mosquitos clouded around me every time I stopped so I didn’t except for a few photos. The trail is well laid out with concrete steps where it used to be a muddy slippery hillside but for the most part it’s all natural and beautiful. The trail somewhat follows a creek with some swimming holes along the way. I met up with Neil and Valerie and just over the pass the trail intercepts a road and down to Juara we went for lunch. The beach and town were basically vacant except for a few men from Kuala Lumpur who were leaving soon and wanted us to help them drink a case of Heineken. Neil and Val don’t drink but when someone offers me a cold beer after a sweaty hike well I’m going to say ‘Why not?’
We had Trevally fish with rice and enjoyed the view out over the golden beach and blue water. There were a few sailboats and yachts anchored in the bay. Boys fished off the pier throwing bread in to frenzy the fish and then drop a hook with a bit of bait and popped out Trevally one after the other to sell to the restaurants I think.
We took a taxi back to Tekek and walked the catwalk back to ABC and I again jumped in the water. I don’t know exactly what went wrong but somehow I sprained a toe and it swelled up my whole foot to its limits. Walking became difficult and I hobbled down to Sunset Corner for a pizza before they ran out and closed for two months. I got lucky, there were only 6 pizzas left and I got into it and had a laugh with all the local divers getting their last licks.
I stayed for four days and the British couple had some gluten free pizza dough that the corner said they’d prepare for them so I sat with Ian and talked with the locals. One British woman was heading to Thailand about the same time I was going and mentioned an elephant festival in Surin and the lack of tourists so now I know what my first steps will be when I get there. In the past there have been around 200-300 elephants participating in the festival with rows of tables full of vegetables and fruit for the elephants to eat and gorge themselves on after the parade. Stay tuned for that.
The morning I left, my foot still screamed. I didn’t have any Asprin or anything so it was a grin and bear it boat and bus ride back to KL. The swelling is going down and I’m able to move about a little better but still a couple days off it will help before I fly to Bangkok. Once again I’m excited to return to Bangkok and the rest of Thailand. It looks like I’m going to do many things I haven’t done before and a few I have. See you there.
