In doing some research before leaving Taiwan, it seemed that accommodation on Tioman was limited as the island is densely forested and sparsely inhabited. According to Wikipedia, the island is located 32km off the east coast of Malaysia. It is 39km long and 12km wide. It was much larger than what I had imagined and it was all jungle.
My first day there I spent some time unpacking and getting acquainted with my surroundings. It was quickly noted that there wasn't much to acquaint myself with nor was there much to unpack. The following day, I took a walk over a jungle path to an area where the locals live. There wasn't much happening on that side either. The only road on this part of the island was a tiny one equipped for motorbikes and bicycles and not much else.
Snorkeling off the beach was fantastic. I was able to see sting-rays, turtles and barracudas to name a few. I was staying beside a place called Marine Park ... the life under the sea was amazing!
The following day was spent diving. I hadn't been out in over a year, so the dive guys took me to a few easy sites. In the morning we dove Soyak Island ... it was a nice easy dive with lots of great coral. In the afternoon we dove Renggis Island. We saw 4 sharks, a school of giant barracudas, a moray eel and a hawk bill turtle. On our 3 minute safety stop, the big turtle decided to hang with us. He came so close I could've kissed him five times or so ... where's an underwater camera when you need one?! It would've been amazing to capture.
Thursday, I decided to get up early and make the trek over to Monkey Bay. We had passed it on the dive boat the day before and it didn't seem like it was too far away. You can only reach this beach by boat or by trekking through the jungle. I awoke early and set out to beat the heat of the day. The place I was staying at had a sign that said the trek was an hour and a half and to follow the black cables.
I made my way over one part of the jungle and ended up at a private resort. I stopped for a bite to eat before heading on. I asked the guy if I was heading in the right direction ... he looked at my shoes and then asked if I was heading there alone. That should have been clue number one. As he sent me on my way, he reminded me not to lose site of the black cables.
A half hour or so into the jungle the path was becoming less and less, the denseness of the jungle more and more. I had my sights on the cable, but it was almost impossible to decide which way to go to remain with them. The jungle contained families of monkeys ... some daring you to cross their path ... giant monitor lizards scattering here and there ... spiders and webs everywhere ... eek.
For a brief moment I thought the jungle was going to eat me up ... I thought it would be weeks before anyone would find me ... maybe it'd be best to turn back. I didn't have a clock but I was sure I had to be more than half way there. I continued on, thinking I could flag a boat to take me back to my bungalows. What seemed like hours later, I arrived onto the beach. Not a soul in site. I took off my shoes and my clothes and jumped in the water to get all the webs and dirt off.
After hanging around for sometime, it seemed flagging a boat down wasn't going to be an option. My option was to trek back through that jungle. Four hours after leaving my bungalow, I arrived back on familiar ground ... muddy, sweaty and tired.
If you note on the above map, Monkey bay is located between Air Batang Village and Salang Village. The picture with the all the trees and a mountain or two is there for a reason. Next time, I'll remember to take a map.
A few more dive days followed along with a ton of snorkeling. So much to see, so many to follow. I observed a lot of the happenings under the ocean with a ton of time to consider a day in the life of a fish.
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