Alfred was sleeping real soundly and he was still lazing in bed when the girls turned up at the door, ready to go. We packed several essential items, mainly cash for the snorkeling trip, and headed to the lobby to catch the bus to the main resort lobby where we started our walk to Tekek. It was already 11am when we reached the village and we were hungry so we settled down for breakfast at the Sarang Seafood Restaurant.
We approached the tourist information counter where they offered boat hire services for snorkeling. Alfred put on his best bargaining act and managed to secure a decent price of RM60 per person to four places of interest, namely Marine Park, Soyak (Soyah) Island, Monkey Bay and Renggis Island. Lunch was to be at Salang Village. When Alfred, Mandy, Jessica and myself were negotiating with the staff at the counter, the others went off to check out several other dive shops. They managed to source one for RM55 but since reliability was a question (the weather was not very good and the boatmen were refusing to go out to sea), we decided to settle for the former. We bought some bread and water, then boarded a minibus which transported us to the boat waiting at the marina.
Our boatman was a really quiet guy (I have forgotten his name) who spoke little English but we had a few quirky exchanges in Malay. At least, I had the chance to practice my rusty and half-forgotten basic vocabulary learnt last semester. The weather was holding up fine but I was pretty disappointed when we arrived at the Marine Park and found the waters slightly murky. Two years ago, the water was sparkling clear and swarmed with fishes. This time round, there were certainly less schools of fishes around. There was certainly a human crowd around though – perhaps the fishes had been frightened off?
The choppy waters spared no one. We were tossed around by the waves. Getting on the platforms or the boat proved futile. In fact, it was easier to get seasick by remaining on the boat. Before our second destination, Jia Yi was already feeling unwell and her orange juice (breakfast) went overboard. The rest of us (except Hon Yiong) were unaware so I think we all drank a mixture of sea water and orange juice when we hung around the boat. I am sure she must be touched by the loving care shown by Hon Yiong though. =P
Soyak Island was pretty much the same as compared to two years ago but the corals did not seem as beautiful. There was a little bit of drama though when Mandy dropped her breathing tube which sank to the seabed. It was probably around 50m deep and almost impossible to get down there without a self-contained breathing apparatus. Alfred and I made futile attempts to reach the tube and I came up so quickly when the pressure got to me and my lungs threatened to burst. For awhile, I felt giddy and water was just streaming uncontrollably out of my nose. I believe we were all quite relieved to dock on dry land (Salang Beach) for lunch. Alfred was already shaking as he had to use the toilet urgently.
We had lunch at one of the “restorans” and as a very touristy spot, the things on Salang Beach did not come cheap. I had nasi lemak accompanied by hot lemon tea which wasn’t all that nice. I thought the RM20 we paid to buy a new breathing tube was a little exorbitant. I was sure I had seen cheaper snorkeling equipment at other places on Tioman.
After lunch, we proceeded to Monkey Bay. When we were exploring the shallower waters closer to shore, I spotted tiny flashes floating past and around my goggles. I thought it was just my imagination but small pricks of pain on my arms and legs proved otherwise. Jellyfish! The others realized they had been stung too and our little exploration was abruptly cut short as we headed back to the relative safety of our boat.
Our final destination for the day was Renggis Island which was opposite the Berjaya Tioman Resort. We were dropped in deeper waters but as we waded closer to the island, the corals growing on the seabed closed in on the depth. I was becoming rather self-aware of where my legs went. I certainly didn’t want to be impaled by the sea urchins that were thriving in several areas! It was tempting to just sit on the rocks and chill but the cold got to me. The wake of passing boats pushed me off the rocks with such force that I struggled to find a foothold. It wasn’t very funny to get washed onto the sharp and corroded rocks. Anyway, the cold was getting to all of us and we decided to call it a day. The boatman carefully maneuvered his craft around the sneaky rocks that threatened to ensnare us in the shallow waters near the Persona resort and put us on the beach. We parted ways.
A warm shower before dinner was appealing but we decided against it. Going back to our rooms and coming out again for dinner wasn’t a brilliant idea. We settled for “zi char” at Sarang Seafood Restaurant ordering six dishes consisting sambal kang kong, sweet & sour chicken, Mongolian chicken, sizzling beancurd, chilli sotong and omelette. I thought the rice was quite bad in quality though and that was pretty obvious when we tasted it. Anyway, the meal cost RM99 which didn’t prove to be too exorbitant when shared among eight people. We had a leisure walk back to Berjaya Tioman thereafter.
Spotting an incoming tram, we were pondering whether to hijack the vehicle but to our dismay, it was full. Who else but Alfred (with Jessica and Mandy) was on the vehicle! Lady Luck was on our side though as shortly thereafter, another tram came along and we happily flagged it down. Ever resourceful Alfred had gotten onto the bus heading to our apartments and we made a mid-route swap!
We were back in our rooms pretty early – around 8pm if I remembered correctly. Everyone gathered in our room this time round and things got interesting when Lim Hwee and Jessica went out to town to buy some stuff! We all stayed up till past 1am before we decided to catch some sleep. Lim Hwee and I planned to check out Juara Village and the nearby waterfalls in the wee hours.
Trip expenditure: RM410
Participants: Hiang Ling, Jia Yi, Jessica, Mandy, Alfred, Hon Yiong, Lim Hwee, LSH
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