Pulau Tioman: Day 2 (Saturday, 24 July 2010)

I had a rather restless night and was up earlier than the others. A cup of hot tea was appealing but not before I figured that the tea tasted weird because the heating coil in the water boiler was rusted. The one in the girls’ room was working fine though so I still got my tea in the end! =)

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

Pulau Tioman: Day 1 (Friday, 23 July 2010)

Our long-awaited vacation was here at last and to be frank, I didn’t know how the weekend would turn out. Call it curse or luck, the short getaway turned out to be quite interesting, very tiring but rather memorable. =)

We were supposed to meet-up at 6.30am at Woodlands MRT and as expected, most of us were late. Hon Yiong was probably the only one on time! When everyone else turned up, we took SMRT 950 to the customs. There wasn’t much of a jam at both the Woodlands Checkpoint and Complex Sultan Iskandar but we spent quite some time waiting for the buses. Nonetheless, we still arrived early at Terminal Bas Awam Larkin. McDonald’s was our usual wait-zone. Our bus (S&S International, RM11.50 per pax) arrived on time at 8.30am but I was surprised to see a 42-seater bus. Two years ago, it was RM8.80 for a 24-seater coach!

Arriving in Mersing just past 10.45am, we were only able to get tickets for the 11.30am ferry (Bluewater Express, RM35 one-way). Anyway, the walk from the bus terminal took some time – the new bus terminal was a distance away from the ferry terminal. There was a crowd waiting for the ferries. We bought water and some snacks, paid the RM5 marine conservancy fees and settled down to wait for our ride. By 12.30pm, we were still at the jetty!

When we finally got onto the ferry, we had to settle for separated seats. I tried to catch forty winks and when I was all awake, we were still not at Tioman! It was only close to 2.30pm when we finally reached Tekek. At first, the surroundings seemed so unfamiliar. Then we realized that the jetty at Tekek was undergoing renovations and we had actually docked at the marina, just a short distance from Monte chalet. Unfortunately, Monte was full and so were most of the other chalets in the area. Persona and a couple others still had rooms (Friday night only) but we decided to make our plans over lunch.

The first plan was to stay a night at Persona before moving to Air Batang the next day in search of accommodation. The second plan was to call the agent whom we had purchased our ferry tickets from to book rooms at Salang. We went for the latter but the agent was out of rooms and  could only offer us the 4-star Berjaya Tioman Resort at around RM280 per room. In the end, we settled for that and had to rush down to the Bank Simpanan Nasional (outside the airport) to make a cash transfer to the agent’s account. That settled, we had two rooms booked to my name and checked in without a voucher. Interesting.

We caught the Berjaya Tioman tram outside the airport and “hijacked” it to the resort lobby. The mass disappearance act was quite unsuccessful but nonetheless we got the rooms (apartments far from the main compound!). The deposits were a hefty RM400! Incredible.

The tram took us to the apartment suites (we had passed them on the last trip), and we were relieved to settle into our rooms which were great. There was a refrigerator and balcony even, what more can a simple person like me ask for!

The weather turned bad but when the rain subsided, we decided to trek to Paya beach. Obviously, we were all under-dressed and the girls probably got a “pleasant surprise” when we entered the jungle past the turtle sanctuary on the beach. =)

Memories of our last Tioman trip came flooding back as I took in the humid jungle air and attempted to retrace our path via the overhead power lines. We had to climb up a knoll before the trail took us on a descend towards Paya Village. We made cautious progress but at the top of the knoll, I led them down the wrong fork and we ended up trapped by huge impassable rocks just a couple of meters from the beach! Hobson’s choice, we had to retrace our path and locate the correct one. We left markings (for our return trip) and managed to reach Paya beach as the sun was setting. It was certainly a beautiful sight as we strolled along the beach and waded in the shallow waters.

Dinner was at the “famous” Ramly burger stall which opened only at 8pm. It was fifteen minutes to time hence we treated ourselves to some ice-cream at the provision shop nearby. The shopkeepers were shocked to hear that we were from Berjaya Tioman and planned to trek back at night! They were discouraging us and the girls were visibly worried. Alfred was super confident though and that was a good sign!

Lightning lit up the skies and it soon started to pour. We were having dinner and decided to return only when the storm died down. I was too indulged in my chicken burger and satay to care. We had all the time in the world! =) Indeed, the rain died down when it was close to 10pm. We bought more water, some food and extra batteries at the provision shop. By now, more people knew about our "folly” and they made fun of us by giving us false hope (telling us to wait at the jetty).

I was pretty excited. As I had told them, this would be a great team building activity! =) I took the lead, followed by Hon Yiong who was taking care of Jia Yi behind him, Hiang Ling next, Alfred, Jessica, Mandy, then Lim Hwee who brought up the rear. The going was slow, we couldn’t see much in the jungle but the moonlight was sufficient to make our progress easier. It was a relief to hit the downhill and finally emerge on the beach at the other side!

Back in the comfort of our rooms, or rather, the girls’ room, we played some card games till we were just too sleepy to continue. I found our makeshift bed rather difficult to sleep in and elected to move to the couch. It was damn cold at night and I had to wake up several times to adjust the temperature of the air-conditioner before shutting it and the fan for good! What a night. Alfred slept like a pig though! =P

Trip expenditure: RM410
Participants: Hiang Ling, Jia Yi, Jessica, Mandy, Alfred, Hon Yiong, Lim Hwee, LSH

Kota Lok Heng

We had a great plan to explore the off-road trails at Kota Lok Heng. But it was a good 95km away (from my home). And we underestimated the energy sucking potency of the terrain we would be facing. It definitely put the Desaru route to shame. As most would have guessed by now, we never got the chance to put our bikes onto the trails.

Crossing the customs at 6.45am and starting our journey to Kota Tinggi, we only reached the town by mid-morning. Breakfast came in the form of prata and after this “pit stop”, we rejoined Route 3 and Route 99 thereafter to Kota Lok Heng.

After the intense “warm-up” yesterday, my legs were starting to ache as the going got tougher. I couldn’t believe the sheer distances of the rolling hills we faced. I thought my form had pretty much dipped since I started work after getting back from the Alor Setar expedition.

We didn’t have that high expectations of Lok Heng and indeed, it was a quiet little outfit with pretty friendly people around. Although Lok Heng was still officially in Kota Tinggi, it was way far off the Pusat Bandar and was more of a self-sustainable plantation town. We rested there for awhile before deciding to head back to Kota Tinggi for lunch. By then, it was already close to 12.30pm.

The return route seemed to take forever but the real reason was because we were exhausted. Not surprisingly, I was beginning to falter. When Route 99 rejoined Route 3, we passed a row of makeshift roadside stalls selling food and fruits. I bought some kueh (known in Singapore as peanut pancake) and the Malaysian version proved to be a culinary delight. I had expected to find just peanut filling but the taste of “jagung manis” (corn) with peanut was really sweet. We had 11km to Kota Tinggi and I decided to save the rest of the kueh for the last 45km back to JB. Interestingly, we came across a sign by the road that read “Elephants Crossing” in Bahasa Malaysia. Wild elephants, maybe?

As we were having ba-kut-teh in Kota Tinggi, the weather poured. From then on, it was Cat 1 all the way back to JB and midway through, the storm just got worse! It seems that the weather turns bad every time I am clad in a long sleeve jersey with long pants!

Total distance: 190km
Money spent: RM13
Participants: LSH, Vincent

“Warm-Up”

What do you do when you have not cycled (or for that matter, exercised) in a week and are faced with a potentially grueling overseas ride? You do a warm-up ride, an easy one to be exact. Obviously my form has dipped so bad that clocking 91.3km inclusive of 4 rounds up Mount Faber had my muscles all fired up and aching =(

 

I wonder how I had managed the 60km climb up Cameron Highlands after a grueling 150km ride from KL not too many weeks ago. The solution to aching muscles? Subject them to more torture. I will be really disappointed if we can’t make the Johor ride happen tomorrow!

Total distance: 93.1km
Money spent: $3.50
Participants: LSH, Yuva

Training in the Rain

I couldn’t sleep after Germany went down 1-nil to Spain and decided to go for a quick training ride. The weather was holding when I left at 5am but it soon started pour as I neared Woodlands. Unfortunately, the roads got even more wet as the rain became heavier. I was soaked and cold when I turned into Dunearn Road. I decided against a longer ride to Mount Faber. A hot bowl of fishball noodles at Chong Pang was distinctively appealing as I pedaled on, the spray from the wheels getting into my eyes.

After breakfast at Chong Pang (7am), I returned home, washed up and fell into the comfort of my bed by 8.30am. When consciousness crept back into my mind, my ears detecting a familiar ringtone from my phone, I realized it was already 3.15pm. I heated lunch up.

The weather was clear in the evening and I went for a 7km run. Amazingly, the skies made a fool out of me as it started to drizzle when as I stepped out of my block. Nonetheless, I went ahead with the run. By the time I was halfway through, the sun came out again and it became pretty warm. I finished off the run with the usual IPPT work-out. Sometimes I wonder if there’s enough justification for me to train up to twice daily in the rain.

1. 6 July 2010 – TKD
2. 7 July 2010 – Stairs Run (8 x 12 floors)
3. 8 July 2010 – Sembawang Circuit 7km run

Total distance: 44.6km
Money spent: $2.50
Participants: LSH

Seafood @ Pengerang

I think we got a bit more than what I had expected. Our move-off at 7.45am was delayed and this was compounded further by the poor weather and queue at the ferry terminal. As a result, we only reached Tanjung Pengelih at past 10.30am.

We turned into the plantations after the Tanjung Pengelih Secondary School and soon found ourselves struggling up the windy trail of a hill. The view was magnificent though, a reward for our hard work. Of course, with the ups came the downs. I am sure all of us were game for the descends.

It was a wet day and certain sections were pretty slippery, not to mention muddy. In no time, we were all muddy (comparable to Plentong!). I thought the trails, view and lack of mosquitoes made it a better experience on a whole as compared to Plentong. That said, the bumboat ride cost us S$22 for a return trip, so Plentong will be a more economical option to get down and dirty with mud!

The road bikers were attempting to cycle to Desaru and back but the plan was to meet for lunch together in Sungei Rengit at 1pm. Past noon, we attempted to cut out from the trail to the main road but found ourselves cut off by huge ditches and impregnable foliage. After discussing with Vincent, we decided to stick to the original route but as we back-tracked, we heard and then saw a vehicle roar by, obscured partly by dense vegetation. The “view” gave us optimism. We could see other vehicles passing on the road but again and again, a huge ditch blocked us. Even when we managed to get across the ditch, we were stopped by the vegetation. There was no way through. Then, Vincent had a tire puncture and as the others set about to get a new tube in, I tried to make contact with the road bikers. Amazingly, I couldn’t get through to any of them. Later, I heard that they had tried to contact me (even through a public phone) but all communication means had failed.

Civilization meant there was a road somewhere hence we decided to head back to the bird nest farm where we had made a U-turn. In my mind, I knew it was pretty tricky. We had to get out of the plantations and our time was fast running out. In desperation, we crossed a water-logged ditch, forming a human chain to get our bikes across first, then ourselves.

We found ourselves in the bird nest farm (trespassing private property). There was a locked gate in front of us and we were literally fenced-in. No one seemed to be at home but dogs were barking and threatening us as we neared the house. Fortunately, the creatures left us alone when we moved off to the gate. Man-made obstacles now stood in our way. Two of us climbed over first and facilitated in getting the bikes over. Then the others climbed the gate and jumped off to relative safety. I was so glad to be on tarmac again. With help from a couple of kind locals, we managed to make our way back to the main road, emerging some 10km away from Sungei Rengit. It was pretty late to continue to town so we decided to have lunch at the simple food stalls in the area. Fortunately, Shirley managed to get through to Joey and saved me a ride down to Rengit.

Lunch was a really simple affair. Nasi goreng cost no more than RM3 and for me, it was decent enough to stem my hunger. The headwind on the ride back to the jetty was pretty significant but we were taking turns to draft each other and that really helped a lot! =)

 

We hung around the jetty waiting for our boat and spent most of the time taking pictures. Wen Jie and Joey pulled in ahead of the road bikers, and Joey joined us on the boat back while Wen Jie remained behind to link up with the others. On the boat, it was more photo-taking and just slacking as we made out way back to rainy Singapore.

The ride home was a very wet and cold affair. I was pretty hungry and my vision was blurred out by the rain. It was a relief to get home but washing up was a complete nightmare! I drained four pails of water to get most of the mud off my bike but looking at the Dakar in my room now, anyone would be disgusted at the mud-crusted machine. So much for my efforts to get it cleaned!

1. 1 July 2010 – Causeway Point – 10km run
2. 4 July 2010 – Sembawang Circuit – 7km run

Total distance: 25km (off-road), 73km (on-road)
Money spent: S$22, RM7
Participants: LSH, NTU Cycling