I broke the curse!

WHY? Well, since I’ve started studying in Taylor’s, every single holiday that I have, I ended up rotting at home, crying/ ripping my heart out as I watch my planned holidays went down the drain. 5 semester breaks and term breaks, all spent at home, even though I had well-planned holiday at hands. If this is not a curse, I have no idea what this is. But this is all in the past now, I broke the curse during my one-week holiday! *joy joy*

 

Hmm, TIOMAN is the word~ yup yup, went there with B, Zin and Shella. Just the four of us. Without dwelling more on the lengthy words let’s get on to it, shall we?  ^^

 

Day One, got up at 4.30 am, took off from house at 5am. After a painful four and a half hours drive, we got to Mersing, Johor, where the jetty is located. The boat schedule of the day was 10.30am, 12pm, and 2.30pm. So, we took the earliest one and got to the beautiful island at 1pm. (Yes, the boat ride takes 2 hours plus).

 

Boarding pass~ It costs RM70 for a return boat ticket.

AFTER TWO HOURS PLUS …

Tioman’s signature mountain peakS

 

“Wake up, B, wake up!”

 

Interior of the speedboat – the chairs are taken of the commercial aircraft

One of the marine bay

 

Walking to our lodging place, Nazri’s Place, at Kampung Air Batang (ABC)

Our room costs RM200 per night, but the facilities are good.

 

We went snorkelling right after we put down our stuff…and make use of our outdoor shower ^^

 

Spotted : Kodomo dragon…a giant lizard, right outside of our house

Zin zin…

The restaurant @ Nazri’s Place

Our first lunch in Tioman~ yummy~

My sleepy B

The beach in front of Nazri’s Place, just a stone’s throw distance from our room

We walked around at night for dinner

Shella and one of the candidates of THE list. (Wenz, you owe me BIG time!!)

My first Tioman dinner. The food we ate throughout the trip was incredible, not too salty, sweet, nor spicy. Everything right at the best! Seriously!

 

One of my favourite shot under the glimmering moon

Note the reflection of moonlight on the ocean, beautiful, isn’t it?

 

 

Day Two, we did a lot of walking. We jungle trekked to Panuba Bay, which is located next to our Kampung Air Batang (ABC). Rest for a bit, and walked to Tekek, the main city of Tioman, where the airport is (as well as the one and only ATM machine). Came back in the late afternoon, caught the sunset by the beach, and had our dinner and Zzzz.

The breakfast buffet @ Nazri’s costs RM7 per pax, not a bad bargain

The walkway to our room, from the beach

 

We played around in the water before we started our trekking

The horizon was blurred between the sky and ocean

 

These two don’t know how to swim, at all~

 

Zin’s swimming lesson

Okay, time for the trekking that I dread the most~

Our destination : Panuba Bay

This is what greets us after the 20 minutes hiking

Panuba Bay’s jetty

 

The water is so much clearer here, absolutely breathtaking!

B doesn’t know that when I took this, LOL

One of my favourite as well

Seafood fried noodle that tastes as good as it looks

   

All the cats on the island are lazy bums…

On our way to Tekek…

The cruel reality of a holiday…haha

Walking to the duty-free shop for some drinks…

Came back just in time to catch the sunset…

 

On the island, we catch nothing but sunset~ no trains, no assignments due dates…

Had our dinner at Sunset Corner, where we literally sit by the beach and eat freshly made pizzasss… *drool*

 

The island blacked out for half an hour during dinner, the sky lights up immediately, lit by the moon and seemingly endless starlight…it was worth dying for…The best part, the restaurant bake their pizza using traditional fire oven, so you can still smell the baking pizza during the black out.

Preparing for the big snorkelling trip for tomorrow.

 

Day Three, we signed up for a half-day snorkelling trip in Coral Island, which is 20 minutes boat ride away. It is a must-do is you’re in Tioman, though it costs RM80 and a sunburnt face, it worth every penny and pain.

 

Fluffy with his friend (Shella)

Waiting for the boat to arrive

Fluffy became our entertaining during the waiting

The German couple that joined us for the trip

Now this is what crystal clear blue water looks like

   

We had lunch at Salang Bay in between the snorkelling trip

At the last stop, Monkey Bay, we saw a turtle! The German couple found it and our boat captain told us we were really lucky to see it. Amazing! Oh, I learnt to snorkel without life vest, only mask and fin, I tasted freedom~

Showering outside…

Another one of my favourites too

Can you feel the heartbeat of the ocean?

The boat comes and goes, the travellers stays…

“FOOD FOOD FOOD!”

Grilled squid rice with salad… *drool*

Poached fish…

 

Day Four, much as we were reluctant to, it’s time to head home…But overall, Tioman trip was amazing.

Sunkissed by the Tioman sun, refreshed by the ocean breeze and re-inspired by the beauty of it all~

 

The owner’s son

We played some games of Monopoly after breakfast, since all of us were sunburnt and decided to stay under the roof

What’s a holiday without some music?

ABC’s jetty

Wenz, this is a sneak peek of your LIST~ *wink wink*

Back to Mersing

The sunset on the highway…I wonder how stunning it must have been back at Tioman right now…

Yup, I am all cashed out~but never mind…

 

Before the Tioman trip, I was so sick and tired of seeing the luxury spending in a city. Some people splurge on materials up to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore. In Tioman, 90% of the roads there were only wide enough for two motorcycles to pass by, the locals remembers you by your name, the spending was low yet you get the best service and food ever. In the city, you spent hundreds in a restaurant, yet sometimes all you get is crappy services and yucky food that barely feeds your grumbling stomach.

 

On the island, things were modest, you don’t have DSLRs running all around you, no branded stuff, only you and a simple vacation. What joy. Haha~

 

With love,

KC