Sun, Sand and Snorkelling
Trip Start
Mar 01, 2011
1
33
92
Trip End
Ongoing
Where I stayed
Rainbow Chalets
Rizab Melayu Pulau Tioman, Pahang, Malaysia
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Due to the fact were on an island most days are spent doing not much of anything, reading, playing cards, floating in the sea.
On the 13th we awoke to an unforgiving sun scorching the sand and any life silly enough to sit it in. I sat in it for 3 minutes each side - my reasoning, its like 3 minutes on a sunbed! We spent the rest of the day cooling of in the sea and reading. Since then we have spent everyday eating at Bushmans, eating Cream-O biscuits (Oreos), reading and relaxing into the ebb and flow of island life.
We found a volleyball which I have been using in the sea as a float at about 4pm each day we take to the sea when the sun has calmed down and float on a turquoise ocean, we then clean ourselves up eat and drink beer, which is only 80p a can. Boff has burnt his shoulders so we have been holding off on any walks, snorkelling etc… until its calmed down.
On the 15th I think the owner must have worried that we would get sores on our bottoms because he came over and asked if we wanted to do any activities, we said we would have a think about it but to be honest the price was a bit high.
That night we met Nick (an American) and his friend Richard (a Canadian) in Bushmans they too had gone to eat and drink beer, we talked into the night and shared funny stories. They suggested we go see a man near a burger stand about snorkelling for a good price and we promised again to walk to the south beach and visit the turtle hatchery (we still haven’t gone but we have all the time in the world).
On the morning of the 16th we set off to find a good snorkelling deal, we found one at Juara Beach Resort and booked it for the 17th. We spent the remainder of the day reading and you guessed it eating and drinking beer. We called Boffs Dad Garry to wish him many happy returns - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We fell asleep listening to Simon in the hut next door playing Alicia Keys- Empire state of mind over and over again. Simon is a Swedish fellow, a little stand-offish who drinks whiskey, you can create your own mental image of him alone in the hut with his whiskey and tunes!
The sun broke over the morning of the 17th. We got up early and got some breakfast at Bushmans before making our way to the other end of the beach where Juara Beach Resort sits on stilts. We got the appropriate equipment - snorkelling mask and flippers and then headed to the jetty where our ride for the day was waiting. The trip had a guide, a very water enthusiastic Chinese man and 10 tripies. There was also a driver, a man we had seen at Coconut Bar, he looks like a very small skinny Malaysian version of Boff, he doesn’t speak much just nods and smokes - very mysterious, Me and Boff decided we liked him a lot!
After 40 minutes on the ocean we came to our first snorkelling destination, an outcrop of rock and coral not far from a sandy stretch of beach, we dived in and had a look around. It became apparent that some of the tripies were not so confident in the water, mainly some Chinese ladies. One of them gave it a good go though whilst tightly holding her life jacket and asking Me and Boff to wait whilst she got in, she took a quick swim away from the boat all the while holding on to Boff, said she didn’t feel safe and asked for a hand back. Boff being the gentleman he is guided her back to the boat, he noticed that her snorkel was full of water and she couldn’t breath, he told her to blow it out but she was to scared. Its probably best she hadn’t gone to far from the boat she may have ran out of air on the way back.
We left the first destination and soon arrived at a shallow stretch of water near a white sand beach, the coral was pretty dead here but it was a place to rest take in the clear water and eat some cheese sandwiches. We hovered around a rock taking shade with some of the other tripies and several Monitor Lizards arrived after sniffing out the food, we watched them for a while getting ever closer until one tried to steal a bag of food., all the while whilst a Chinese man clapped at them. The guide brought a sea cucumber over and some Conch Shells for people to look at, the Chinese told us how they can be eaten.
The next destination was Coral Island, a pinnacle of rock in the sea layered with coral and sea life, this was by far the best destination. Me and Boff went for a snorkel around the rocks with the guide who took us through gaps and crevices in the rock which was cool, he then signalled we can keep going round which we did. The sea life was amazing so we swam, stopped, looked and pointed for a good time at parrot fish, clown fish and lots of other brightly coloured shimmering sea life. Suddenly Boff tugged my arm I lifted my face from the sea and saw our boat heading towards us with everyone on it. The guide usually blows a whistle after an hour to gather everyone, we wandered how long he had been blowing his whistle for. We had not been out for an hour though. It was a shame because the last stop was not so good, lots of coral but no fish and a dark cloud looming over the island made the sea cold.
The trip was done and we headed back to Juara, tonight we are going to eat at Bushmans again and drink beer, we ate at Juara Beach Resort last night and it was not so good and expensive, in relative terms.
Tomorrow once again we will succumb to island life and the hot sun, I’m not sure what we will be doing but I am sure I have burnt my bum today snorkelling so I will be seeking shade and something soft to sit on.
