Pulau Tioman | Discover. Swim. Snorkel. [Day 2 &3]

I had the impression that holidays and Saturdays are opportunities for sleeping in, but no, not today. Firstly, we arrived late for dinner last night and got left-overs. So much for buffet deals. Secondly, our snorkelling excursion was scheduled in the morning as well and I would like to try wearing fins so I need to get to the rentals area early before all the good ones get taken away. So we had to get up early to get a decent breakfast, get my fins and buy snacks and water to take with us for the excursion.

The beach looked peaceful again as ALMOST ALL of the guests at the resort joined in the snorkelling trip.

Day 2

Big breakfast for a big day!

We have two destinations for our snorkelling adventure: Renggis Island and Marine Sanctuary. 

Our first stop is at Renggis Island and I have read that turtles frequent the area so we were excited to spot one!

It was quite a sight to behold but the corals appear dead.

Hubby is fond of free diving. Using an SJ4000, he scours the bottom of the sea,
hopeful to catch a glimpse of a turtle and have it on record.

We snorkelled for about an hour but, sadly, we weren't able to see even one turtle. Perhaps the turtles were scared away by the splashing and noise of the snorkellers. Note to self: avoid snorkelling with a large group to enjoy the moment and see more fish and marine animals.

Next stop is the Marine Sanctuary. The area is marked (facing the beach) by a hill on the left and a bridge on the right and roped off to warn snorkellers away from the deeper parts of the sea.

From the jetty, guests can jump right off into the water or walk to the beach.

Instead of corals, broken concrete structures are found at the bottom of the sanctuary. Over time, these became home to the countless fishes roaming the area. Tourists were allowed to throw bread crumbs (sometimes the whole bread!), thus, the fish became used to the tourists coming to the place. And they also don't mind snorkellers swimming close to them

(Top left) A man slowly feeds the fish by shaking bread out of a bottle.
Why'd he put them there in the first place?
(Top right) The pillars of the bridge got covered with shells. The bottom of the sanctuary looks similar to this.
(Bottom) Fish here are too cheeky. they'd swim up close to you!

I find the fish here look less colourful than the ones in Palawan and Puerto Galera, Philippines. But I only got to experience fish swimming past me idly here! Wait, perhaps I appear like a mermaid to them. Ha-ha!

We cannot resist a selfie inspite of fogged masks.

We stayed at the Marine Sanctuary for about an hour. Before 12 pm, we headed back to the resort for lunch.

After a short rest, we felt the tug of the sea once more. Believing we haven't had enough snorkelling yet, we went back to the beach. Knowing it was low tide, we just need to find the perfect spot to take a dip. 

The sea looks promising even if it's a low tide.

I only had to get in this deep to see beautiful corals.

I liked the corals near the resort better. Too bad the water level is too low for snorkelling,
I'd probably scrape my knees if I try to and damage the corals.

Day 3


All holidays need to come to an end. Our holiday was short but full of adventures. We had our fill of our favourite hobby (snorkelling) and even met new friends.

Food is a bit pricey at Paya Beach Resort so we looked for other choices at Kampung Paya
and found this burger joint.

Ryan & Jamie: new friends we met at Tioman.

The way back to the jetty looks long and weary.

Hubby also made a video of our adventure in Tioman island. If the video below does not play, watch it here.

Sentiments

Here's the timeline of our trip to Tioman Island:

0630 meeting time at DFS
0640 depart from DFS and travel towards woodlands checkpoint (show passport only)
0645 from woodlands, travel to Johor Bahru immigration 
0700 from immigration, travel to breakfast area for 30 minutes
0730 breakfast time
0815 from breakfast area, travel to Tanjong Gemok for 2 hours
1030 arrival at Tanjong Gemok
1100 board ferry and travel to tioman for 2 hours
1310 check-in at Paya Beach Resort

It was a nice joyride through Malaysia. In fact, the only thing I didn't like about the whole trip was the ferry ride, which was very uncomfortable due to poor air-conditioning and hard seats. 

Nevertheless, the journey maybe long but it was worth it because of two reasons: we enjoyed the snorkelling and freediving activity; and the resort itself offered sights and gest. Plus, we met new people! 

Hope you'll enjoy Tioman Island like us!