An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island.

An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island, Malaysia.

May 2015.

In the spring of 2015 I was walking on air. Prior to my arrival in Malaysia, I had never been to a bona fide tropical island. But now I was embarking on my second island paradise of the month. On Pulau Sibu, the mantra had been purely sea, sun and serenity. This time though, whooshing towards neighbouring Tioman Island in a speedboat, Lisa and I felt ready for what would be a weekend packed with adventure. After all, this was the largest island on the southeast coast of the Malaysian Peninsula

We jumped off on Tioman’s western side at Kampung ABC Jetty. Quite possibly bewitched by a Sibu Island spell, Lisa and I hadn’t planned a single thing for the trip. In fact, we’d even neglected to sort out a place to stay. “We’ll find something” insisted Lisa, “and we’ll be able to negotiate a local rate”. Wise words, as it turned out.

Mokhtar’s Place was a thirty minute walk from the jetty in the island’s ABC neighbourhood. As soon as we caught sight of its wooden chalets, set tastefully around a pretty garden, we knew we’d found our place. Mokhtar himself showed us around, a short, stocky man in his late 40s with a full head of unkempt hair and a toothy smile. How I wish I’d gotten a photograph of him. He had an easygoing nature, with no interest whatsoever in giving us the hard sell. Paying him for three nights, I enquired as to how long he’d been running the place. “Since 1970” he grinned.

An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island.

Much like the chalet I’d had on Sibu Island, my Mokhtar sleeping quarters were small but cosy and well-equipped. There was a small table, a bamboo chair, a couple of plug sockets and a mosquito net around the bed. Running water was a bonus too as frankly, for the price, I’d felt there were no guarantees.

“Be careful of monkeys” laughed Mokhtar, “better not feed them, you know, too greedy”. It was only then that I noticed about half a dozen long-tailed macaques lazing around the garden. One of them, a splendidly fluffy looking creature, let out a long yawn, showcasing an impressive set of fangs. Yes, better keep my distance.

Keen to explore, Lisa and I wasted no time in setting off to discover our local neighbourhood. The first thing that struck me was how much the locals took care of the place. Following the spotless path to ABC Beach, I marvelled at all the lush palm trees, the pruned hedges and the swept lawns. 

ABC Neighbourhood.

What’s more, local business owners had come together to install giant recycling stations. There was one for cans, another for paper and a huge vat for glass. This was a pride in one’s surroundings that, in my experience, had been severely lacking in many of the beach communities I’d visited across Southeast Asia. 

What’s more, there were some lovely outpourings of art. This old boat for example, no longer in use, had been painted and now lies permanently grounded to the side of the main path. 

It didn’t take us long to reach ABC Beach. Delightfully, it lay perfectly empty. Not what we were expecting at all from the most popular island in the region. Thus Lisa settled in at a table right on the sand, while I strolled off to check out the sole bar-restaurant.  

It turned out to be a pizza joint called Sunset Corner. With plans to head out exploring for the rest of the day, we figured it was better to feed ourselves now. Happily, the pizzas came freshly prepared and piping hot. Washed down beautifully with an ice-cold beer.

An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island.

Post-lunch, we cut a deal with Mokhtar for a boat cruise around the island. I had never been snorkelling and felt this was the perfect time to make my long-anticipated international debut. The boat hire was a touch pricy, but soon resolved when three fellow travellers chipped in to say they’d be up for joining us. And so it was that we sailed off accompanied by John and Karen, a married English couple from Liverpool, along with a German solo backpacker called Amanda. 

I had read that the waters surrounding Tioman Island boast some of the best snorkelling opportunities in Malaysia. While I’m not in any position to confirm or deny this claim, it’s certainly not hard to believe. The captain confidently assured us that he knew all the best spots. And that, with no fast and high water currents to worry about, we could really take our time. 

I absolutely loved the snorkelling! Indeed I was left mesmerised by the seemingly infinite swarms of multicoloured fish darting around me in all directions. Best of all, there were even a few brief glimpses of a fascinating but elusive baby reef shark.

After three spells of snorkelling in various locations, the captain whizzed us off to a tiny stretch of beach on the uninhabited Pulau Tulai. Better know to visitors as Coral Island. We were pretty far out from Tioman at this point, around eight nautical miles from the west coast. 

Coral Island.

Here, our captain encouraged us to jump out into the sparkling shallow waters and splash our way onto the beach. The whole scene was utterly Elysian with a deep blue sky, light green water, pale yellow sand and an engulfing silence. This is why I travel, I remember thinking, as the five of us stood there on the beach lost in our separate thoughts.

“You gotta swim to the Batu Malang Rock” our captain insisted. “Maybe the best snorkelling!” We all exchanged looks, thinking that a) this was a bold claim and b) that the rocks looked like they were miles away.

Nevertheless, we all headed out there with our goggles and flippers, making surprisingly short work of the swim. The formation (which translates as Unfortunate Rock) was a sight to behold, while the snorkelling itself was splendorous.

Diving just a few meter underwater, I found myself face to face with so much kaleidoscopic sea life I hardly knew where to look. There were butterfly fish, fusiliers, clownfish and angelfish. Less charming, but no less captivating, a swarm of needlefish and an occasional bulging cuttlefish. 

An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island.

Eventually, we called it a day and returned to Tioman. Buoyed by the magic of the day’s events, we all agreed to meet back up at ABC Beach in the evening. As we arrived, Lisa and I caught the last traces of sunset.

That night we got chatting to a bunch of travellers, all hailing from different countries. At some point talk turned to the island’s so-called best jungle hike; a rough-and-ready trail that connected the nearby community of Tekek to Juara Village on Tioman’s eastern side. Immediately, Lisa, John, Karen, Amanda and I agreed that we would tackle the hike the following day. Moreover, a friendly German guy called Joe (pictured below in the cap) asked if he could come along.

The six of us set off the next morning, bright and breezy, armed with rucksacks packed with water, suncream, mosquito repellent and pastries purchased from a mini market. Once again there was a palpable sense of adventure in the air. What awaited us in the jungle? we pondered.

Setting off from Tekek.

The seven kilometre jungle trail was pleasingly wild. In the beginning there was a clear path to follow, though that soon petered out. In its place we found ourselves clambering over rocks and ducking under fallen trees. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we didn’t encounter any other hikers along the way.

It was a fun afternoon full of camaraderie and chat about our recent travels. Secretly, I discovered that with my knowledge of Dutch, I was able to understand much of what Joe and Amanda discussed amongst themselves in German. Back in English meanwhile, John and I chewed the fat on all things Liverpool and our mutual love of The Beatles.

When silence descended between us, we drank in our surroundings. High above, an array of coquettish birds exchanged calls across the thick jungle canopy. A dense green roof that, thankfully, protected us from the worst of the burning sun.

Elsewhere, there were scuttling spiders, bothersome bugs and mysterious rustlings in the bushes belonging to god-only-knows-what. Later, around halfway through our hike, I happened upon a millipede. The poor thing seemed quite vulnerable as, with seemingly much effort, it hauled itself forward in clunky, laborious waves.

An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island.

At last we were closing in on Juara Village. However, we hadn’t anticipated making a fascinating and unusual pitstop. Visit Mouse Deer Farm, announced the weathered sign. “What is a mouse deer?” asked John. Nobody had an answer.

A few minutes later we arrived at said farm and knew we had to investigate. A volunteer was on hand to deliver a warm welcome, before leading us through a simple office area into a large garden compound.

Here, he gave us a brief overview of the Mouse Deer, or the chevrotain, to refer to its proper name. These small hoofed ungulates, round of body, spindly of leg, indeed look like a cross between a mouse and a deer. “They are very nervous animals” the guide chuckled, taking us to see some of the farm’s curious residents. “Usually they live alone, sometimes in pairs”. 

Straight away we could see how wary the mouse deer were of us. First their eyes darted from person to person, then they’d scamper away to hide in the shrubbery. Primarily herbivores, the mouse deer live on a diet of flowers, leaves and other plant material. “Many breeds of mouse deer are protected in Malaysia” the volunteer explained. It was the usual story of course, an unhappy concoction of shrinking forest areas and an inability to evade predators, both wild animal and human.

Mouse Deer Farm.

“We don’t ask visitors to pay an entrance fee to visit our farm” smiled our host. “But there is a donation box if you want to support us”. He also showed us a few of the compound’s rubber trees, which they used as a further source of income. Seven years later, I’m not sure if the farm is still running. They have almost no online footprint, not a website, Facebook page, Instagram account, nothing.

Bidding farewell to Mr. Mouse Deer Farm and his furry friends, we walked the final leg of the trail into Juara Village. It was way more developed than ABC, with restaurants, cafes, shops and guesthouses abound. After a short vote, we headed for the main beach in search of a restaurant for lunch.

Unfortunately, I didn’t make a note of the restaurant’s name. But I do have a shot of my delicious Chicken and Seafood Coconut Soup. It was both creamy and spicy, a fantastic reward for my efforts in the jungle.

Our table was right on the beach. Hence we decided to hang out for a bit and order some drinks. Some of us, including Joe (pictured below), even opted for a quick swim before we reconvened for the next part of the day’s adventuring.

An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island.

Our main reason for coming to Juara was to visit its famous sea turtle sanctuary. With happy, full stomachs we mapped out a route through the village. While ABC is exclusively geared towards tourists, Juara had some delightful residential lanes with characterful wooden houses. Many of them sat in pretty gardens home to tinkering wind chimes, sleeping dogs and bulging jackfruit trees.

On one such road, we stopped to marvel at a magnificently sinister collection of sleeping bats. There were over fifty of them wrapped up on the various branches of a skeletal fir tree.  

Juara Turtle Project is a volunteer-driven sanctuary dedicated to the protection of Malaysia’s endangered sea turtle. Launched in 2001, its primary aim is to preserve Tioman’s precious turtle nesting sites, along with their surrounding ecosystems. 

At the time of our visit the group had around 200 volunteers. One of them, a friendly American woman from North Carolina, welcomed us into the complex for a free tour. Taking us through a large garden and onto a deliciously quiet beach, she gave us an informative overview of the sea turtle’s unenviable plight. 

Juara Turtle Project.

Surprisingly, to me at least, we learned that of the seven species of sea turtles remaining in the world, four are found in Malaysia. According to our guide, numbers had plummeted dramatically over the past fifty years. And guess what, that age-old pantomime villain the human was to blame.

Fishermen, for example, had killed hundreds of thousands of sea turtles. Sometimes by accident, as they scoured the sea with their nets. But often from targeted campaigns in order to sell their hauls to Chinese restaurant owners offering turtle soup.

Photo courtesy of Chensiyuan.

Furthermore, poachers are known to sweep the region’s island beaches where sea turtles nest and lay their eggs. They then sell the eggs to customers far and wide, many of whom are based in Honduras where some consider turtle eggs an aphrodisiac. They end up served as hors d’oeuvres with alcoholic drinks, if you can believe that. Nowadays, the good folk at Juara Turtle Project snatch up these beach eggs and transfer them to the project’s onsite hatchery for safekeeping.

An Adventurous Weekend on Tioman Island.

Once born, the volunteers soon release the babies back into the sea for a life in their natural habitat. Therefore, visitors won’t actually get to meet many turtles in the sanctuary itself. Still, we weren’t completely out of luck, as our guide took us to see Jo, a full time resident. Poor Jo is blind and unable to live in the wild. Consequently, she resides in a large tank in the project’s garden. 

The team also does a fine job of keeping the island as clean as humanly possible. In fact, they regularly organise beach cleaning days and hold workshops to raise awareness about the evils of plastic pollution. Oh, and drop your cigarette butt on their beach at your peril! 

That evening I was back on ABC Beach with a local kitty. She was taking a snooze right on my lap, having enjoyed some leftover chicken from my plate. Sadly my ten-day flirtation with Malaysia was almost over. The next day I’d be heading off on the long journey back to Thailand via Singapore. We had come to Tioman Island looking for adventure and had definitely gotten some… no butts. 

You can also check out my other travel articles from around Malaysia.

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