.. Retaining Bits and Pieces of Time - RF's Little Place
Hiu and myself made a trip down to Tioman Island off Pahang coast on Thursday morning. It was a rush planning - we decided to get away for a couple of days and go diving. Tioman is the obvious choice since I've just got back from Redang on late May. Tioman will be different than the Redang/Perhentian Island area, we reckoned. (Read More)
Some photos from the trip:
1. Above Water - http://travelgaia.com/gallery/Tioman2007_Above/
2. Under Water - http://travelgaia.com/gallery/Tioman2007_Under/
Tioman Island used to be named one of the top 10 most beautiful islands in the world, but that was like 10 years ago. Me and my diving buddy Hiu just got back from a short 3D2N trip to Tioman Island (we stayed at Teluk Air Batang, or dubbed ABC), and we know the island needs some serious help.
The State Govt. is having so many projects at Kampung Tekek and surrouding areas, like widening the river bed just beside the beach, the marina project etc. that have put off tourists - who wants to see tractors going about the front of their chalet while having vacation?
It is also having littering everywhere near Kampung Tekek, not to mention the pocket of dirty and smelly water patches along the construction areas. More importantly the marine ecosystem will be damaged or out right destroyed by all these projects at the beach front.
In fact we've seen so many of the chalets being discarded along the road from Tekek leading the ABC, it is just an eye sore. Even the Marine Park's Headquater - a elegent white & blue painted big buliding blocks, but really out-of-place here - near ABC beach, is having its drainage directly flow to the marine reservation park beach just in front of it! The waste water can be seen forming while bubbles at the marine park beach shallow water near the rocky area 
. What are you thinking, the Marine Park Officer?
The locals are unhappy with the constructions that have been going on but there is little that they can do. At least they managed to stop the State Govt. to widening the existing cement road - at least for now.
The Tioman beaches are already inheritedly not as good as those in Redang Island or Perhentian Island which are renowned for their fine white long pristine beach and crystal clear water. The least the State Govt. can do is to not further destroying the island. The tourists are not here to see a modern township or the construction work-in-progress, it is the rich variety of coral reefs and fishes (and of course, some really cool wrecks) that attracted the tourists and divers around the world to Tioman Island. WWF ran 2 articles on concern on Tioman Island's projects on 2004:
1. Controversial marina project threatens Malaysia's Pulau Tioman Marine Park
2. WWF-Malaysia Position Statement on Proposed Airport And Marina Projects In
Pulau Tioman
and so did CDNN Eco News:
Government-backed marina project will destroy Malaysia's Tioman marine parkIt is useless trying to attract tourists by making the island a tax-free heaven if the constructions are still going on and the marine life are being threaten or destroyed. Tioman needs help! And it needs it fast!
It was after our first dive at Mak Cantik that the dive master Jan Shir was asking, "Do you guys wanna see something different?" and let us think about it during the surface interval. The 'different' site is called just 'Sandy Bottom' (and I heard the divemaster calling it 'Twilight Zone' but I might be wrong) and there will be no corals and no big fishes, but he guarantees we will be seeing something different. Even though Redang is not known for great muck diving site, Bill and me are all game and we want to see something different than the coral reefs.
We started to get prepared for this special dive after our lunch at Redang Pelangi. Our friend Gan didn't show up on time at the dive shop so after a bit of waiting and briefing we start our journey to the dive site. JanShir talked about the normal stuff but put emphasis on lost buddy as well as underwater navigation. In this type of terrain (Sandy Bottom) navigation can be assisted by observing the sand pattern, the current flow direction (coolness on the left side or right side, if any), and the sun orientation (sun over left shoulder or right shoulder). Well I was like, aye aye, and can't wait to get to the dive site. (More)
Had a very short trip - 5 hours including the driving time - with Hiu to Sekinchang, a small fishing village just about 20km away from Kuala Selangor. Sekinchang is renowned for its fishing village and padi fields, and the sole purpose of our trip here is - what else? - to capture some photos during the dawn. It is always pleasing to be able to get out of town and breath some fresher air, and better yet, I don't have to drive (Hiu is the driver for the trip)!! 
A drive from Damansara to Sekinchang almost took us 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon. We went thru Damansara toll and then headed to Sungei Buluh and followed the Kuala Selangor sign board, and upon arriving K. Selangor, followed the Serbak Bernam direction for another 20km we arrived Sekinchang. It is impossible to miss - you will be seeing the seas of padi fields at the right side of the road while approaching the town center.
More photos from the trip is here: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/sekinchang/
Breakdown of Cost of the trip: (I've wanted to do this for all my trips but laziness managed to fail me everytime. I am gonna pick up the slack from now on and get my act together... I hope!)
That's about it. Averaged out about RM470/person for the whole trip - probably one of the cheapest trips that I've had! And we all have great fun! And lastly, borrowing a phrase from MasterCard,
A Dive Trip with a few buddies on Perhentian Island: Priceless.
More trip photos:
HTML: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/perhentian_html/
Flash: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/perhentian/
This is Ayumni, the cute little girl of D'Ayumni House ->
It was a short 3D2N trip to Perhentian Island, and the journey was tough - we drove instead of taking flight, but the trip was fun and more importantly, quenched our thirst of diving. I've served my 'surface time' for over 4 months since last dive in Bali, I need some fix!
4 of us (Hiu, Bill, Kenny and myself) started off from Hiu's house just over 10pm using this route:
KL -> Karak Highway -> Kuantan -> Dungun -> Kuala Terengganu -> Kuala Besut
This probably is not the closest road but the beach roads from Kuantan to Kuala Besut is straight and in good condition. We reached Dungun at 2:30am and stayed at Mayang Resort , which is just beside the beach road and situated about 5km from UITM Dungun.
The resort offers either rooms or one of the many houses (one house consists of 4 rooms, a living room and a bathroom). We rented 2 rooms in house#6 and cost us RM140 (including a simple Mee Goreng + coffee/tea breakfast). Rooms are equipped with air-con and 2 single beds. Some rooms having attached bathroom (master bedroom in the house), and some others will have to share another bathroom in the house. Overall the room is spacious and relatively clean, and we couldn't complaint - it was already 2:30am and we desperately need a place to get some rest!
See More photos from the trip here: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/perhentian_html
