Tioman and Perhentians, Malaysia

MALAYSIA
Tioman Island – 7 days

Left our hotel in Singapore 7am Friday morning and reached Juara bay on Tioman Island at 6pm! One of our epic day long journeys, consisting of two buses, lots of hanging around, a ferry and finally a 4X4 jeep.

Tioman is one of the slightly bigger islands on the south east coast of Malaysian peninsula and boasted to be in the top 10 best islands in the world in 70's . There are about 5 or 6 resorts you can hop off at, but to actually get to Juara bay, the only one on the East side, we had to get off at Tekek resort and then get a 4x4 jeep to take us through the mountainous jungle on a 20 min journey up and over the island to the other side. Was it worth it – blimey yes, it's like a little piece of heaven in this bay. White sand, clear turquoise water, gentle breeze, palm trees, stunning jungle surrounding & very relaxed atmosphere, life has now officially slowed right down for us...

Situated at one end of the bay, we had a huge chalet with two double beds and lots of windows, right on the sandy beach with a large veranda where you can relax in the shade & see & hear the waves splashing at the shoreline just 20 meters away. Not many people here, only a few places to stay, each with it's own handful of bungalows and nearby bar/cafe/restaurant. The beach felt like our own, some days barely anyone on it! We've been relaxing, reading, sunbathing, swimming, snorkelling, eating & drinking – it's 'hard work' being here with 'so much to do'!! It has a very rural feel, not touristy at all, quite un-spoilt look and feel to it with great home cooked food everywhere and laid back friendly locals. It is Tax free island, so we had a taste of cheap 'Tiger' beer.

Perhentian Kecil (small island) – 5 days

A 7 hour coach trip, a night spent in a dodgy town called Terengganu and a local 3 hour bus to get us right up North to Kuala Besut where we took a speed boat and arrived in style. We had decided to stay on Kecil as it is the smaller of the islands on a popular beach resort called Long Beach.

Completely different feel here, in fact we have not seen this many tourists so far out of our whole trip. That's not to say it was too busy but there are many English, Americans and Chinese amongst others. Very young crowd, verging on the 'trendy' types here to impress each other and lots of posing going on and 'dressing up' in the evenings. Cool bars playing mixture of reggae & lounge music. There are no secluded chalets or bungalows right on the beach, everything is set much further back. Instead they pack the sand with eateries, plastic tables and parasols. Lots of diving & snorkelling offered here, very much busier than anywhere we have stayed.

Saying that, the beach and water on Long Beach is the best yet, sea is just so clear with the softest sand under your feet and no rocks or coral and the water is like a warm, blue bath – just AMAZING.

After 2 days we crossed the island to a bay called 'Coral beach'. Much quieter and smaller, suited us more so we moved across. It's a 10 min walk from this beach to the other through the jungle on an earthy track, saw lizards and massive spiders.

Off to Kuala Lumpur on Friday, a busy town, so for now we will enjoy the beach, water and relaxing, laid back atmosphere.