Tioman & Tenggul Islands
Simanderal
Michael Hughes and Ger White
Fri 8 Jun 2012 09:39
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We ended up staying a week on Tioman Island---very
easy to do!! A lot of "chilling" but we also did an energetic walk over to
the other side of the island--7 Km over a mountain and down the other side. We
did it on a cloudy day--but temperature still around 35 gegrees and humid. The
walk was under the forest canopy all the way and included--inevitably--a detour
to the waterfall. Lunch there and a taxi back!
We also did some snorkelling and
swimming--nice corals and quite a lot of fish life--including 3 black tip
sharks--first we've seen since we left the Pacific--and probably the nicest
coral since then.
And a lively social life on the island--one or two
people we knew from Indonesia sailing, but mostly new aquaintances--a number of
whom had come eastabout through the Red Sea a couple of years ago--the last year
that cruisers used that route because of piracy--and clearly it had been a
worrisome passage.
So nightly drinks at Captain Kerk's---a sort of bar
where cruisers met of an evening for a beer or three, run by Kerk--an
enterprising Chinese Malay who also delivered duty free to the boat. And meals
ashore--a good BBQ fish restaurant and a good Chinese restaurant --costing under
10 quid for 2 including beer! Poor Ger finds wine hard to come by in these
restaurants--indeed she doesn't even bother to ask any more!!
And a birthday party for one of the cruisers--a
Canadian--in a beach bar--Sham's--one evening which ended with the bar staff
doing a pretty expert display of fire dancing--juggling burning sticks
etc.
So, an enjoyable week, but time to move on
north--so late on 6th we sailed overnight up to Pulau Tenggul--another
island about 120 miles to the north--smaller, less developed etc. We arrived
lunchtime yesterday, the 7th, and have stayed over today--nice bay, with
plenty of good coral and fish life ---spent a fair time snorkelling this
morning. Quiet, though a few day trippers came out from the mainland. Nowhere to
eat ashore--but then we eat well on board and it makes a change fron Nasi
Goreng!
Tomorrow we plan to sail to another island--Pulau
Kapas--a day sail, only 36 miles, for a couple of days before we hit the
mainland again at Terengganu.
So all is well on board
Simanderal.
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