Tioman Island - Melaka

Mon 22nd Sept

We arrive in Mersing at 6.40am and head to the ticket office for the ferry to the island. The next boat is at 9am, we therefore have time to get a coffee and some breakfast (noodles). The boat doesn't arrive till 9.40am and we depart after 10am. Our stop will be Salang..the furthest point and final stop..taking around 3 hours! When we reach Salang we search around for the best value accommodation and settle on a room costing 80RM a night. I then crash for a few hours (it's never a deep sleep on the bus), Lars heads out to snorkel and we meet up later in the afternoon for some beers beachside, good view of the sunset. The beach is nice and sandy, with lots of coral and fish to see. In the evening we find that the area is very quiet, so have a chilled out evening. The beers are cheap here due to duty free shops.

Spot the lizard..

Tues 23rd Sept

Today we have a fun dive at 10am. We will be heading to Renggis Island, which I've heard and we are told is one of the best sites. We grab some breakfast then head to the dive centre where we set up or gear before walking to the port and waiting for our boat (the gear is brought down on a motorbike/trailer). The dive site is a 30min journey from Salang, when we arrive we have a briefing on the boat, then gear up and backwards roll into the water. On our descent there are many small jellyfish around us, I later find out that Lars is stung by one of these at the beginning of the dive, but the dive continues and he is fine after.. adding vinegar to the sting when we get back to the dive centre! The dive for me is good, the visibility to begin with is good but then is similar to that experienced on my dives at the Perhentian Island. In the afternoon we chill out, read, and drinks some beers in the beach side hammocks, not bad for a Tuesday afternoon! I finish reading 12 Years a Slave, and next download A Hundred Years of Solitude. The beach is very quiet again, with few travellers. In the evening we eat fresh fish and calamari, and head to bed early ready for a long days travel to KL tomorrow.

Weds 24th Sept

I'm up at 7.30am, showered, packed and heading for breakfast at 8 before getting the ferry back to mainland at 9am. We arrive at Mersing at 11.30am and first head to an atm and then to the bus station in the hope of getting a ticket for the 12.30/1pm bus to KL...what we soon find is that the earliest bus we can take from Mersing is at 6pm! We head to another booth that sells a 3.30pm ticket but from Kluang, a 2 hour local bus journey away. Along with a number of other travellers, we take up this option.. grab some lunch (a pack of oreos/crisps..) The local bus feels like it might break down at any point.. does it have only 3 gears? I'm not sure how we make it up some of the hilly roads and then it pours with rain during the second hour! Fun times. But close to 3pm we arrive at Kluang Bus Terminal and soon after are boarding our KL bus and off again. 

The traffic into KL is chock-a-block, eventually we are dropped at the bus terminal, then take the train into central and to our hostel for the night, Sunshine Bedz. When we arrive Marlie is at the hostel with two friends and soon we are heading to the nearby mall to eat some dinner.. sushi.. despite the cost being relatively cheap when converting the price back to pound I spend the most on one meal since the start of my travels! 

Thurs 25th Sept

Today I am up early again ready for the short journey to Melaka, I will be travelling here with Marlie and then onto Singapore together as well. After a slight rush and a run across the bus terminal (with a tannoy announcement for Marlie and Adam heard) we make our bus and are on route to Melaka. On arrival to Melaka Central we take the local bus and then walk to our hostel for the next two nights.. Ringo's Foyer. The owner Howard, makes us both welcome (even giving me a 5RM discount), we are told that he will be taking everyone to a recommended restaurant in the evening and he introduces us to the other guests throughout the day. After dropping off our stuff in our rooms, me and Marlie head out into town, first we get lunch at a cafe points out on the map provided and a dish he recommends Baba Laska and I order this. It's a tasty chicken/noodle soup dish with a slight spicy kick. After lunch it begins to rain so we look in the shops down Jonker Street, and we both end up buying t-shirts. In the evening we all borrow bikes from the hostel and follow Howard's lead as he takes us on a scenic tour through the streets of Melaka on route to an Indian street restaurant. 

Fri 26th Sept

After a long lie in, followed by breakfast in the hostel, me and Marlie rent out bikes from the hostel and cycle and set out on a tour of the town by day. We head to the tourist centre and see the historic buildings around Dutch Square. It 's a sunny day, blue skies and very hot. We walk around town and take a route to see historic churches, a replica temple and Malaysian Architecture Museum. Then we head to see the Portuguese Ship and views of the river. In the evening we head to the night market, eating good cheap food including Nice Nice Popiah (a nutty spring roll). My time in Malaysia has come to an end and tomorrow we will be taking an early bus to Singapore.. before I fly to Australia on Monday evening.