Cracked Pepper: Tioman Island

Good morning Tioman!

Round the World (RTW) and I awoke to white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, and clear blue skies.

Tioman Island was the sight where South Pacific was filmed & in the 1970s Time Magazine selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands.

We moseyed over to the Juara Mutiara Café for a seaside bite to eat.

And for the rest of the day…we relaxed!

We stayed in a small chalet right on the beach. It was basic and beautiful, and had great cell phone reception.

The island is very remote and primitive; however it did have some modern amenities.

Can you hear me now?

Craving fast food?

There were other people on the island but we felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.

Around sunset we took a walk and spotted some locals playing Malaysia’s national sport – Sepak Takraw. The game is a cross between badminton, volleyball, soccer, and hackeysak.

We took our dinner at the bistro each night. As far as we could tell, it was the only spot serving in the evening.

After dinner we tried to rustle up a little night life action. However, this part of the island went to bed with the sun.

We tried to entertain ourselves.

RTW paddled right up to the beach. Without a paddle.

We discovered one man sitting alone on the beach. It was a little creepy so we didn’t bother him.

What is a bus seat doing out here??

On our last morning we set our alarms to wake up with the sun.

Unfortunately, our time in paradise had to come to an end. We had no idea how hard it would be to leave.

I love this photo of RTW because we haven’t even left yet and she already looks bored. If only we knew then it would take almost 14 hours to reach KL!

Our trip home
30 minutes in 4WD vehicle across island.
1 hour wait for ferry.
2 hours on ferry.
3 hour wait for bus.
7 hour bus trip back to KL!!!!

On the way to the island it only took five hours, but this bus took teeny tiny back roads not at all appropriate for a bus!