As the slogan of Malaysia goes " Malaysia, Truly Asia", one really needs to be there to appreciate the true meaning of those words. I really could not appreciate the slogan unless I had been to one of world's top ten islands. Guess what? Do people who travel far and wide know about this exotic, less travelled destination?
Keep guessing as I write about my experience.
I stumbled upon this place while surfing through the net to gift my mom something unique on her 63rd birthday. As she was a travel buff just like me, what better gift could I think than gifting her a wonderful surprise travel pack.
We had already travelled to Penang, Langkawi and of course, not to forget KL. What next? As I was surfing through the net, I came upon this mystical island-"Tioman Island" and stumbled upon a private resort on the island-"Minang Cove Resort".
I could reach out to the resort coordinator, Marianna who was helpful in providing all the details such as accomodation, tariff and how to reach there.
Our journey began at 06:30 am sharp by bus from Lavender terminal, Singapore to Mersing. After reaching Mersing, me, mom and another friend, Appy visited Marianna who gave us ferry tickets from Mersing to Tioman island and onward by a private speedboat. The white coloured ferry, "Blue Lagoon" started off at 12:30 pm which was perfect to take the ferry across or else, at low tide, ferries do not ply. We could see the waters sitting at the base of the ferry which resembled a small ship. After a few minutes, excitement gripped us and we made our way through the crowd to the deck. Although the water was lashing parts of the deck, we could see the small island outcrops in the water. Sometimes some sea gulls or kingfishers were also seen floating on the drift wood in the water.
As directed by Marianna we were told to alight from the ferry at the nearest jetty after the famous Berjaya Resort. After waiting for 5 minutes and chatting up with another German couple who were also headed towards the same destination, the speedboat came to take us to our dream resort. What a breath-taking view! Vertical mountains standing tall amongst lush green foliage on one side and the greenish blue clear waters of the sea-finally we arrived at the Tioman Island. Greeted by a cool watermelon welcome drink by a young British lady at the resort was a perfect way to start our trip.
We had booked a sea-facing cottage where we reached after 10-15 minutes. It was a wooden cottage, cosy enough for 3 of us. The outside view was ecstatic-the shimmering afternoon sun falling on the waters making it look dark blue, some strangely scented red flowers peeping through the palm leaves and the vertical deep grey peaks jutting out at places.
The place had its own charm and mystery. It looked exactly the same as I had seen in the Resort website. I lazed around with a book under the shade of the beach chairs at the resort's own private beach. The black sea crabs were busy making designs in the white sand. Some couples were enjoying snorkelling there with their outfits. As the sun slowly went down, the sea appeared to be grey, it was like nature unravelling its different hues. Dinner was mostly in Malay style with 1 vegetable dish and 2 non-veg dishes and a nice fruit dessert.
As we retired for the day, excitement had not subsided, I put an alarm at 5:45 am to catch a glimpse of the rising sun. With my camera, I headed straight to the jetty. The morning breeze was as fresh as ever with the mixed smell of leaves at the resort. The sky slowly began to look more bright with the red hue of the sun slowly making its way to the horizon. As I sat on the narrow jetty pier, I could see the corals below and a sea turtle swimming in the clear water. With the high tide, a swarm of different colored fish were visible-some with yellow stripes, some with red and blue stripes.
We decided to take the scuba diving trip to 2 nearby uninhabited islands-Pulau Jahat & Bahara with the instructor Victor. It seemed that Victor had gone diving to lot of places in Europe, but found Tioman islands the best.
After a quick lunch at the resort with the host, Alex, we decided to bid goodbye to the island. As we were going back in the speedboat, dark grey clouds surrounded us and the waves became erratic and rough. Finally we reached the nearby jetty from where we took the ferry back to Mersing amidst a heavy downpour.
With all the adversities like rain and storm, I still feel that I had been to the best destinations in my life so far. Whenever I close my eyes, I can see those dark cliffs surrounded by clear blue waters. Wish I can be at Tioman once more-this time for a longer duration.
Keep guessing as I write about my experience.
I stumbled upon this place while surfing through the net to gift my mom something unique on her 63rd birthday. As she was a travel buff just like me, what better gift could I think than gifting her a wonderful surprise travel pack.
We had already travelled to Penang, Langkawi and of course, not to forget KL. What next? As I was surfing through the net, I came upon this mystical island-"Tioman Island" and stumbled upon a private resort on the island-"Minang Cove Resort".
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| Minang Cove Resort at Tioman Island, Malaysia |
I was just waiting to be with nature, away from the concrete jungles of Singapore, where I was posted at one of the largest Investment Banks in 2008.I could reach out to the resort coordinator, Marianna who was helpful in providing all the details such as accomodation, tariff and how to reach there.
Our journey began at 06:30 am sharp by bus from Lavender terminal, Singapore to Mersing. After reaching Mersing, me, mom and another friend, Appy visited Marianna who gave us ferry tickets from Mersing to Tioman island and onward by a private speedboat. The white coloured ferry, "Blue Lagoon" started off at 12:30 pm which was perfect to take the ferry across or else, at low tide, ferries do not ply. We could see the waters sitting at the base of the ferry which resembled a small ship. After a few minutes, excitement gripped us and we made our way through the crowd to the deck. Although the water was lashing parts of the deck, we could see the small island outcrops in the water. Sometimes some sea gulls or kingfishers were also seen floating on the drift wood in the water.
As directed by Marianna we were told to alight from the ferry at the nearest jetty after the famous Berjaya Resort. After waiting for 5 minutes and chatting up with another German couple who were also headed towards the same destination, the speedboat came to take us to our dream resort. What a breath-taking view! Vertical mountains standing tall amongst lush green foliage on one side and the greenish blue clear waters of the sea-finally we arrived at the Tioman Island. Greeted by a cool watermelon welcome drink by a young British lady at the resort was a perfect way to start our trip.
We had booked a sea-facing cottage where we reached after 10-15 minutes. It was a wooden cottage, cosy enough for 3 of us. The outside view was ecstatic-the shimmering afternoon sun falling on the waters making it look dark blue, some strangely scented red flowers peeping through the palm leaves and the vertical deep grey peaks jutting out at places.
 |
| Sea View from the Chalet |
As we retired for the day, excitement had not subsided, I put an alarm at 5:45 am to catch a glimpse of the rising sun. With my camera, I headed straight to the jetty. The morning breeze was as fresh as ever with the mixed smell of leaves at the resort. The sky slowly began to look more bright with the red hue of the sun slowly making its way to the horizon. As I sat on the narrow jetty pier, I could see the corals below and a sea turtle swimming in the clear water. With the high tide, a swarm of different colored fish were visible-some with yellow stripes, some with red and blue stripes.
We decided to take the scuba diving trip to 2 nearby uninhabited islands-Pulau Jahat & Bahara with the instructor Victor. It seemed that Victor had gone diving to lot of places in Europe, but found Tioman islands the best.
After a quick lunch at the resort with the host, Alex, we decided to bid goodbye to the island. As we were going back in the speedboat, dark grey clouds surrounded us and the waves became erratic and rough. Finally we reached the nearby jetty from where we took the ferry back to Mersing amidst a heavy downpour.
 |
| Rain & Storm over the dark cliffs at Tioman Island |
