MON 3 AUG SINGAPORE TO PULAU TIOMAN

CHECKED OUT OF OUR CHEAPER HOTEL IN SINGAPORE AT 530AM-THIS IS WHEN WE FOUND OUT WHY THIS AREA WAS CHEAPER-ITS SINGAPORES RED LIGHT DISTRICT!
THE ROOM AND HOTEL ARE SAFE THOUGH!
WE TOOK THE COACH UP THE EASTERN SIDE OF PENINSULA MALAYSIA-WONDERFUL VIEWS WITH LONG WINDY ROADS-UP PAST MERSING TO CATCH A BOAT ACROSS TO PULAU TIOMAN.OUR FERRY WAS A "SPEEDFERRY"-A CROSS BETWEEN A FERRY AND A SPEEDBOAT!VERY BUMPY RIDE-THE "SPEEDFERRY"ONLY DID ONE SPEED-FLATOUT!
THE SEA WASNT THAT ROUGH AND WE STILL GOT THROWN AROUND-HOPING FOR A FLAT SEA WHEN WE RETURN.
ARRIVED AT AIR BATANG-OR ABC AS IT IS ALSO KNOWN.HAD TO CARRY ALL OUR BAGS FOR ABOUT HALF A MILE.BY THE END OF OUR TRIP I THINK MY KNUCKLES WILL BE DRAGGING THE FLOOR! OUR ACCOMODATION WAS AT NAZRIS 2 IN A SMALL WOODEN CHALET WITH A FAN AND COLDWATER SHOWER.NOT BAD FOR FOURTEEN POUNDS A NIGHT (OR SO WE THOUGHT)

TUE 4 AUG PULAU TIOMAN

HIRED TWO BYCYCLES FOR THE DAY TO EXPLORE A BIT FURTHER.WE WOULD HAVE DONE THIS YESTERDAY BUT FOR THE LONELY PLANET SAYING YOU COULD WALK TO TELEK (BIGGER RESORT)IN 20 MINUTES.IT TOOK US A GOOD 45 MINUTES AT A FAST PACE.
THE BEACHES ARE OK BUT NOT AS CLEAN AS KOH TAO.LOOKING INWARDS THE ISLAND IS STRAIGHT OUT OF JURASSIC PARK-JUNGLE ALL THE WAY.WE SAW FIVE FOOT MONITOR LIZARDS SWIMMING IN THE RIVER,WILD MONKEYS WANDERING ACROSS THE AIRSTRIP (NO AIRPORT,ITS JUST A LANDING STRIP A COUPLE OF HUNDRED YARDS LONG!)AND HUNDREDS OF NOISY BATS HANGING IN TREES.
WE CYCLED PAST TELEK AFTER LOOKING AT MORE ACCOMODATION AND FOUND A GOLF RESORT-YES!NOT TOO EXPENSIVE AND IT LOOKS BEAUTIFULL-ALL ALONG THE COASTLINE.WE LOOKED AT SEVERAL MORE ROOMS-SOME GOOD-SOME BAD.I KNEW THAT PRINCESS MIMI COULD NOT COPE FOR A MONTH WITH NO AIR CON OR HOT WATER.WE NEGOTIATED OUR CHALET DOWN TO 3 POUNDS A NIGHT FOR A MONTHS STAY BUT DID EVEN BETTER-WE ARE NOW STAYING FOR A MONTH IN A LARGE AIR CONDITIONED CHALET WITH HOT SHOWER FOR 4 POUNDS FIFTY A NIGHT (NOT EACH-FOR THE ROOM!)-BARGAIN! WE ALSO HAVE A BALCONY WITH A SEA VIEW.

WED 5 AUG

WE WENT ON A SNORKELING TRIP AROUND THE ISLAND-GOOD FUN.THE WATER IS CLEAR BUT NOT QUITE AS CLEAR AS KOH TAO WAS BUT WE SAW MUCH BIGGER FISH HERE.MERMAID MIMI CAME WITHIN INCHES OF BEING STUNG BY A LARGE JELLYFISH-EVEN AFTER I POINTED IT OUT TO HER.I AM TOLD BY THE LOCALS THAT THE DIVING IS VERY GOOD WITH REGULAR SIGHTINGS OF TURTLES,SHARKS AND MANTA RAYS-WILL PROBABLY DIVE NEXT WEEK.THE FOOD HERE IS CHEAP AND TASTY-THE BEST WE HAVE HAD SO FAR.BEER IS CHEAPER THAN WATER HERE-UNREAL!

FOR THE REST OF THIS MONTH WE PLAN TO CHILL,TOP UP OUR TANS AND DECIDE WHERE NEXT-PROBABLY THE PERENTHIAN ISLANDS,THEN KUALA LUMPUR FOR A WEEK BEFORE OFF TO SINGAPORE F1 GRAND PRIX ON THE 26TH SEPTEMBER

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