Note 1

Unfortunately for Pulau Tioman (Tioman Island), and all others we’ll visit from now on, Koh Lipe now stands as a point for comparison. And at first glance, with its narrower, yellower beaches, and deeper, hence darker coloured waters, it doesn’t really come close. But you don’t get chosen as the set for Hollywood films and listed amongst the top ten islands in the world for nothing! (Albeit if that was a few decades ago; I don’t think that many have only fully been discovered since, and even if some have, I’m sure there were still plenty of others to beat). And sitting here, in our chalet porch, after a day and a bit, Tioman’s finer points are beginning to soak in. In some ways, despite my enthusiastic ramblings about Lipe being a tropical paradise, Tioman is perhaps literally more so (tropical, that is; paradise remains to be seen). It’ll never look as good on a postcard, but if its periphery isn’t as eye-catching, the dense, green mass of jungle immediately behind the beaches, rising steeply up the mountainous bulk of the island, with patches of heavy cloud sinking into the folds between the peaks and ridges, certainly is. And it just feels a lot more detached from human intervention. Lipe’s beaches may not have been littered with bodies, but it was definitely an island dominated by the presence of people, with building lined tracks criss-crossing and lining the vast majority of it. In stark contrast, however, humans reside on only a tiny percentage of Tioman, a few villages and resorts along the beach-fringed edges. Beyond these small territories, nature still dominates. And as if to demonstrate so, this morning, while I was sitting exactly where I am now, a three foot lizard, with a middle-aged waddle and heavy, rounded belly, ambled across in front of me, only a couple of yards away. No fear, as if to say “this is my domain, not yours”. Then, moments later, I looked up to see a monkey, clinging on to the top a small telegraph pole, about ten yards away. Clearly clutching some goodies it had just got its hands on, it looked a tad guilty, yet defiantly so, an air also of victory. It scuttered down and away after we’d momentarily locked eyes. Now, I shouldn’t point the finger without proof, but when I returned from the toilet a minute or so later to find our small outside bin knocked over and the remaining half a packet of sunflower seeds, that had been lying on the edge of the low table, gone, I did have my suspicions! Perhaps we didn’t lock eyes, but while mine were locked on his, his were locked on the seeds between my fingers, that I was cracking open and devouring! And we’ve seen a number of such lizards and monkeys since, monitor lizards and gibbons, I’m told, all hanging around or going about their daily business, quite clear about whose island this is. So in terms of position on the scale of dominance in humans versus nature, and sheer abundance of flora and fauna, it looks like Tioman may actually be our most tropical destination yet.

Note 2 – Monday 9th May

Just finished “Double Cross” by James Patterson. I’d never heard of him before travelling (like the majority of contemporary authors, I probably have to admit), but his books have been absolutely everywhere. I remember one particular large bookshop in Phnom Penh, where I was looking for the first of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy (kind of for the Harry Potter type audience, I’ve heard, i.e. both kids and adults, but good), and was initially filled with optimism when I saw the size of the “P” section. Only to then find that there were about a hundred James Patterson books, and very little else! But now I’ve read one, in three sittings over two days, and I understand. He’s good. Very good. Best page-turner yet. It’s hard to say why, other than that I just wanted to keep reading more, with a desire that I found greater than when reading any previous books. Read one, my recommendation for the month!

Pulau Tioman is a very friendly place, we’ve noticed, incidentally. And easy to see why, I think, as the locals are a very content little bunch. There are more than enough tourists to sustain them all, so seemingly there isn’t any need for competition between them. When we were initially looking for accommodation, several chalet owners happily recommended others that were cheaper, when all they had left were very expensive air-con rooms, rather than trying to convince us to stay by telling us everywhere else was full, or equally expensive, as can often be the case in other places. The pace of life is slow, the obesity rate is very high compared to what we’ve seen elsewhere in South East Asia (even other parts of Malaysia), so there’s clearly no issue with getting enough food (a sea full of fish and coconuts galore obviously help), and of course they live in a beautiful place, which would surely give anyone a warm glow. Things certainly happen on their terms, such as restaurant opening times, but that’s actually quite nice. Makes things feel like more of a mutually convenient arrangement, rather than the usual hierarchy of one party demanding “good service”, the other focussed on doing their best to provide it. So it’s great, wandering around seeing happy people with smiles on their faces, several generations of families all just hanging out together, friends sitting around playing cards, and an atmosphere completely devoid of any tension or other negative feelings.

Paula’s brand new watch died today. I think it lasted all of four days, in total! Not used to wearing a watch, she also clearly isn’t used to taking one off, and when we noticed it on her wrist whilst standing, cooling down, in the sea, we also found that the second hand wasn’t moving anymore. It said it was water resistant, but I guess when you pay a quid for a watch from a street stall you shouldn’t necessarily believe everything it says on the back! Oh well, it was a nice watch, but she’ll find another. For a quid.

Utd effectively won the title at the weekend. Disappointing, given how inevitable it wasn’t in the end. A Chelsea victory, followed by two more, and it was theirs. All in their own hands, but it was as if they didn’t quite believe that, having been so far behind a few months ago. Glad I’m not back in Manchester right now! And to add to the irritation of the football on the screen, the small crowd contained a very loud American who obviously knew nothing about football, yet insisted on making enthusiastic comments throughout. “Dude! You should have shot a goal there!”. No, it was actually a very difficult chance, a free kick from a long way out. “Man, come over here, Manchester are two nothing against Chelsea and there’s only thirty-three twenty-one left!”. No, it doesn’t work like that, as you should have noticed, the clock isn’t ticking down, they’ve only been playing for half an hour. “They should be putting another attacker on, and make it three nil!”. No, that would be a ridiculous tactic. They’re two nil up with a quarter of the match to play. Idiot.

Note 3 – Tuesday 10th May

Rapid Visas in London have confirmed receipt of our passports and India visa applications. Stage one of three complete! Visa processing and return to Malaysia still to go.

Liverpool beat Fulham five-two last night. Too late for it to be screened here, so I didn’t see it. But with Spurs failing to win again at the weekend, fifth position is now in our hands! Just need to not lose against them at home this weekend!

Note 4 – Wednesday 11th May

I had intended to be in bed by now, but the adrenalin from pure, childlike wonderment has compelled me to stay up and put pen to paper first, rather than waste my time trying to sleep. Having only two days ago waxed lyrical about my first James Patterson novel, that now seems merely average compared with the utterly brilliant “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseimi, which I finished only half an hour ago, and which has shot straight up into my shortlist of all-time favourite books. If “Catch 22” still holds top spot for humour, and the artistry and intelligence of its language and composition at micro and macro levels, and “Three Dollars” stays on my podium because of the amazing empathy I felt, with it and the author, then “A Thousand Splendid Suns” now sits alongside them for surely all else that a novel can offer. I’m struggling for words that will do it justice, but the book is the most incredible tale of the hearts and minds of human beings I’ve ever read. The full spectrum of human emotions and qualities, both extraordinarily good as well as terrible, are contained within a story that is also a real page turner, composed in such a way, with twists and turns, that equals any thriller that was designed with only that quality in mind. The drama is incredible, yet brutally realistic, given its context of latter twentieth century Afghanistan. And in that, there are lessons in history and religion, in the way that “Wild Swans” teaches you about China. The author’s ability to describe people and places, instantly creating clear pictures in the reader’s mind, is simply done, but highly effective, as are the little details describing the reactions, interactions, characteristics and insecurities of the characters; set in a different place, but all unmistakeably human, so creating constant feelings of empathy and understanding. I feel like a director appears to be upon receipt of an Oscar, trying to remember all that’s worthy of a mention, but I’ll stop there. Don’t want to sound melodramatic. Although too late, I suspect!
But I’ll summarise. It’s one of those books that when you finish it, you know you can’t pick another one straight up. You need to dwell on it for a little while first, and then for the sake of the next one, manage to forget a little too. If you are literate and have an emotional pulse, I implore you to read this, you won’t be disappointed.

Note 5 – Thursday 12th May

I forgot to mention, I was so absorbed in the world of fiction, but we walked to the main town on the island yesterday, about three kilometres away. And we can now add fruit bats to the list that so far includes cocky monkeys and massive lizards! There were several trees that were just full of them, in the middle of the day, in the centre of town (albeit a small one, with not many people about)! Large, orangey-brown furred, fist sized creatures, and it was amazing, seeing them clearly, in daylight, hanging upside down, wrapping themselves in their black, plastic looking wings. Making a right racket, as well, although I wouldn’t know how to convey the sounds in words. It was brilliant!
Did a couple of dives today, which, to be honest, were quite disappointing compared to the fantastic ones Ed, Matt and I did back at Koh Lanta, in Thailand. Relatively cheap, though, which takes the edge off it a bit. Although I guess it’ll still require a few more to work out whether I was spoilt in Koh Lanta, or if these really were under par. It was just a bit bland, by comparison; far fewer fish, and the corals just weren’t as colourful. In addition to this, my depth gauge didn’t work properly (I figured this out at the point we’d completed the initially planned nineteen metre descent, when my gauge claimed we were still at ten), which, still being a novice, made me wonder if maybe the instrument showing how much air I had left (part of the same device) wasn’t either. Turned out that bit was fine, but not the sort of thing one wants to be wasting time thinking about underwater (and I noticed my broken regulator wasn’t put anywhere different back at the dive shop, so clearly my chosen dive company were far from perfect). And neither is a crap buddy, which I also unfortunately had. A round, middle-aged lady from Kuala Lumpur, called May, who spent ages staying in the same spots with her underwater camera, and had no interest whatsoever in staying with our divemaster and the rest of the group. Which left me trying to bridge the gap, whilst not getting confused with two other dive groups, down at the same time as us. On the second dive, she even decided to disappear and go a completely different way at one point, so for a pleasant quarter of an hour, I didn’t have to worry about her, and just drifted along with Fami, our divemaster, and a nice English couple, Tim and Jackie, whom I’d been chatting to on the boat. And I don’t want to start going off on one, but lunch wasn’t a patch on the food that Lanta Diver had put together for us, either! Hmm, I think we may just have been spoilt. Although Paula and I went for a couple of drinks with Tim and Jackie later that night, and they (about eighty dives between them) said they hadn’t been overly impressed either. Sadly for them, it was the last day of their seven month holiday, as well. Off back to Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days shopping tomorrow (and shopping’s a chore, not a holiday; correct me if I’m wrong), before flying back to England (with an immediate future, randomly, in Antwerp, Belgium). On the plus side, though, I did see my first turtle underwater! Three of them in total, actually. Which was very cool. Hawksbill turtles, if I remember rightly, ranging from a couple of feet long, to one that was probably about twice that size. Nudibranch seem to be all the rage, though, and Fami spent most of his time seeking them out. For non-divers, they’re small, colourful things (with a comedy name, admittedly) attached to rocks, only about a centimetre or two long in general. Now, call me ignorant, but they’re clearly nothing like as good as a decent fish. What’s all the fuss about? Just because something’s rare, doesn’t make it good. I don’t know, ask me again in a couple of months, when I’ve hopefully done a few more dives, and maybe I’ll be racing towards a highly rated nudibranch dive site, sporting my I heart nudibranch T-shirt and cap combo.

However, whilst I was being disappointed by my latest underwater experience, Paula, in complete contrast, has just discovered snorkelling, and is filled with amazement at her first glimpse of the world under the sea! I’m not sure what compelled her to conquer her aqua demons, as she’s previously been happy to just wait on solid ground for my return from such adventures, but she and new friend Hannah-Maria, a Danish lady who also hadn’t snorkelled before, whom she met yesterday, decided, on a whim, to set off together and just give it a go. And it all went swimmingly! (Sorry). I guess it helped to be accompanying each other, but who cares why, the important thing is Paula has found a new love in snorkelling!

Big job tomorrow, we’ve got to move chalets, as our current place is fully booked this weekend. We might have to walk to somewhere up to half a kilometre away, which’ll take an annoyingly large chunk out of potential snorkelling or sitting, reading on the beach! But a good opportunity, at least, to find a place with a bathroom floor that doesn’t resemble a scale model of the topography of the Lake District. The designer clearly wasn’t familiar with the concept of a wet room, i.e. to have a flat, slightly sloping floor with a drain at the lowest point, and we’ve been puddle dodging to get to the toilet for the last few days. It may not be dirty, but it’s highly ineffective, so room for improvement.

Note 6 – Monday 16th May

Paula and I went snorkelling together today! To a bay just up the coast, less than a half hour walk away, and it was fantastic! We even saw a turtle! It was as good as the dive sites I went to last week, I’m sure of it, unless the lack of colour and marine life when I dived was a temporary thing, on account of the conditions (I’m still to learn about such things). But these areas of coral were spectacular; a totally absorbing range of shapes and colours, with legions of fish circling in and around them. And a couple of really big ones, too. Not to the scale of decent sized sharks or anything, but a good two or three feet long; silver coloured fish, that zipped out of sight as soon as they spotted us.

All of which was pleasing, given the disappointment of Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham last night. King and Dawson were immense, we were lacking bite, it never even looked feasible. Down to Birmingham to get something against them on the last day of the season next weekend; possible, but not likely; I’m not hopeful. At which point, win or lose, I’m sure many people will at least be pleased that I’ll have to stop talking about football! Mind you, we’ll see, the transfer window is always an exciting time!...

Note 7 – Tuesday 17th May

Had to abandon our plan to hike through the jungle today, across to the beach on the east side of the island and back. Rain delayed. Hannah-Maria was coming with us, and after a brief and very light shower whilst we had breakfast, following which I was ready to set off, her intuition thankfully lead her to suggest we waited another ten minutes. To be sure, as the clouds above were still slightly grey and brooding. And a few minutes later, the rain was torrential! So powerful, we were still getting wet from the spray of it, sitting two tables in from the edge of the restaurant. It was unrelenting for long enough to make us postpone our hike, which we knew could be up to three hours each way, and would also now obviously be on slippery ground too. Which was also a shame, as it was Hannah-Maria’s last day on the island (she’d actually extended a day to do the walk with us, as well), and because we’d especially opted for Nazri’s (the restaurant in question) all you can eat buffet breakfast. Costing twice what our usual breakfast of an omelette or fruit salad or something would (and ten times that of my local Malay favourite, “Nasi Lemak”, a combination of coconut rice, boiled egg, anchovies, peanuts and spicy sambal sauce!), we figured we could still make it pay, given that we needed lots of energy for the walk. And by the time I’d finished, two coffees, a tea, an orange juice, an egg butty, beans on toast, a plate of fried rice, a piece of eggy bread and a fruit salad later, I reckon I’d got 24 ringgits worth for the 12 ringgit price, so was feeling very pleased with myself. Not ideal, however, to then find myself having to sit on my backside all day! Lunch was not required.

Note 8 – Wednesday 18th May

Still not entirely trusting the now slightly temperamental weather, we didn’t opt to try the jungle walk today either. But after spending the morning relaxing, we spontaneously decided to chance walking to a spot called Monkey Bay, about three quarters of an hour up the coast. Paula reckoned she’d heard it mentioned as a good snorkelling spot, and it was somewhere different, so we figured why not. But it turned out to be a great jungle walk itself, even if it was short! The path clearly wasn’t well trodden, so the route wasn’t always clear, and we had to navigate trees fallen across the path, really steep sections and thick undergrowth. The sounds of the jungle were loud and varied too, and unconventionally, the sources didn’t always remain hidden, either, with monitor lizards, lots of smaller lizards, monkeys, squirrels and a snake all putting in an appearance on the way. And when we got there, we had Monkey Bay all to ourselves! Only for an hour or so, as we’d left the trip late, but enough time to enjoy the solitude, and another bit of fantastic snorkelling. Plenty of unspoilt coral, one ridge of which had a breathtaking drop off that must have gone to well over ten metres, giving Paula her first taste of what it feels like to be looking “into the blue”. Lots of fish, including some massive Barracudas, Paula’s first spot of a “Nemo”, anemone included of course, and a small, shark-like fish, only about ten or fifteen centimetres long, but which wouldn’t leave us alone – nipping Paula twice as we headed back to the shore!

Note 9 – Friday 20th May

Rapid Visas have confirmed that our visas have been attained! Just checked the DHL tracking number, our passports are already mid-air, on their way to KL. Stage two complete.

After almost two weeks, we finally embarked on the full jungle walk today. Hard work! It’s at rare times like today that we remember we used to exercise and play sports regularly back in England. And had leg muscles in order to do so! These having somewhat withered away over the last nine months, an hour walking up a steep hill in baking sunshine and eighty-five percent humidity takes its toll! But it was worth the effort, even if we’ll be aching tomorrow. Not as wild as our little walk to Monkey Bay, actually, as the path was much clearer and well maintained, including concrete steps for much of the way. But the forest still felt fairly remote, and some of the massive, ago-old trees were absolutely spectacular, with supporting root buttresses stretching out two or three metres at times, grasping each other, and curling around or sitting on top of the huge rocks on the hillsides. Monkeys galore, of course, and a few squirrels, although no more creatures to speak of on this occasion. Sighted, that is, as the jungle sounds told us there were plenty around us! One of those times when I wish I had some infra-red glasses in order to make out all the beasts in the undergrowth (or maybe not, as the quantity and proximity could be quite scary!). Our destination, Juara beach, wasn’t up to much, with no corals to explore, not much life on land either, and the east coast wind was much stronger than what we were used to. But it wasn’t really disappointing, as we just needed to cool down in the sea and relax for a while, and it made us glad we hadn’t chosen to stay there.

Which I think will bring us to the end of our time on Pulau Tioman! We didn’t ever decide how long we were going to stay here, and I had thoughts of other places we might visit while our India visas were processing, such as Cherating and the Perhentian Islands. But we just didn’t ever get around to leaving over the last two weeks, it’s been such an incredibly nice, genuine, beautiful and relaxing place. However, the hour has now come, it feels like time to move on. We’re going to chill out tomorrow, and rest those aching limbs, but then get the boat and bus back to Kuala Lumpur first thing on Sunday. In time to catch the last weekend of the Premiership season, and, fingers crossed, to pick up our passports, complete with visas.

Leaving me with just one thing, Malaysian superfood number four (I should really be uploading blog entries in order, for this to make sense, but never mind!), the “pancake envelope”. More a technique than a specific superfood, and applicable to fruits, vegetables and various other savoury ingredients, the envelope takes the appearance of a typical Shrove Tuesday egg, flour milk and butter pancake, dripping with artery clogging grease. However, we’re lead to believe that it’s actually an edible, nutrient enhancing filter, using the abundant sunlight Malaysia provides to increase vitamin and mineral content. Seems popular with bananas, so presumably therefore particularly effective at enhancing potassium; good for combating blood pressure, of course. And also eggs, with either protein or vitamin D and healthy bones therefore being the beneficiaries. Incredibly innovative, I’m hugely impressed. I just hope people don’t confuse them with normal pancakes, otherwise they might get fat and unhealthy.