It was to mark our 1.5 yrs of anniversary :)
Well Adarsh had booked a pair of tickets to Tioman Island (Berjaya Resort). Coincidentally it happened to fall on May 14th, which turned out to be our anniversary - one-and-a-half-year of marriage :)
One could reach Tioman via air (Berjaya airways) or by land (bus + ferry). We opted for the latter one. On Friday early morning, we set off and the journey was good. We reached the island by 2pm and we were really hungry by then.
I was excited about the chalet. It was the first time we were in a chalet. "Wow! this is how a chalet looks" I exclaimed as we entered in. It looked great, but as we soon discovered, some lights were not working. The air-con looked old and worn out. The water in the bathrooms weren't hot enough. We were left with frowns on our face. We kept the reality aside and got busy with our lunch. We had to carry our chapati rolls and some fruits as we expected not-so-good-Indian-food (vegetarian) around Tioman. So, as soon as we checked-into our room (so-called-chalet), we got busy with our pet-pooja.
After lunch, we walked towards the beach. The sand was good - but it did not impress me. I imagined the water to be blue-green color. That's how it was in the internet. But I think they were just in the pictures. The beach seemed much like the rest of the beaches - "nothing special about it" I said to Adi as we walked along the beach side.
All our trips had been great so far. We had fun and we came back happy and satisfied. But we thought, Tioman wasn't all that great after all. Somehow, all our friends who had been to Tioman, misled us telling that this was one of the best holiday spots. We blamed our friends and colleagues for telling such imaginary stuffs - the water looked pale, the sand wasn't all that great, the receptionists were not so well trained, and not to mention the hapless chalet. So far, nothing impressed us.
We found out soon that there was a trekking organised by the resort to the waterfalls nearby. But as I did not have my running shoes, we dropped the plan of trekking in the jungle. We explored a bit more of the resort - the pool, games room, restaurants and the spa. We were happy to find an Indian restaurant and walked back to our room in the evening deciding to have dinner at the Coriander Leaves (the only Indian Restaurant nearby).
Next day, we planned to snorkel after lunch and both of us were thrilled. I was unsure if I could get into 10-feet-deep water without knowing how to swim. As advised by the divers there, we wore our gadgets and made sure that our life jacket was tightened. We were taken in a boat to a small island nearby and we were left there to snorkel. There were around 50 others who seemed to be enjoying the clear-blue-waters. I followed Adi & got into water. The first glimpse I had into the water was like a dream! It was amazing. The water was clear, we could see the fishes move around, the water plants were at the bottom, there were sea urchins and sea cucumbers, fishes - small & big, and all those fascinating things one could imagine. I looked at Adi, removed my mask, smiled & screamed - "wow this is the best holiday I have ever had".
The best part was I was swimming. If I flapped my hands like a swimmer, I moved forward. The life jacket kept me floating. So there was nothing to worry about. The next 1 hour was simply a dream. We were the last ones to return back the gadgets. We wanted more of it :)
We then came to the beach and spent some jolly good time there. The sunset was spectacular. I wanted to pause my life and enjoy that moment for ever. Nature's colors were at its best. Back in the resort, looking at the mirror I realized that we were fully tanned.
If you are planning to have a holiday at the beaches, put Tioman on top of your list. And again, put snorkeling on top of your list for things to do at Tioman. Berjaya resort is just an average one, but its one of the so-called best resorts around. But it does not matter at the end of the day as the island itself is marvellous. We made a mistake wasting our first day by not snorkeling. Plan a vacation to Tioman - go out for snorkeling, and then trek to the nearby waterfall, if you have more time snorkel around some more. And if possible, try to capture the dream with a water-proof camera. Sadly we didn't have one. But dreams are meant to be felt and sensed - not captured!
Check out some shots we took at the island:
