I guess you would like to see the provincial flag of Johor (Mersing and Pulau Tioman are located within this province)
Flag of Johor
(Note: the moon and star emblem is seen on quite a few of the provincial flags. I must remember to wear my pompey shorts!)
The 4.5 hour bus journey from Melaka to Mersing passed fairly quickly.I thought that I would see less of an Indian/Chinese culture the further away from Melaka but this was not the case.
At one point (maybe 50km to 30km from Mersing) the bus driver turned off all the lights within the bus.(It was pitch dark outside at this point) I asked him afterwards why did he do this and then turn them on when approaching Mersing again.He said it was easy to drive with them off but it seemed really odd to turn them off for that period of time.
Anyway, after asking a couple of people in Mersing for directions (the fishermen were still busy fishing at 11p.m) I found Omars backpacker hostel.Omar was nowhere to be seen so I started chating to a British couple that were staying in the place.The guy mentioned that I should just grab a bed and when Omar came back I could pay him.The couple had just missed the boat to the island so had to stay in Omars for the night.That was lucky for me as otherwise,Omars would have been COMPLETELY deserted when I arrived! Omar eventually showed up 20 minutes later and a deal was done for a bed.
The dorm room at Omars
The next morning, I headed down to the local cafe for a quick ice tea before grabbing a boat.The boat was supposed to leave at 11 but I have a feeling things move at a different speed down here. That's cool by me as long as I can grab a place to stay when i get on the island!
As I write this, I am waiting to take off from Mersing to Pulau Tioman.The boat even has a V.I.P area but I decided to stay with all the other non- v.i.p's .The journey from mainland to the island is approximately 3 hours, just enough time to watch some Chinese t.v (I think) where a man is directing his pet monkey to walk a dog around a obstacle course. The monkey is dressed up in humans clothes. It's an odd show but watchable in the way that 'wipeout' is watchable.
Not a great shot as the dog on a leash is hidden behind the monkey but this program was unmissable!
so ,the boat stopped in 2 locations before getting to ABC. After getting off the boat,I wandered aimlessly for about 25 minutes (This was grand as the scenery is something else!) and eventually got a chalet at Mokhtars place.
I didn't bother taking a pic of Mokhtars place as some of the pics I took on the way to the island are fairly breathtaking.....and here they are!!
Boat moored off Tekek
Getting off the boat at Air Batang (ABC)
. I guess i should head out for a swim!Sunday:
So, I went for a 7KM trek through 'the jungle' yesterday. (between 2 places called Tekek and Juara)
I took a few photos before I lost track of my senses!!
Unfortunately, the sunscreen did not work too well on me. I think I have morphed into a semi functioning chameleon now (i.e: A couple of days ago I was white\Pale. Now, I am red but I dont think Il be able to change colour for quite a while!).The Jungle trek was something else.At the start, it felt like a walk in the woods but then it kept going on and on and on (just like this post!) Al least, there was a stream flowing through the jungle.I wasn't sure if the water was safe to drink in there so I bought a bottle for the walk and drank that in no time flat (It evaporated from my pores in an unbelievable short of time.) .Actually, on one level I was a bit disapointed as there were no venus fly traps or killer spiders on the loose! On another level, I was very happy to see that No such creatures existed here! After trekking the 7km, decided to take it easy on the beach in Juara for a few hours.
I grabbed a sassporella in the local shop in Juara. The last time I heard of sassporella , it was in a 'Laurel and Hardy' film.I don't recall seeing it in any shops (although, it is possible thatt it exist in the local Tesco and I have just never seen it!!)
This was the first time since I have started the trip that I have used my Kindle.Yay!I threw a lot of random stuff on the kindle before I headed off so I decided to try out a Chelsea Handler 'novel\commentary' (She's a U.S talkshow host/comedian) story. How would I describe her story....hmmm....think Jimmy Carr -- except she's a woman----and she American--- and She's not posh---- and she emphasizes her Jewishness (whatever that means) .So, she's the exact same as Jimmy Carr except she's not.
After a spot of reading/swimming in Juara (oh yeah, here is a pic of the beach out in Juara)
Juara Beach
I headed back along the trek route passed some nice houses (not sure if they are holiday homes or just homes but the owners are very lucky.Some even have their own badminton courts!)
A badminton court in the back garden.....nice!
On thee trek back, I bumped into a few guys who were competing in a sort of race around the island .I am not sure if it was tid in with Mothers day but these guys are hardy bucks! Jogging in the jungle is tough work , especially when you happen to pass out a half white /half red bloke who's gasping for air every 20 meters!!! Although, to be honest,it really was hot!
Later that evening ,there was a bit of a shindig to celebrate Mothers day\ the lads finishing the race.
I forgot to say, On this island alcohol is duty free, so the price isn't too expensive (as apposed to the rest of Malyasia).
Hot weather and alcohol do not tend to mix well though!
Before I headed off the island , I had a quick walk and took a quick pic.
This place is pretty awesome at night especially when the lightening starts.I don't know where its coming from as I never heard the thunder or saw any rain though! quite odd but brilliant to see. If you are ever looking for a place to take it easy for a while, this is the place to be (as long as you throw on factor 50 sunscreen!) .
Anyway , time to head back to mersing from Tioman !!
After getting off the boat at Mersing, I jumped on a bus (Mersing - Kuantan). There wasn't much going on in Mersing.I went back to Omar's place , where he had an advertisement up on his advertisement board describing treks to the jungle but he needed 4 people before that could be organised.I decided to head to Kuantan and then on to either Cherating or Tasak Chini tomorrow(If I can organise a 2nd bus + taxi combo as It's a bit off the beaten track but there is a type of loch ness monster there!!! (A couple of years ago, I had a look for the original Nessie in Inverness but no luck :-( ) )
I am getting used to the music that is blaring out over the bus's stereo at this stage.I guess it sounds a bit like Bhangra with some pan pipes thrown in just for that bit of spark!
I decided to have a look in the mirror today...eep!!! I think I need some after sun screen stuff!!! I really am starting to resemble a lobster (as regards to my colour!)
I'll leave this as a small pic , you can see my different colours in the photo!!
all the colours of the rainbow (well, if the rainbow had red,white and pink as its colours)
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