Tioman Island, Taman Negara, Perhentian Islands

	malaysia tour'97 I had a 2 weeks trip across Malaysia with my girlfriend in August '97. We had a great time, and everything went smoothly, no troubles, no hurry, just sun, rain, nature and fun. Well, I'm not here to tell you how do I spend my holidays, instead I have written below the main parts of our trip and any links that could be useful if you plan to go there. We prepared our trip with the Lonely Planet Malaysia and the Guide du Routard (french only). We met in Singapore, then took a plane directly to Tioman Island, traveled from Mersing to Jerantut by bus to reach the Taman Negara Park, took a train to Kota Bharu and spent the rest of our holidays in Perhentian Islands. Malaysia is very easy to travel across, planes, trains, busses and boats are cheap, reliable and always on schedule (beware, the train time-tables in the Lonely Planet are not up to date) and people are friendly and honest. We only took a shared taxi once, but it's also a good idea for long distance trip. The good surprise is that almost everyone speaks english, including old people and farmers, that makes things a lot more easier. As it is a muslim country (the northern part looks more an arabic than an asian country), men tend to look a bit to much (I said in the eyes!) at western girls (especially pretty ones!). In the cities, sexy mini skirt is not recommended (on the beaches, it doesn't matter as there is only western tourists). We didn't met any mosquito (as we used repellant), however it's a good idea to take a treatment against malaria, and to be careful with water, ice and non cooked meals. Concerning money, I just took a little of cash in RM, and my Visa Card. Visa ATM are not as common as Cirrus one, but there are some in most cities. You can also exchange USD, SingD or JPY with hotels or shops in case of emergency. singapore We met in Singapore Changi Airport, (if you have to wait here for a couple of hours, try the free city tour), then took a Taxi (20 mns., 15 SingD) to Selentar Airport, which is a small military airport where the planes to and from Tioman Island operate (Pelangi Air, 100RM). There are a lot of Singapore-Tioman flights throughout the day, however the plane is quite small (16 passengers) and you should buy your ticket (in any Malaysia Airlines office) before arriving in Selentar. tioman island Tioman Island is basically a kind of paradise on earth, sand beaches, coral reefs, jungle, all stuffed with animals. Good place to take pictures and send them to your friends who are still in concrete-made, polluted cities. After 40 mns. of flight above palm trees plantations you will (normally) land on the dusty air field of Kampung Tekek on Tioman Island, where giant lizards keep the air traffic under control! From here, you take a boat to the place were you want to stay. So, where to stay on Tioman ? From what I saw from the boat, I would rank the sites as follow : Panuba Beach : Very small beach, only 15 chalets all facing the sea and surrounded by jungle. This place, although I have no idea how to book here, really gives the feeling of a deserted island. There is a diving center and snorkelling should be fine as it is surrounded by rocks. Salang : The place were we stayed. The beach is big, snorkelling is great (get around the rocky island on the left hand side of the beach) and accomodations are numerous from cheap to expensive. The Salang Beach Resort is pricey but is the nicest place, otherwise Nora's Chalet seems to be the best offer in budget accomodation (We stayed at Salang Inn, which is just ok). Salang is a place to spare your time between diving or jungle-walks, and more common tourists occupations like having drinks, fish-BBQ, real restaurant, etc. and there's even a small disco bar! They have a problem of used water, and in the afternoon there is sometimes a disturbing smell on the beach. Tekek : If you are looking for something more Malaysian and less tourist oriented, Tekek is the main village on the island and the home of giant lizards. Frendly fishermen around here. ABC : What I saw from the boat was a not very clean long rocky beach and old chalets. Not great looking. Berjaya Beach Resort : If you can afford the place, ask for the brochure, and forget about my travel tips. We headed back to Mersing with the morning boat (8:00am, 2 h., 25RM), them took a bus to Kuantan (4 h., 10RM), then a bus to Temerloh (2 h., 6RM) an finally a bus to Jerantut (1h., 3RM). taman negara park Taman Negara Park is definitely a nature oriented interesting experience. The main and only thing to do here is to walk in the impressive jungle, while listening to the sound of the wild! The "thing to see"is more the feeling of the jungle rather than animals which, at daytime, are hidden far away from the tourists tracks. In any case, it's worth going there. If you plan to go to the Taman Negara park, you should arrive in Jerantut the day before. There are several places to stay there but you should go either to the Jerantut Resthouse or to the Sri Emas Hotel, as both of these places will help you to plan your trip to the park. We were in Sri Emas Hotel and found the place great. Appart from the cool price (RM10 to 40), air-con bedroom, hot water shower, restaurant and rest-room, these guys can arrange everything to get to the park (including visit of plantations) and there is a information briefing in the basement of the hotel every evening (check out for park licence, photography licence and other necessary informations). Oh, I forgot, when we arrived late at night in Jerantut, we called them and they came with a van to pick-up us at the station 5mn. later. The hotel is a five minute walk from the train station. These are the main places to stay around Taman Negara Park : Taman Negara Resort : Prices are a bit high, but accomodation ranges from camp site to luxury chalets. It's a wonderful place, located in the park itself, with nice flowered alleys and so on. People who work in the restaurant are assholes, they cheated us with the change. If you don't stay there, a good thing is to have a dinner at the resort's restaurant, look clean and enjoy the RM33 all you can eat buffet of fine western cooking. It is the only accomodation on the park's side of the river. Liang Hostel : On the left side of the Teresek village and overlooking the river, they have nice little chalets, maybe the best place to stay. Teresek view village : Located on the other side of the river, it its the most common place, cheap accomodation from 5 people's dorm to basic chalets. There is always something available and comfort is really basic but it's ok (the owners's balcony have a view on the lady's showers, not recommended for prudish girls!). For booking, ask at Sri Emas Hotel. Nusa Camp : Definitely not a good idea, you'll be stuck there as there is few boats to come and go. Walking in the park is great, impressive trees and wildlife (birds, monkeys). Have some mosquito repellant and spray your shoes with Baygon green in case of rain to avoid leeches. Walk with a guide is a good idea, as you will learn a lot about plants and insects (look for Ahmib, the king of the Jungle), and the 20 meters high canopy walkway is an unforgettable experience. We headed back to Jerantut with the 2:00pm riverboat (2h.), and then took a night train to Kota Bharu (8h., 17RM). kota bharu The train station closest to Kota Bharu is Wakaf Bharu, from there take a bus (ask for the bus stop) to the city. We didn't stay in Kota Bharu, but we could leave our bags at Yee Guest House,the guys were very nice. The main thing to see is the morning market in a three floors old concrete building. Plenty of colors and smells (durian , the stinking fruit), and also a good place to buy batiks and others handicrafts (this is not a tourist market). From there we took a bus to Pasir Puteh (1h.) and then to Kuala Besut (2h.). perhentian islands Perhentian Islands are equally paradisiac as Tioman Island, but are smaller and with less tourism. Activities there are diving, sun bathing, diving, diving, sun bathing, etc. To get there, you'll have to stay overnight in Kuala Besut, Nan Hotel offers great accomodation (large air-con room, hot shower) for cheap price (RM 25), and is in front of the Perhentian Islands boats ticket office. Most people go to Long Beach on the small island, but in the peak season (summer) it's very crowded and you might have to sleep the first night on the beach! I think most places on the two islands are beautiful, but I've noticed D Lagoon on the north of the small island which has as a nice isolated small beach. We were in Fauna Bay Chalets and enjoyed to stay across this calm (only three accomodations sites, including the equally nice Flora Bay Chalets) long beach, where we had a pretty chalet with shower for RM 40. We discovered scuba-diving with the PADI licensed Flora Bay Divers Center where insructors are both safe and symphatic (the main instructor is a local Will Smith, and have a talk with Diane, a former accountant in the City, who decided to become a diving instructor in south-east Asia!). Perhentian Islands are such a diving paradise, that we cancelled the last part of our trip (Penang) and stayed there for the rest of our holidays. Beware, it might happen to you too!
	address listing
	Salang Beach Resort Kampung Salang 86800 Pulau Tioman Pahang Tel : 607-792337	Nora's Chalet Kampung Salang 86800 Pulau Tioman Pahang Tel : 607-7991550
	Salang Inn Kampung Salang 86800 Pulau Tioman Pahang Tel : 011 764 388
	Jerantut Resthouse Jalan Benta 27000 Jerantut Pahang Darul Makmur Tel/Fax : 09 266 3884	Hotel Sri Emas Bagunan Muip Jalan Besar 27000 Jerantut Pahang Darul Makmur Tel : 09 266 4499 Fax : 09 266 4801
	Yee Guest House 1872 A&B, Wisma Rahmat Jalan Padang Garong Kota Bharu Kelantan Tel : 09 744 1944
	Nan Hotel Kuala Besut Terengganu Tel : 010 985 3414	Fauna Bay Beach Chalet No.134-J Bazar MARA 22300 Kuala Besut Terengganu Tel : 011 971 843 Fax : 09 691 0919
	Flora Bay Chalet Teluk Dalam Pulau Perhentian Besut, Terengganu Tel/Fax : 09 697 7266	Flora Bay Divers Pulau Perhentian Terengganu Tel/Fax : 09 697 7266
	links
	These three sites are run by Malaysian Government. They contain a lot of very useful informations related to tourism in Malaysia (hotel listings, pictures and descriptions of various places, etc.). Malaysia Tourism Website State of Pahang Website (recommended) Discover Agrotourism A list of hotels in Malaysia Regitel Malaysia A great homepage with plenty of info and pictures Stofi's Picture Gallery