Salang Sayang.

Not being able to buy in advance ferry tickets, we took a total of 15 hours to get to Tioman!! While waiting for our ferry from Mersing, we just sat and drank. Walk and then drank some more. Drank till i turn orange from all that fruit juice.And finally, we reach our island of seclusion. Its really seclusion because there is no public phones around, no reception on mobiles, no ferries out. All you do is..... Swim, swim, swim!

These black stripe yellow fishes are obvious cam whores!! Look at the video i took of them (towards the end of clip). They swim towards my camera, with their big unblinking eyes and open mouths. Close up, a little bit like Pirahna.

Having a lover also means a compaitable travelling partner. It's SO DIFFICULT to find friends to travel with! Usually, it's money issues (my friends nor my brothers have a savings habit).Otherwise it's a compatibility issue. Like who wants to do what, go where. Like swimming with the sharks, had to do alone. Bungee jumping, had to do alone. And usually, such activities are futher away from mainland. On the Sydney/Melbourne trip, i was blessed to have my girlfriends witness and take photos (very important!) of me diving with the sharks. They paid their own entrance and ferry fee. I was very touched, they had no obligation to. I was prepared to do the entire journey alone, just so to get another tick off my 'death wish'. I bought them lunch in appreciation.

And so as i explains to him, having a lover means having a permanent travel companion. Because more often than not, he/she is obliged to be available to you, for you. I mean, if i really have to, i have no qualms travelling alone. But i don't see any fun going overseas alone (UNLESS it's a SOLEY shopping trip!). Who's going to take pictures!!I see the air stewardesses buying tripod stands. But solo pictures are so boring!

So it's a bonus we're both adventure freaks. We stayed at Salang Indah resort. I wouldn't really call it a resort, as it has no hot water, concrete floors, wooden beds. But i'm not a princess, so i could live. All i need is a place to bathe (even if cold) and a bed to sleep.

So, after all that snorkelling and diving, we decided to fish! Here was the plan: we recee the waters out by snorkelling so we know where all the big fishes are...then we go rent a rod to cast it in the spot where we saw.

and below the jetty are SWARMS of fishes. And where the small fishies are, the big ones lurk. We saw a baracuda snapping away for food.

So he cast the rod, laid it down and said, "Now we wait." I was already taking out my chips, my mineral water and poker cards ready for a wait..when within seconds, the rod start to vibrate!

It was all very exciting when he just jumped over the railing, the whole time just shouting for "knife, knife, where's the knife!" and went down the slippery steps with a group of boys following (to join in the action?). It was a breath stopping operation. All he wanted to do was to free that poor fish. Because it was not really the sort of fish we eat usually. But it was BIG.He panicked. Because he really feels alot for the gasping fish. Its either free him fast enough to return to the sea, or kill it so it dies fast and painless. The hook was too deep. A group of people gathered to see the commotion and started snapping/video-ing away at the 'crime scene'. Maybe we're on Youtube. Hah!

We were hoping for a Baracuda for dinner. Instead, got a File fish. He felt really bad because it is more of a coral fish than an edible fish. Although, there ARE people who eat it. In Korea, it's a popular dried snack. It's so colourful when alive, but lost its colours once out from the water. Felt even more guilty when we actually saw it swimming happily in front of us from our earlier dive!

I tried to console him by saing it's the circle of life. Fishes are part of our food chain.File fishes usually feed on algae. So our bait (squid) must be a real treat for it! At least it had a good last supper.We took it to the restaurant and got them to BBQ Mr. File for us. Watched the sun set as we waited for our dinner to be cooked. See what i mean? We saw it in our earlier dive!
Now, it's this. In loving memory of Mr. File who tasted very fresh, soft and sweet. Sounds like a girl, isn't it? Hmmm...dirty thoughts. LOL. We drank fruit juice and ate ice cream everyday by the beach.

It rained quite abit while we were there. Thus the colours were not quite what i would like them to be. Rather gloomy. Had to edit the exposure and contrast with the computer.

On Salang, there're about 3 or 4 accomodations to choose. 3 main restaurants, 2 Ramlee burger stalls, 1 pub, 4 diving schools, 1 main convenience store, 4 other small ones selling LIZARD FOOD, bread for fishes and renting gear.
This was the other main restaurant where we tried on first day. I saw one of these babies in the sea! And i had them for dinner too. Haha! Stingray is my FAVOURITE! But do not try sambal kangkong or stingray on Tioman. ITS NOT THE SAME!

This place has an outdoor screen which plays Discovery Channel. We had to think what to do after dinner one night. Everyone heads to the one pub on the island. It's always rowdy there every night. We steered clear. We thought, a movie would be nice. Alas, our room has no TV. So we headed here and requested for a movie to be played on the large screen. Voila, we had our own outdoor cinema under the stars! Picked Ong Bak 2 and immediately have other diners' eyes hooked. It's my second time watching and i never get tired of re-watching fighting shows!

We woke up late on our first morning. Rushed to arrive in time for the boat out to snorkelling spots. It was a 10.30am-2.30pm tour. With no breakfast and no time to pack lunch, we only had Mr. Pringles and Mrs. Coke for survial.

We rationed our precious snacks and watch hungrily as others eat their packed nasi lemak and padang. This looks like a Pringles ad. Even the Komodo Dragons have it better than us as people throw them their leftovers. We feel sorry for the island though, as all these tourists left their thrash behind.

So hungry, he made a sand burger for me.

Rockclimbing! My favourite boy.