Michael Kaufman

In September Emily and I spent a week in Malaysia on our way to India. Here is a glimpse of some of our experiences.

Getting to the island of Tioman, Malasyia was much easier than the popular opinion would let on. The main bus terminal (Puduraya) has been under permanent renovation since 2007. Our cabbie explain that they are hoping for a January open but he failed to tell us which future January that would be. So we had to drive 20 minutes to the indefinitely temporary bus station which is also a field hockey stadium parking lot.

The first person we asked told us that the next bus to Mersing Port would be at midnight – it was 11:45 am – but thankfully that man has no idea what he is talking about. The next bus departed only 30 minutes later.

Emily and I spent the next five hours rotating our attention from the hilly and very green landscapes, the occasional color filled town, the strange girl in the seat next to me who was singing out loud for three hours and the novels we were reading. For hours we could see the well organized fields of palm. Every minute or so we could understand the process of how they farm the powerful sprawling trees. Some crops are freshly planted. Some are taller. Others have grown to their full potential and they must been a decade or two old. Then you see fields of empty land, where the trees once stood, that now have only rotting palm leaves and shrub. Finally you will enter a town and realize the trucks and trucks piled with the trunks of the lavish specimens, their drivers likely having a meal somewhere.

It was on this bus trip, the midway eating spot and town port of Mersing that we saw the strong Muslim presence Malaysia offers. The dress ware and the language changes from person to person much like the colors of the countryside. Many of the corner eating stands don’t serve alcohol but they do have a variety of unique beverages as an alternative. Can you guess what a glass of Sirep Limoc is? Don’t waste your time. I had one and I’m still pondering. Very good though. Sweet. But very good.

When our over-air conditioned yet cozy bus had arrived we found a travel center and arranged a ferry to and from the island of Tioman, four sleeps on a quiet beach (transportation included) and the bus back to Kuala Lumpur. All in, we paid roughly $250 USD (not each!)
The ferry was two hours, the 4×4 was 30 minutes but the views will last a lifetime. Never have I seen a inlet with such calm waters. The blue and green tide changes by the hour, it seems, and once you’re in the warm waters you can’t take your eyes off the sprawling mountainside. Clouds disappear and more mountainside reveals itself just in case you had any breath left to take away.

I wont share any pictures of it though. I would rather you go and see if for yourself.

Ahh hell, you never will … will you?

(click to enlarge, hover for description)