Snorkeling in Pulau Tioman
“Start in Tioman” (SIT) is a joint effort between Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Malaysia, Pahang State Government, Divers Association and Diving Centre Operators to further market Tioman to the whole world as an exciting diving spot while creating awareness towards the importance of conserving the island’s marine ecology. Other than that, SIT can also be considered as a loyalty programme that constantly attract divers to come back to Tioman for diving. Since SIT is closely related to conservation, the programme also includes activities such as cleaning up the beach and learning how to appreciate nature.
When Gaya Travel team first arrived on the island together with another 50 persons, all of us were briefed about the programme, which lasted for four days.“Your experience has already started when you first stepped on the pier just now”, beamed Mr. Syed Nassir, the owner of the cosy Damai Tioman Resort when he first welcomed us. That afternoon, all set with our sun block, caps, flip flops and shades, we headed for beach cleaning. We were a little bit disappointed because the beach was already clean and left us with nothing much to do, except a bag half full of garbage. Apparently, the beach in Kampung Genting was already cleaned. I guess the visitors and the villagers love the beach so much that they do their best not to litter there. We ended the day’s activity by dipping into the crystal clear water as the sun was setting.
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Getting ready
Underwater
Getting ready for diving
The view at Pulau Tioman
As night approached, we had dinner and later went for a “Mystery Walk”, a walking tour that was accompanied by legends revolving around Tioman. One of more interesting lores was about a Chinese Dragon Princess who actually travelled from China to Singapore to marry the love of her life. On her way flying over the South China Sea, she stopped to rest. Enchanted by the lovely sea and the warm water of South China Sea, she decided to turn herself into an island and forsake her happiness just so that she could assist and comfort weary travellers plying the route between China and South East Asia. And that was why Tioman’s shape is like a resting dragon.On the next day, we set out for water activities. We went for snorkelling at a smaller island nearby called Renggis, which is one of the must-go diving and snorkelling spots, only a 15-minute boat ride from Damai Tioman Resort. After donning the snorkelling gear, we straight away jumped into the water. This island was really blessed with marvellous underwater scenery. We saw colourful corals covering the seabed while various types of fish were teeming, including a Hawksbill turtle foraging for food. We spent hours in the water and did not even notice that the sun was high in the sky, signifying that it was time for us to head back to the resort for lunch.
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We did not do much in the afternoon except going for a resort and beach inspection. Later that night, we attended an enlightening talk about conservation of the marine ecology delivered by Mr. Anuar Abdullah, who is a marine ecologist and researcher. He also has done more than 7,000 dives around the world. I was impressed by the figure but I was even more stunned when I heard about his diving experiences. He had apparently witnessed things that were rarely seen by many and probably experienced more than anyone could ever imagine. As he spoke and shared his experiences about marine life, we were captivated and taken in by his stories, making us realise the marvels of nature, especially marine life.The next morning, after breakfast, we were brought to two waterfalls namely Asah in
Sunset at Pulau Tioman
Relaxing
Start in Tioman Dive
Having a great experience
Mukut and Rock Falls in Kampung Paya. Both waterfalls were just as wonderful as Tioman’s beaches, with fresh water that flowed from the island’s higher terrains. The experience at both waterfalls in cooling off ourselves was fun and rejuvenating at the same time. For all we knew, by the time we finished with both waterfalls, half of the day was already gone.During mid-day, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the popular Malaysian rock group, Wings, was also in Tioman to also take part in the diving. As what was said by one of the divers, “May be one day, Wings would want to do a video clip in the water to inject more awareness about the importance of marine ecological conservation.” While some of us who already had diving licence went diving together with the members of Wings, some of us went snorkelling at the Damai House Reef, which was no less exciting.
By undergoing the SIT programme at Damai Tioman Resort in Kampung Genting, we found the experience totally educational as was have gained as much as information about the importance of conserving marine ecology and the need for us to protect the natural environment. Each one of us has an important role to play in making environmental conservation work. Though the Gaya Travel team did not get to dive, our experience in Tioman was indeed fun and eye-opening to say the least. We can’t wait for the chance to go there again next year…
