Bali-Hai Here I Come! Pt2

6th to 9th July - I spent the whole of my second day sightseeing and snorkeling around Air Batang and jungle trekking further up North to Monkey Bay with Vincent. The water was very clear and the snorkeling went really well. I was so surprise at the sights of the corals and fishes that I saw because they are so much better compared to what I saw in Krabi, Thailand.

At night, Vincent and I had dinner with my dorm mates Stacey and Anne from England. We were joined by 3 boys from Belgium staying in the dorm beside us. The food at Restaurant Hijau was really good and the price reasonable.

On the next day Vincent and I went for 2 fun dives with B&J Dive Centre for RM190. It cost a lot more than Thailand but since I was already there, I didn't mind paying and the things I saw during snorkeling yesterday made me wanna dive more.

We went to Coral Island and Batu Malang for the 2 dives and we had lunch on the diveboat. The diveboat was the most luxurios one that I have ever set foot on. It had a dry and wet area as well as an upper deck. However the sea was quite choppy so I didn't feel okay on it.

The dives turned out to be superb as expected and I saw a lot of different corals and fishes. How I wish I had an underwater camera to capture it. Unfortunately I don't.

My initial plan was to leave the island on 8th for Kuantan but Stacey, Anne, Vincent and Jean decide to trek to Kampung Juara on the East coast of Tioman island. According to Jean whom has already been there a few days ago, there's a 2km stretch of sandy beach and eventually I decide to stay one more day.

We started trekking to Juara from ABC through Tekek at 9pm and the whole journey took us 2 and a half hours. It was a really strenuous activity for me because I haven't done anything like this for the last 5 years. I think there were times where I felt I almost died. HAHA. All in all the journey to and back from Juara is around 20km and it involves a lot of climbing and going downhill.

The beach over in Kampung Juara is worth it. There's a longer stretch of sandy beach over there and I even tried surfing for the first time in my life. I was told by my instructor that they are planning to organize an international surfing competition next February during the monsoon season where waves is at its best for surfing. (Timmy if you're reading this, u know where to go next Feb huh)

I shouldn't have done surfing because it really drains out my remaining energy and I still had to make my way back to ABC. The journey back was horrendous for me and Stacey who's always accompaning me at the back of the group got a lift from a local lorry driver up a stretch of steep road. Eventually I made it back to ABC and the feeling of satisfaction after the trip was very very good.

At night we had dinner again in Restaurant Hijau and after that we had a drink at a local pub where we played "ShitHead". According to Vincent, this is a must know game for all backpackers and it is really really fun to play.

As I was to leave the island along with Anne very early the next day, it was time for me to say goodbye to Vincent. It's really sad for me to say goodbye to my new found friend and it has been so much fun hanging around with him for the past few days.

The next morning I had to say goodbye to Stacey and Jean too. I think the hardest part in backpacking is really to say goodbye to your friends.

Thanks guys for making the first leg of my backpacking journey such a memorable one.