Tioman Paradise

Been Looking forward to getting out of Singapore ever since the start of the year and finaLLy it came .. and passed in a jiffy. But da moments sure wud Live forever ..

On this particuLar Monday of June 13th I woke up at 4.30am, received a morning caLL from my Baby a whiLe Later. She muz have been pretty sure I cudnt wake up in time but weLL, i DID wake up on my OWN. Took a cab down to Her pLace to coLLect the baggage before we waLked to GoLden MiLe.

6a.m, and the coach Left. We went tru the LocaL custom which took quite a whiLe due to some administrative probLems the Indian famiLy in front of us had. Then at the MaLaysian custom, another Indian coupLe in front of me took a whiLe to sort out the passport! F%*ing suay .. Lucky my patience is good. WhiLe waiting, I was Looking at this gaL who has a very nice scarf and Baby tot I was peeping at the gaL instead. I was wronged .. not wrong. And for the Later part of our hoLiday, this gaL was to be one of the characters in this trip, for my other haLf wud say "ur gaL .. go over La .. " evry time we run into her.

The coach took 4 hours before reaching the jetty where we boarded a speedboat and it was another 1 hour or so before we eventuaLLy arrived in paradise. We settLed down in our room and took a LittLe rest, then decided to expLore around. The main path, we waLked tru and fro for about four times and peopLe muz have tot we were crazy, but the fact is .. there is onLy this main path to waLk. Evening soon came, and our dinner costed us R$55 for a buffet which simpLy is mix-vegetabLe rice that resembLe those we had at coffeeshop. But sunset sure is beautifuL .. and first day passed juz Like dat coz She feLL asLeep after the 9 p.m mark.

The next morning, the American styLe breakfast was much better. We managed to eat to our hearts content and then we had veri nice stroLL aLong the beach. The tide was so Low, u cud waLk as far as 50 metres out onto the shaLLow seabed. We booked for a SnorkeLLing trip for the morning and went out armed with Lifejackets and goggLes.

The bumboats brought us out to a LittLe isLand where u cud reLi see beautifuL fishes and coraL reefs Like those u see at the Underwater WorLd in Sentosa. Baby was so afraid of the water coz She dunnoe how to swim and I had to hoLd Her whiLst in the water, and to try to reLieve Her fear I attempted to move to shaLLower waters where I Landed on some coraL reef and bLoody stepped on a sea urchin! The pain was second onLy to the time i broke my wrist years back. Burning sensation on my feet made me wriggLe my way back onto the bumboat. There, inside on my feet were bLack needLe-Like thorns, and it sure was painfuL.

For the first time in my reLationship with Dear I had needed Her.

And heeding advice from some strangers, we took the snorkeL and hit the thorns tiL the bLood came out from each. Thank goodness it was not as bad as it seemed and I was eager to bring Her back down coz we ain seen nothing yet.

True enough, we saw schooLs of fish of various breeds, various coLours, various sizes aLL around us. It was amazing, and She was Like a LittLe gaL pointing in sheer excitment, and the pain in my feet sLowLy diminished in no time.

We got back to our resort at about 2 o'cLock, even before I cud catch a rest, She dragged me out to the beach for sunbathing. It was burning Like mad, but I have LittLe choice actuaLLy .. we Laid there on the beack chairs for more than an hour.

I finaLLy knew wat heLL is ..

However the sunbathing session was not that bad. I became darker, and She bacame burnt. The auntie who Lent me medicated oiL for my feet and gave us Fruit Tree sweets and Oreo cookies earLier on, was there at the beach with Her husband as weLL. And we bought them some ice-coLd Coke as a frenLy gesture.

We went for a Light dinner at the LocaL coffeeshop and had supper at the cafetaria of the resort. I taught Her how to pLay Guessing Fist and we had great fun! She sure is GOOD .. shouting 20 and cLosing both fists (FYI, cLosing both fists means that the maximum number can onLy be 10). And we aLL thought Lightning onLy strike once and dat once bitten shud be twice shy, but She shouted Nothing and opened both. Datz not aLL, She shouted 15 and opened both yet again. CLassic, cLassic .. and I Luv Her so much coz She is pretty .. pretty siLLy.

We got back to our room, and there on our door hung some goreng pisang which we knew was from the auntie. Once again, She feLL asLeep at 9 p.m .. and I tot my wish to watch stars was a forgone concLusion.

However, somehow both of us woke up at about 5 a.m, and we decided to take a waLk to the beach. U guys have no idea how beautifuL the sky is at that time .. fuLL of gLittering stars bright and big. We Laid there watching, and I dunnoe if itz common in Tioman, but we actuaLLy saw a shooting star! It took three seconds for it to disappear and we made a wish each .. it sure was the moment of my Life. She feLL asLeep again .. but I was there untiL the stars sLowLy went away as the sun rises from the other side of the isLand .. we went back to our room and sLept for a coupLe of hours before we packed up and had breakfast and checked out soon after.

This time round on our return, we took off at noon and onLy arrived in Singapore Late into the evening, at nine. The bus cocked up, the human and traffic jam at Johor made it so, and I was once again made to curse another Indian at the Johor custom who seem to take forever in sorting out his passport. So peeps, remember that Indians dun exist in front of u, anywhere. NevertheLess, the trip was beautifuL ..

I do miss Tioman ..

And thank You for spending the wonderfuL moments with me ..