Tioman Day 2

This morning came pretty quickly.  We were pretty wiped from yesterday, but got up at a reasonable time in order for out hike today.  Breakfast was french toast.  It was pretty good, although the servings weren't all that big.  Oh well, I'll just make up for it with snacks later... :)

Anyway, today was our big hike across the island.  Tioman Island has a bunch of settlements/cities on the western side and only one on the eastern side.  There is a mountain range that runs through the middle of the island, and the only way is up and over (unless you take a boat ferry around the whole island).  So, if you go by land, you can hire a driver to drive you or you can hike it.  Needless to say, we hiked it. :)  The first rule of hiking on Tioman is to always follow the power lines.  Usually there is only one trail anyway, but if you're ever confused, just find and follow the power lines like the North Star.  This was valuable advice throughout all of our hiking on the island.  Anyway, the first part of the trek was up (naturally).  The trail started on an unassuming dirt path around a water sanitation plant.  And then it disappeared into the jungle...literally.

The trail goes where???

Instead of creating uneasiness, we were both excited to get "lost" in the jungle.  Aside from the guidebook warnings of snakes (king cobra and reticulated pythons have been reported) and lizards (we have proof of these guys!), we were excited to get away from civilization for a few hours at least.  Oh, and we brought lots of water.  A full Camelbak (~1L) and a full big water bottle (1.5L) and a full little bottle (.5L), just in case. :)  We were planning on a longer journey, so we planned accordingly :)  Anyway, the trail was pretty easy to follow, as far as where to go.  But we did have to scale up boulders, cross streams, climb across massive tree roots, and climb concrete stairs (if the concrete weren't there, the trail would wash out every monsoon season).

Yes, the tree is growing out of a rock!

Over the river and through the woods... :)

The tree overtook the path...oh well... :)

An 8" millipede!

A rare peak through the jungle canopy

Some BIG trees!  (Bridget is the small thing on the left)

Once we reached the top of the mountain and started descending the other side, the path merged with the road.  Not sure why, but I guess the road was built after the power lines were laid and the path down the backside of the mountain was easy enough to clear and pave.  The way up would not have been easy to clear...  Anyway, I kind of preferred the dirt trail - less pounding on the legs.  Oh well.  There was a waterfall a few minutes off the road halfway down, so we ran over and checked it out.  All of the cars that drive tourists over stop there, so it was crowded, although swimming in the water would have felt good at this point.... :)  It wasn't too hot since we were in the shade for the most part because the tree cover is so dense, but it was humid and we were working pretty hard hiking up/down.  Anyway, we finally made it to the other side with a total time of around 2:25.  Not too bad, given we were told it was a 2.5 hour hike.

The village on the other side of the island was pretty nice.  We grabbed some lunch and more water. :)  I got a club sandwich (hardly Malaysian, but it was cheap) and Bridget got a really good noodle dish (which was also cheap - I should have just gotten noodles... oh well).  Anyway, this town is also known for its surfing, which interested me a great deal.  So, after lunch we asked where the surfing was.  I didn't see anyone surfing on the beach, but the guidebooks said you can get lessons.  So, after being pointed to the other side of the village, we walked 20 minutes to get over there.  Long story short, the surfing is really good during the monsoon season (the other half of the year).  The surfing dude, who had brown wrinkled skin and greyish hair from surfing for decades, said that the waves were just too unpredictable right now.  So, we didn't have time to wait around and see if they just so happened to improve later in the day (the tide was going out, which was supposed to help) because we needed to head back well before the sun went down because the path would be impossible to follow after sundown.  So, despite our best of efforts, I will just have to wait a little longer to begin my surfing career. :)  But the beach was really nice and we did get a chance to sip some drinks and watch the non-surfable waves lap against the beach. :)

The surfing may not have been good, but the view sure was!

The hike back was even quicker; we made it back in 1:50.  The hike up the road wasn't easy, but at least the path wasn't hard to follow... :)  The hike down the mountain was easier on the legs, but did require some careful stepping down the boulders and all.  Bridget counted the steps down and the number was over 700, which means we had to climb that many to get up earlier! :)  No wonder we were tired!

If you really zoom in, you can see the sweat running down our faces...

Once we get back, Bridget took a quick catnap before dinner.  Tonight we went a little further down the road and got... more Chinese. :)  I really like Chinese, so I don't mind. :)  I got a spicier prawn dish (prawns are like shrimp) and Bridget got another noodle dish.  Both were excellent.  And we finished off with a banana split. :)  It was really good too!  A great way to end a great day! :)

And the shoe tally update

Response	Count
Awe	3
Jealousy	3
Curiosity	3
Envy	4
Confused	2