After spending a week in Juara on Tioman Island, Candice and I canceled our plans to volunteer at the dive resort and decided to see another part of the island. Where would we go next? I was in awe at the rock spires we saw at the southern part of the island as we arrived on the ferry and suggested we go to the most southern town of Mukut. There are about 8 towns on Tioman Island but only two are connected by road, all the others are only accessible by boat, and Mukut isn’t much of a tourist town so getting there wasn’t easy.
To get to Mukut, we booked a snorkel tour that agreed to drop us off along the way. The snorkeling itself was fun but the highlight of the day was the stunning views that greeted us when we got off the boat. The cute town was shadowed by the dramatic peaks laying behind it. Before arriving, I tried to research places to stay in Mukut and kept seeing a resort called Bagus Place Retreat which boasted jungle tree-house vibes and the photos looked stunning. Unfortunately, this place was both completely out of our budget and had been closed since COVID. I hoped maybe we could still go and take pictures and we opted for more humble accommodations at Simukut Place.
Simukut Place was still lovely and our host, Din, showed us to our room overlooking a lovely garden and shoreline. At only $20 per night, it wasn’t much but the views and simplicity of the place were stunning and we settled in for the night.
The next day, we enjoyed breakfast on the patio above the water and chatted with Din about our plans for the day. I mentioned that I wanted to do some snorkeling and also asked if it was possible to walk or kayak to Bagus Place Retreat for some pictures. Din smiled and confirmed that Bagus Place was closed but his friend was looking after the property and he would be happy to introduce us if we’d like to spend our day snorkeling off the dock there. What luck!
Bagus Place was a 40-minute walk but Din loaded Candice and me onto his motorcycle with me sitting behind him and Candice in the side car which was quite comical since Din was the most petite of the three of us. Navigating the steep slopes, winding road, and overgrown vegetation felt like something out of Indiana Jones meets Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. About 10 minutes later, we arrived at a dead end and Din parked his motorcycle and guided us through an overgrown trail leading down to another resort.
After passing through the first resort, we continued as the trail became more overgrown and eventually lead to some deteriorated wooden walkways, careful not to fall through the rotten areas. The path eventually opened up to a cobbled walkway as houses made of dark wood seemed to appear amongst the trees. Din lead us down to the pier and I looked back at the stunning view I had seen online. This place was just… stunning!
At the end of the dock, we were greeted by Karim who had served as the previous manager of Bagus Place Retreat and continued to live there and look after the property after it closed during COVID, waiting for a new buyer. We also met his girlfriend Anna who was visiting from Germany and their friend Tam a local rock climbing guide and all-around interesting individual.
Karim invited us to dive in and after snorkeling off of the pier, Tam gave us a tour of the resort while Karim began preparing lunch. Although the place had become a little run down since COVID, the resort was still stunning and was comprised of 10 stand-alone houses. The entire place was made of natural materials which blended perfectly with the jungle and were almost impossible to see from the pier. Without staff and guests to ward away the monkeys, it seems they had done a majority of the destruction to the houses as they scavenged for food.
Anna had also worked at the resort during its hay day and said it’s sad seeing such an incredible place go from being in its prime to slowly falling apart. Every year the place sat unsold, it became more and more expensive to rehabilitate and less appealing to any investors. Looking around, all I could see was untapped potential. Not only was the property stunning, there was snorkeling and diving off of the dock and hiking that lead up to world-class rock climbing. Just mix in some yoga classes and you could have an incredible eco-resort.
We ended up staying at Bagus Place all day and returned the next day to do it all again. Karim asked what our plans were for the rest of our time on Tioman Island and mentioned we were welcome to stay in one of the houses. Unfortunately, I had already paid the deposit for a freediving course on another part of the island. I kicked myself for going against one of the main rules of the trip: to not plan anything in advance. We were finally offered to stay in a true paradise for free, and I ruined it with too much planning!
