After two days in Penang, my and Candice’s Path of Least Resistance trip was off to a great start. Our next destination would be Tioman Island where we would be volunteering at a dive resort for two weeks in exchange for free diving. To get there, we had to fly from Penang to Johor Baru then get an Airbnb for the night before taking a bus to Mersing, and finally a ferry to the island. Although it sounds like a lot, it only took about $50 total to get us there, including our accommodation.
I hadn’t heard much of Tioman Island other than it’s one of Malaysia’s few diving destinations. As we approached the island by ferry, I was in awe at how beautiful it was. Giant rock spires stuck out of the jungle that lead down to white sandy beaches on the shoreline. We departed the ferry at a town called Tekek and found a 4×4 truck to take us across the island to a town called Juara. We would be volunteering at a place called Sunday Juara and were welcomed by a young couple from the Netherlands and their young children. The owner, who Candice had been coordinating with, was out of town and due to arrive in the coming days.
The Dutch couple showed us our accommodation, a simple A-frame hut with bunk beds. I tried to ignore the number of spiders and rat droppings and trusted the universe for bringing us here. The rest of the property included a dive shop, kitchen and communal area with guest rooms above, and a few more huts. It was simple but cute and colorfully painted. Afterward, Candice and I walked five minutes to the beach which stretched about a kilometer in either direction. I had a feeling we were going to like our time here! Candice and I set up our mosquito nets and settled in for the night.
Although we were supposed to be volunteering, I was thankful the owner wasn’t there to give us tasks yet and we could do our own thing in the meantime. We decided to go on a waterfall hike which took us through the end of town and an hour into the jungle. The waterfall was beautiful to swim in and we stopped at a resort to eat some lunch on our way back. We decided to stay and use the resort’s beach facilities for the rest of the day and enjoyed a nice hammock nap followed by a surprisingly good snorkel.
As I sat in my hammock, I took a moment of gratitude for where we had ended up. The beach in Juara was beautiful with pure white sand, unblemished by dead corals or rocks. There was almost no trash or people on the beach and since it is on the east side of the island, the beach is shaded during the hottest parts of the day. Not to mention the cute town and stunning backdrop, this place was amazing and I couldn’t believe I had lived in Malaysia for two months without hearing about it.
After a full day of enjoying Juara, Candice and I fell fast asleep until woken up in the middle of the night by a severe thunderstorm. The rain dumped down onto the tin roof of the hut, amplifying the noise along with the thunder that shook the structure. I didn’t get much sleep and felt exhausted the next day. Luckily the owner still didn’t show up and I was able to rest but it seemed the more time I spent in the hut, the more sick and tired I felt. With the rain and humidity, everything inside our hut began getting moldy.
Candice and I talked about how we were both feeling. The island was amazing but the accommodations just sucked, and we hadn’t even started volunteering yet. Plus, I had poked my nose around the dive shop and couldn’t imagine using any of the gear which seemed poorly maintained. Staying here started to feel… resistant which meant it was time to look for an easier option.
We looked at other accommodations and found a place right on the beach for just $25 per night, with air conditioning. I spent the next two days just sleeping and began feeling better with a little more rest and a little less mold. Now that we weren’t volunteering, our plans on the island were completely open once again. It seemed like the universe wanted us to come to Tioman Island but had even better plans in store for us!
