Ferry was to take off at about 5pm. Our briefing was between 5pm till 7pm the same evening. We still had about 30 minutes before our ferry takes off. We walked into the waiting area to wait for our ferry. We paid RM5 per person for the island wildlife conservation fund. This fund is supposed to manage the wellbeing of the island, keeping people away from poachers and illegal fishing. However, from what we hear of from the few locals we met, nothing much has been done for the past few years to preserve the island. In fact, it has become quite dirty on the contrary over the past few years. We witnessed this ourselves while on our ferry trip as there were plastic water bottles floating around.
Whilst at her office, our agent explained to us that we will need to charter a water taxi to commute to the berjaya resort on Saturday as there is no land transfer there. The thought of a water taxi was fun minus the cost! Its cost ranges between RM30 to RM5o each trip!! What a rip off I thought.
Not an option to skip though, as we have already booked our accomodation at Paya and we need to be at Berjaya by 8am the following morning. We agreed to talk to the boatmen once we reach Paya we thought. While waiting for our ferry, another thought struck my mind. Our drop off point was Paya which is stop #3 and Berjaya is stop #4. If we continued on we will be doing a pit stop at 3 to drop our bags off, get a water taxi for stop 4 and once briefing is done, head back to stop 3! Thats an additional RM80 per person in one single night on water taxi alone!
Too much a rip off I thought and we checked with Ms Lim (agent) if we can get off at Berjaya with our luggages, go for the briefing and then check in at Paya once we were done. She said that is fine and advised us that the taxi rates might be more expensive for travel at night. We took that into account & got off at Berjaya stop. Once there, we asked one of the boatmen for a water taxi and thankfully a boy lead us to his brother who ran the water taxis there. He even offered to send us to the school for our briefing while he contacted his brother.
We took his offer, landed at the school, midway through the briefing and listened out to as much as we could. We were faced with a moment of decision again. After registering, we enquired about the timing to be there the next morning and possibility of having any accomodation at Berjaya for one night alone. We were put into contact with the liaison person for the race who called some of his contacts to check on the availability of rooms. Unfortunately there were no rooms available on such short notice and he advised us to find any other motel rooms on the berjaya side itself for convenience the next morning.
We toyed with the idea and thought about it for a while. At the end, we decided to go back to Paya and take a water taxi back the next morning. When we told him our decision to stay put with our original plan, he was kind enough to even offer us to bunk in with the organizers at the Berjaya if we changed our minds as he was very concerned on the travel time and safety at that hour. Given that the accomodation in Paya is already paid and we have already fixed all plans at that time, changing or looking for a last minute bunk-in place didn't sound viable. We told him that and thanked him for his help, agreed to meet him again the next day for the race.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Eco-Challenge part 4 - The journey in a nut shell
I left on Friday morning at 7am for my bus which was scheduled to leave at 9am. I've made my ticket purchase online and had my e-ticketing receipt as proof with me. Took an LRT to the Bukit Jalil LRT station and walked across the road from there to the temporary bus station. Stopped by at the kedai runcit on the way for 2 Snicker bars.
Upon arriving at the temporary ticketing counter, I found out that there was no electricity. It was already 8:45 and to my horror, electricity was still not up yet. At the counters, the agents were already issuing manual tickets to walk-in passengers. I went up to the counter and asked again and they just told me to proceed to my bus with my e-ticket proof and board the bus. Thankfully, there was a Transnational staff member who was standing next to me who asked me to follow him and he took me to the bus and asked his boss to acknowledge my ticket. The boss was even nicer to explain the situation, apologize and allowed me to board and told the bus driver to ensure that I have a seat on board with no issues.
I thanked God for their kindness and for not giving me any issues on the matter. Since I didn't have a proper seat number, I sat on the single seat at the back of the bus on alert to make way if anyone comes over to sit there. As i've guessed, a malay girl came to claim her seat with a proper ticket with the seat number on it. I quickly moved over to the 2-seats next to it. When the bus took off, the back row was only filled with 2 people and since no one came to claim my seat, I had both seats for myself. Excellent for leg space I thought and i slept all the way through the journey.
I was supposed to meet Sumi at the bus station at about 3pm and my bus arrived shortly after she arrived. Met her as planned at the Mersing bus station. Upon asking around, we found out that the jetty was about 500 metres away from the bus station and our ferry was leaving at about 4smtg. WIth ample of time in our hands, we decided to grab some food. We walked from the bus station to the main road, and came to a row of shop houses and restaurants and even a Public Bank! 
While Sumi went to withdraw money, I waited by the side of the bank with a few police officers who were in the lookout for some pick-pocket guy who escaped them.
What more security can one ask for?
The safest bet for food we could think of was KFC which was 2 doors away from the bank. It was about 38 degrees hot by this time so air-cond was a good option. We had some burger, fries and drinks at the fly-infested place but no further complaints as we didn't have any stomach problems after that & the toilets were also clean. Beware when walking up to the upper floor or the toilets as the steps are rather steep and narrow.
After recuperating from the extreme heat, we continued our journey and continued walking towards the jetty. We were supposed to meet the travel agent there as well. As we were reaching the jetty area, our agent spotted us and called out for Sumi. Good guess I thought. After a brief introduction, we proceeded to her office to collect our ferry tickets, accomodation tickets and settle outstanding payments.
Eco-Challenge: Part 3 - Confirmation
Over the weekend of 1st of May, Sumi & I were frantically searching for hotel bookings online and packages we can take. Countdown by now was - 6 days to race day!
We resorted to travel agencies & I ended up bumping into one contact online who offered us a package at an affordable price but was rather sticky on the fine details such as arranging for bus transportation and other logistics we enquired about. By now, Sumi, on the other hand also had the Paya beach resort hotel contacted and she found another contact who offered us the same package but were more flexible to changing details.
As her contact person was able to confirm the details on Monday, I held the booking I had initiallised with my contact and waited for SUmi to finalise her finding with the resort contact. On Monday, she came back with a better deal with the flexibility of giving up the snorkelling and packed lunch option which came together with the 3D 2N package. So we confirmed with the same lady who later turned out to be more helpful in so many ways and made our entire trip smooth and easy.
By then I've already booked my Transnational bus tickets to go to Mersing or else she would have been able to book the same for me. As a point to note, if you are considering Tioman as your holiday destination with no frills and a smooth ride, she is one person worth considering. From the booking of your bus tickets, up to the bus station in Mersing, she arranges for transit to the island via ferry, gives you valuable information on the island itself and most importantly friendly and conversant in English.
Why Paya Beach Resort?
Well, we knew tat the race was to flag off from the Berjaya Hills resort in Tioman. Of course accomodation at Berjaya itself was rather pricey for us so we looked for other alternatives. Paya Beach resort became our mutual choice for a number of reasons, namely
1) good reviews for me
2) decent toilets for sumi
3) affordable prices for both of us
The map shown online had land connection between Berjaya resort and the other neighbouring resorts in the island. Little did we know how this land connection was until we arrived at the island.
The adventure is about to begin..
We resorted to travel agencies & I ended up bumping into one contact online who offered us a package at an affordable price but was rather sticky on the fine details such as arranging for bus transportation and other logistics we enquired about. By now, Sumi, on the other hand also had the Paya beach resort hotel contacted and she found another contact who offered us the same package but were more flexible to changing details.
As her contact person was able to confirm the details on Monday, I held the booking I had initiallised with my contact and waited for SUmi to finalise her finding with the resort contact. On Monday, she came back with a better deal with the flexibility of giving up the snorkelling and packed lunch option which came together with the 3D 2N package. So we confirmed with the same lady who later turned out to be more helpful in so many ways and made our entire trip smooth and easy.
By then I've already booked my Transnational bus tickets to go to Mersing or else she would have been able to book the same for me. As a point to note, if you are considering Tioman as your holiday destination with no frills and a smooth ride, she is one person worth considering. From the booking of your bus tickets, up to the bus station in Mersing, she arranges for transit to the island via ferry, gives you valuable information on the island itself and most importantly friendly and conversant in English.
Why Paya Beach Resort?
Well, we knew tat the race was to flag off from the Berjaya Hills resort in Tioman. Of course accomodation at Berjaya itself was rather pricey for us so we looked for other alternatives. Paya Beach resort became our mutual choice for a number of reasons, namely
1) good reviews for me
2) decent toilets for sumi
3) affordable prices for both of us
The map shown online had land connection between Berjaya resort and the other neighbouring resorts in the island. Little did we know how this land connection was until we arrived at the island.
The adventure is about to begin..
Eco-Challenge part 2: The training
The training
Training for me was tough as I have been physically inactive for more than 5 months by now. The eco-challenge race which came around was a kick-start motivation for me. I was visiting my 2 gfs at Desa Kiara pool for a "float session" irregularly on Wednesdays so I converted those floating sessions to a jogging session instead at the Taman Tasik Perdana. So there I was on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays jogging and on the few Sundays we had, we hiked up to Frim and Mont Kiara Park.
Sumi left for Singapore on last week of April which left me to train alone on those days while she did her set of training back home.
Due to my lack of stamina, I pushed myself to an extreme out of fear.
Fear of being left behind during the race. I had to keep up as I knew that Sumi had the strength and long-lasting ability like that of a Duracell-battery.
When I first started, I could hardly mover 5 metres without stopping and grasping for breath.
During training, I was also not allowed to drink a drip of water until I finish the entire course around the lake. This helped me a good deal as I am usually as thirsty as a lark!
By the end of my 2nd week of running I could already complete half of the lake without stopping. This boosted my motivation further and I kept pushing myself to achieve more. My goal then was nothing else but to complete a full round about the lake without stopping at all.
Something new which I also began to experience was sweating and a faster heart beat. I experienced palpitation and I was excited with this new change. I checked with my GP on whether this can be of any danger to me and he told me there was nothing to be worried of unless I was fainting or felt nausea or anything to an extreme, out of the norm. Thankfully none of those happened to me and on the contrary, I was feeling healthier than ever! Training continued till day 0 - race day!
Training for me was tough as I have been physically inactive for more than 5 months by now. The eco-challenge race which came around was a kick-start motivation for me. I was visiting my 2 gfs at Desa Kiara pool for a "float session" irregularly on Wednesdays so I converted those floating sessions to a jogging session instead at the Taman Tasik Perdana. So there I was on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays jogging and on the few Sundays we had, we hiked up to Frim and Mont Kiara Park.
Sumi left for Singapore on last week of April which left me to train alone on those days while she did her set of training back home.
Due to my lack of stamina, I pushed myself to an extreme out of fear.
Fear of being left behind during the race. I had to keep up as I knew that Sumi had the strength and long-lasting ability like that of a Duracell-battery.
When I first started, I could hardly mover 5 metres without stopping and grasping for breath.
During training, I was also not allowed to drink a drip of water until I finish the entire course around the lake. This helped me a good deal as I am usually as thirsty as a lark!
By the end of my 2nd week of running I could already complete half of the lake without stopping. This boosted my motivation further and I kept pushing myself to achieve more. My goal then was nothing else but to complete a full round about the lake without stopping at all.
Something new which I also began to experience was sweating and a faster heart beat. I experienced palpitation and I was excited with this new change. I checked with my GP on whether this can be of any danger to me and he told me there was nothing to be worried of unless I was fainting or felt nausea or anything to an extreme, out of the norm. Thankfully none of those happened to me and on the contrary, I was feeling healthier than ever! Training continued till day 0 - race day!
Eco-Challenge
Date: 16th of April 2010
As usual I was early in the office and was waiting for someone to open the door. While waiting, I flipped through the morning papers and came across an interesting cover on something called eco-challenge. Reading on, it was about the 2009 Challenge which was held in Tioman Island and the one this year was to be held in about 1-months time!
The write up was interesting enough for me to google them up and upon gathering more information, I was already keen to sign up. Registration fees was only RM30, location in Tioman, and hey why not! Firstly I was interested to be part of the race, secondly, I wanted to visit Tioman since I have not been to an island off the coast before. In the excitement, I rang up my good girlfriend (gf) and asked her if she was keen. She was having her holiday break at hometown then.
Her initial response was - no... I've got a meeting at my centre the next day and I have to register for my next semester by then. Ah well, got to do it alone then, I thought. Continued on with work afterwards and applied for my leave the very same day!
Sometime later the same day, my gf calls and asks if I have found someone yet. I said no. Told her that i've promoted it to my office mates by then but no one seems to be solid keen to take part. So I was probably going to do it myself and she said she can come with me afterall, given that the trip was to return the same day after the race. I thought for a bit and said, yes. Why not. The actual race is on Saturday morning. Scheduled to finish by 4:30 pm. And we can take the next ferry back and catch the next bus back to KL. See, that does sound do-able right?
If you are not already laughing at me at this juncture then you must still be clueless as to what exactly we were looking at. Well, read on & in the next few entries, you will know why the wish-ful thought was not so practical after all.
So all agreed on, I went online to register for both myself and gf to go for the eco-challenge the same day during my lunch time. It was too much excitement to contain and without wasting any more day, I decided to start a jogging-routine for at least thrice a week.
We held off the logistics arrangement until we had a black and white confirmation from the organizers that our participation is confirmed. Confirmation email came in 2 days later. By then our exercise plan already took off and we were already scouting for a hotel and to confirm other details.
As usual, the procrastinators that we are, confirmation of hotel, transport and all other details we only done 4 days before the race day - 3rd of May!
As usual I was early in the office and was waiting for someone to open the door. While waiting, I flipped through the morning papers and came across an interesting cover on something called eco-challenge. Reading on, it was about the 2009 Challenge which was held in Tioman Island and the one this year was to be held in about 1-months time!
The write up was interesting enough for me to google them up and upon gathering more information, I was already keen to sign up. Registration fees was only RM30, location in Tioman, and hey why not! Firstly I was interested to be part of the race, secondly, I wanted to visit Tioman since I have not been to an island off the coast before. In the excitement, I rang up my good girlfriend (gf) and asked her if she was keen. She was having her holiday break at hometown then.
Her initial response was - no... I've got a meeting at my centre the next day and I have to register for my next semester by then. Ah well, got to do it alone then, I thought. Continued on with work afterwards and applied for my leave the very same day!
Sometime later the same day, my gf calls and asks if I have found someone yet. I said no. Told her that i've promoted it to my office mates by then but no one seems to be solid keen to take part. So I was probably going to do it myself and she said she can come with me afterall, given that the trip was to return the same day after the race. I thought for a bit and said, yes. Why not. The actual race is on Saturday morning. Scheduled to finish by 4:30 pm. And we can take the next ferry back and catch the next bus back to KL. See, that does sound do-able right?
If you are not already laughing at me at this juncture then you must still be clueless as to what exactly we were looking at. Well, read on & in the next few entries, you will know why the wish-ful thought was not so practical after all.
So all agreed on, I went online to register for both myself and gf to go for the eco-challenge the same day during my lunch time. It was too much excitement to contain and without wasting any more day, I decided to start a jogging-routine for at least thrice a week.
We held off the logistics arrangement until we had a black and white confirmation from the organizers that our participation is confirmed. Confirmation email came in 2 days later. By then our exercise plan already took off and we were already scouting for a hotel and to confirm other details.
As usual, the procrastinators that we are, confirmation of hotel, transport and all other details we only done 4 days before the race day - 3rd of May!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)