"Hit the waters! You're in Tioman!" Top 5 Page for this destination Pulau Tioman Things to Do Tip by xuessium

It was painfully obvious till this most recent posting that I never really got to experience the legendary waters off P.Tioman. 12 years in between visits, but I finally got it done.

This is the first place in Malaysia that really got off to a booming start as a diving/snorkeling paradise. Despite the various warnings that the seas are no longer as beautiful, hey, I gonna take a plunge...nothing like seeing it for myself.

I went to 3 spots on a quick afternoon off with myself.

Pulau Tulai (aka as Coral Island) lived up to its name. The island with its band of faint yellowish pristine beaches look inviting enough as the boat approaches and despite the crowded waters, the corals appeared healthy and the waters teeming with fishes and marine organisms of various kinds. However a closer look revealed more worrying signs - there were plenty of crown-of-thorns starfishes on the fringes. This species is at least partly responsible for much loss of coral reefs.

Then it's time to amuse the kids in the group with fish-feeding at the entrance of the Marine Park. Despite the presence of many hungry large fishes (parrotfishes, trevallies etc) which thrilled the kids no end when they surfaced and fought for the bread pieces, the sand beds were amazingly covered with sea urchins and devoid of corals.....despite in waters at least 5m deep.

The last stop was off the shores of Pulau Renggis, a small rocky outcrop. The waters were more choppy here but the island seemed to attract a fair share of diving beginners. Wasn't particularly attracted by the offerings here - fewer species and more evident signs of death and decay on the fringes.

Directions: The waters off Pulau Tioman