Funny enough, I spent my first weeks in Malaysia surrounded by the chaos of bustling cities but soon enough, I found myself on a boat speeding toward Pulau Tioman, the setting of the 1958 Hollywood film South Pacific and once voted as one of the world's most beautiful islands by Time magazine. Torrential rain pelted the awning of our boat, striking fear in all us sun-seeking tourists on board about the week ahead.
We needn't have worried; once we arrived at the beach, the rain melted away, leaving behind a scorching sun that would remain for the entire time I was on the island. Most of the beaches on the western side of the island have become quite busy since the island's Hollywood debut so I decided to head to Juara, the only eastern beach site whose sole connection to the overcrowded west was via a horrible mountain road.
I couldn't have been happier with the choice; nestled along a sweeping bay, the smattering of humble chalets were nicely spaced and a calm pervaded the pretty white sand beach.
Best of all, tourists have yet to flood the place with their Western demands of internet, laundry service and raucous beach parties so it remains a quiet fishing village with friendly locals that stop to guide new arrivals to their guesthouse (like me!)
This was a week about doing nothing - reading on my veranda, staring out at the crashing waves and trotting over to the local beach cafe to have dinner with my new found Dutch friends. Here's the view from my chalet...
On one memorable day, we went on an all day snorkelling trip where we were treated to an underwater explosion of greens, neon blues, oranges and purple floating around us. We stopped at this pretty beach on the way back just to lounge around.
2 comments:
Niom, that looks fabulous! What a gorgeous beach, I'm soo jealous!
Naomi I got your card from Malacca... thanks :) I was in Malacca in 2000 my first step into Malaysia. Excited for the family hook-up.
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