Monday, August 21, 2006

Tioman Revisited

I spent yet another long weekend diving in Tioman Island living in Berjaya Beach, Golf and Spa resort. This was my second trip to the resort, first time been 2 years ago. 5 of us, my wife, Yoke Kheng, Sahaya and Kenny went with me. As usual, we left PJ at about 5am in the morning to leave for Mersing to catch the 10:30am ferry. We got there in time.

Diving in Tioman was just as good as the last trip, just that the water was not as clear as the last time. It was murky. Visibility was just about 5-8m. Did not discover much new marine life, except a species of nudibranch which I have not seen before found at Renggis Island. Photo attached.


Renggis Island is always special, the concentration of marine life is simply astounding. It is so good that I dived there twice this time. There are so many things to see, jacks, giant groupers, cuttlefish, turtles, moray eels, nudibranch, puffer fish, blacktip sharks and barracudas, not to mention all the schooling fish around (mostly juveniles), truly a wonderful dive site.

Ah the food, we discovered a new chinese restaurant open just outside of the resort. We had most of our dinner there. The food was good. We did not order anything special, just simple dishes and all tasted good.

Well, the highlight of the trip was not really the diving or the food, but the board game Cashflow 101. We played almost every night, and I must say that I am quite expert now, and the rest as well. We had so much fun, laughter and of course making so much noise till the wee hours. Thank goodness nobody complained.

Other than that, we went shopping (duty free shop), I bought Chinese beer, corona, and nite (new type of alcohol drink, never seen in KL before), went strolling around the beach looking at people. There were mostly eastern European people, and being European, you know what to expect loh at the beach. If you would like the details, please ask Sahaya. As for photos, wait for Kenny to upload, he was the the official photographers.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Weekend Retreat

Looking for a weekend retreat, look no further. Bukit Tabur in Taman Melawati, just less than 30 minutes drive from PJ, you will find this beautiful place hidden, separated from the hustle and bustle of city life. A whole new world, just right next to the busy MRR2. What lies in it, you must be wondering. It is the Klang Gate Dam which supplies water to most of the Klang Valley areas. It has a jungle trek, but it is quite dangerous in certain areas, whereby one need to do rock climbing as steep as 80 degrees. For those who would like to have a fun, exciting, and unforgettable weekend, this is the place to go. Forgot to mention, the scenery is beautiful.

Here are the photos.














Klang Gate Dam













View from the Peak















University Islam Malaysia














Taman Melawati from the top