Meh..it's now 1.44am and still unable to sleep. Due to Euro 2008, my whole body clock has rotated 180 degrees. Right, so what better time than now to finish up on the Tioman trip/escapade with my babyjeen. Qin is right, it's going to be a heavy post. I did try cutting down on the number of pictures..but you know..it just ain't the same without a blow by blow account of everything. That's just my style, if I manage to recall all the details, that's it.

Ho-kay..So we started out on a very early Monday morning. And er hem, babyjeen, qin and myself arrived before you girls!! We were hungry so went on to macs to get breakfast..but since you're my baby, anything you say goes. I was, to put it mildly, very hyper. Due to lack of sleep (went straight after the spain vs italy match) and because SPAIN WON! I think it's a side of me that only few people have to put up with..so girls, that's not a normal me.


Uncomfy coach. So bumpy I couldn't have a good sleep. I was still hyper at this point of time, so it didn't really matter how bad the journey was.


Passed Malaysia customs..





...one step closer to dream destination! (at least for me..) *beams*


But I'm not a machine. And finally succumb to the zee monster.


That's qin's coincidental success at mastering the rubic cube. She told me it's just a few simple steps that even I can learn and master. I still have doubts about that..cause...I don't know..it reminds me so much of maths, just by the look of it. And I do have a serious phobia of math. Anything to do with it. Shat...I've to overcome it.


Either babyjeen or Joanne took this. I was too kong-ed out by the ride, I guess..Yup, long winding roads, maybe that's what made the ride so euurggkk..


And they did some photo-taking at some point in time..


At the ferry terminal. Qin, joanne, jess and myself all bought 'Roxy' cotton shorts there..Machaim some sort of club. The prices of the stuff there were hiked up though, as I compared them to the provision shops at Tioman.


At this point in time, I was trying to get them to play this 'cat-catch-mouse' game in the chinese version. But they all ignore me! Jess said she don't like that version and the rest just choose to face their backs at me. Bah..Joanne, next time we play ourselves. Anyway, the cap that babyjeen (if some of you are getting annoyed by how I address her..deal with it!) bought will only surface this once throughout the trip because it was too loose to wear during our day-time activities.


Heh heh..they somehow look like wax figures to me.


Finally boarded to ferry and we pose for keepsake purposes.

Got a tad restless, so out we went, onto the dock for some amazing views.


Pretty lines of foam..






We may look very steady in the pics..but standing upright and posing for the lens was a whole obstacle altogether! With the violent jerky rocking of the ferry and the strong blasts of wind in your face/hair (note babyjeen's lionfish style), it was not easy to get okay pictures. At the same time, we've to worry about our cameras getting thrown overboard by the sheer inertia of everything added up!


Ball check.


Why am I so happy, you ask? Because...SPAIN WON! Kidding..because I spy with my little eye..somewhere I've been dreaming to go since ever!


Clear clear turqoise water glistening under the beams of sunrays!! And green green lush forestation in the background! Plus a long stretch of fine powdery sand marking out Paya Beach!



And cool corestones rising out of no where!


Our pad for the next four glorious days! Carol says peek-a-boo..


..and a relatively comfortable dining area.


Now isn't she a sight to behold..getting all settled down and ready for some fun in the sun..


Satisfied with our rooms..


Into our bathing suits and ready to play/pose for pictures../snorkel round the coast..the underwater world is so magnificent! And yup, we swam all the way out to those corestone formations and the creatures there were even more amazing. Damn, I regret not getting a waterproof casing for the camera now!



Sort of a mystic feeling about these trees, huh..look like green clouds.



This is the practice for the sandcastle competition the next day.. I, on the other hand, had quite enough of sandcastle making during cluster camp 3 weeks back and am not really a fan of it all. So I'm tasked to be the photog. That's for the next day though.

After awhile, it was time to wash up and head for dinner..


They were right, I brought more lotions and blah then clothes..In my defence, all of them were necessary and I use every single one of them everyday! So yup, they're more important than clothes. Oh yes..I'm going to promote aloe vera gel! They really work wonders! I mean..I was burnt one day and after applying it LIBERALLY I was okay the next! It was so good I just had to buy another bottle just to bring home and stock up.

Shots of the first sunset there in the sundown-mode of my trusty camera (should start coming up a name for it).




Aye..why so emo??


Surprisingly good dinner. Like home-cooked food. I like their egg tofu, chicken, mutton and veggies. Fish...hmm..can be less scaly.

Then we took a little trip around singapore town~ Nay..around Tioman and compared prices of the junk food amongst the various shops. When we reached the jetty, it was rather eerie due to the darkness that stretched before us and decided to take some shots of the night.



I captured this..


And them! The seven sisters!!


Cue 'Incredible Tales' music..


After which, it was night night to get our rest for a fun-filled next day..


Day 2- Snorkling/Sandcastles/Salim's bar/Saucy men/Salt in our hair/Stargazing

I woke up the next morning to this..



And this! And I was like..Gasp..!! why like this?! Where did all the water go to?! Then qin in all her calmness explain..It's low-tide la..


After making sure that the sea did not die overnight, we went on to gather our snorkling gears and headed to the jetty for a half-day tour around the various hot spots. Really excited!!


Perfect weather and conditions to snorkel, just look at the water!


The black stuff ain't no coral reefs..it's actually a school of fishes! We only discovered that after someone exclaimed.."eh, how come the rock can move??"


Our rides anchored far away..


Mommy said that if you look closely enough, the whole stretch of forested mountain actually looks like a women lying down on her back. Unfortch, I didn't take any pictures of the whole stretch, so maybe that's just the head.



Babyjeen and myself, both preggers. She's trying to hide her bump..but I just can't wait for show mine off..heh..it's a long story about how she's preggers with Jy's baby and then as our trip progressed, Sarah actually dug out our secret..we were actually planning to have kids of our own, so we impregnate ourselves with some random guy's uh huh.. What?? Can't we girls just let loose and talk crap?? The theory's kind of far-fetched..still it's not totally impossible.


Me and jess!


I like this picture..like an angel descending down from heaven..I'm talking about the bright ball of light, for most of you who can't understand me..cause I'm just, way off here. Anyhow, moving on..



Finally, our ride comes and it was out to the edges of South China Sea (babyjeen thought it was Indian Ocean because of all the black fishes she spotted the previous day!) for some fish viewing!



Getting ready before we dive in..no, not getting ready by cam-whoring, I mean putting on sunblock and wetting our googles..


After our first stop. meh..the corals weren't as pretty as the ones we saw closer to our resort..but there was a greater variety of fishes, which made qin terrified when they swam too close (esp with fish feed that the guide,Salim, kept throwing in our general direction). Also, failed attempt to catch a glimpse of the black-something shark, which was just residing around the corals we were floating above 2 days ago..

Then it was off to Marine Park where they keep all the different variety of fishies. How they keep them in, I have no idea..but the water weren't as clear as the first stop's and the fishes were just all around you! One would naturally imagine self in a fishtank of a seafood restaurant where heaps of fishes are just crammed together and waiting to be slaughtered.

O.o Joanne and myself tried to explore the park to find some corals..but nope, there were none. There were ruins with loads of barnacles on them though..like forsaken tables and 3 legged chairs. Wonder if they were really the remains of a shipwreck or just placed there as tourist attraction.


We climbed all the way up to the roof of the boat and enjoyed some breathtaking views/fresh air.



That's that for our half day snorkling trip! While talking to our snorkling guide, Salim, we got to know about him bar and he invited us to go over that night. He even promised to make a bonfire for us!


Lunch was exceptionally good, taking into consideration that we swam for the entire morning since 9 plus..the flies, we can do without..I have no idea why I was peering into the glass of water with that much caution and why jess seemed to be telling me something, but I completely shut her out because I was too absorbed with that glass of water. Sarah was just taking bites of her lunch with intense thought..see, she's a really picky eater, and she critique every meal! It's highly amusing the way she rates each dish..


The back of another resort. I read that this resort sucked big time..anyhow, nice view.


The ladies..


..and the gents.. (look close enough and you'll get why)


You know life can't get any better when you're playing pool in nothing but bikinis! That's babyjeen's sexyback..o.O


And a hammock made out of bottle corks! Qin loved to sleep in it..I don't know..but it doesn't really look very comfy to me.


As much as I adore time spent with my jeenie-poo, I don't like pool, so out to the sundeck I went to soak up some rays. Also to just relax and enjoy the view.


..and overhead view..


..and sideview..the tanning beds were pretty cool, just pull up the wooden back rest and there you have it!


What I would give to see this every day..



She spotted me spying on her.heh..


Frolicking in the cool waters.


This marks the start of the sandcastle competition! Babyjeen working hard on her foundation against qin and jess' combined efforts.


The rest decide to relax and chill..hmm, maybe they think they can make better castles with ample rest? Maybe let their creative juices flow a bit first?


Nice nice waters..ou can actually see the longshore drift in action here! With the ball bobbing freely on the surface, it's even more obvious!


Still hard at work creating PoopLand/Troy Empire/Angkor Wat (as seen by the eyes of this architect we manage to chat up with later on)


Joanne came up to help jess create her smiley face..so Qin decided to move on to the next project to compete with babyjeen..BoobLand.


She's freaking excited about the result her empire..at this point in time, the waves were threatening to wash all her hard work to naught, so she frantically dug a hole a the side of her empire to allow the water to be collected there instead. It was quite a hilarious scene..and an adorable one at that.


Battlefields in the making


While they were still working on their masterpiece, a really nice picture which pretty much sums up life by the beach..


That's the scottish architect with his kiddies..they're actually residing in Singapore now and he's working on the new mall at Somerset Station! Cool!


Yup, busy as a bee..


They completed their smiley hill..so it's time for their favourite pastime!


Me and jess attempting to create the 'splashing water' effect with my camera's mode..


Jojo and myself..


Jojo and jess..


...partially submerged..


Amidst all the posing, she's still working on it! Perfecting the walls of her empire and building a hole within the walls to place cannons..haha..at the rate she was going, she could build an entire world.


Back to Joanne and Jess.. Now doing some weird water aerobic poses.


And a picture of her completed empire..finally! Look closely and you can see the name of the empire spelt out with eroded parts of dead corals. How qin and her manage to fish out these alphabet-corals, I don't know.. She and qin then proceeded to wage war against each other..babyjeen's Troy and qin's Sparta. Complete with cannon balls and all..


Trying to spell out T-I-O-M-A-N.. it looks anything but.


The almost successful jumpshot..carol..why you like that??


Acting all whatevs..


Another beach shot..


Pretty rays of sunlight just streaming down from the heavens..



A blocked but still beautiful sundown.


After dinner, it was off to Salim's bar for some chillin'


On our way, we were star-strucked. Literally..the whole inked night sky was teeming with bountiful of sparkly dots! Like million and millions of diamonds staring right back at you.


I have no idea why there are question marks after the vodka and barcardi..as if asking if you're gamed enough to drink them.


One of Man's (the other bartender) many delicious concoctions..I forgot what it has..think it's ribena and barcardi..And Joanne is pleased with it!


Group shot!


Yup, I was serenading Salim. Should be the other way round, huh..He kept saying he don't know how to play..but when I passed it on to him, he rotated the other way and strummed/plucked away.. (cause he's left-handed) I even have a video of him playing and singing this beautiful malay song! It's about pressing on and believing that you can do it no matter how many times you fail. That really struck home for me...


The colour of their skin seemed to be getting darker, from sarah to jess.


Link arms..


...Say a word of congratuations..


...And drink up!


Another group shot!


Happy with her second drink too!


Totally immersed in their amazing singing talents..


Was trying to do a jumpshot by the fire..and this was how it turned out with the nightmode on. Pretty cool effect still.


And this is just..the way it turned out, the moment before I jumped..Disgustingly, massively enhanced leg and arm muscles..and clutching onto a flicker of flame. It looked like I was enjoying getting scorched..


Pretty bonfire..


That was a funny moment..cause man was serenading sarah..and he was just making up lyrics as he went about playing..like,"oh sarah..from singapore..I'm so happy you came..to tioman.."


World, I present to you Adrian Kingsley Ho..He's the most amazing most charming man I've ever set eyes upon! But we all didn't realise it at first because he walked over and everything was just pitch black save for the bonfire..so me being a little high announced,"aye..can't really see you in the dark..let me flash you and take a picture of you.." Meh..now that I think back..I really kind of embarassed myself. Blah... Okay la, he may not be exuding all the charm that we may have build up to..but it's really because he's not one bit photogenic. Not at all compared to him in person. Camy even said he looks like someone's father! I guess I like older men then..


We requested that he play a piece..but he insisted that he didn't know how to play a guitar. An uncle we met later on also said that if he were to sing and play, they would all strike toto the next day. But like everyone who said they can't do something, they do exceptionally well in that area. Weird..and here he is, Singing and playing 'Smoke in the water' by Deep Purple..His skill is simply amazing, his bridge was particularly long, but not that anyone of us would mind. We were all claps claps claps at the end.. later on in the night when we started to chat, we learnt that he's actually a studio producer in Singapore! Like whao..But he only goes back during the monsoon season. Still, he likes Tioman so much he hasn't gone back for 2 years.

Alrighty, too much of him..oh, he's half chinese half dutch but grew up in malaysia with family all around the world..okay, I'll stop. For now.


Not before another shot of him..


..And another...


..and another of him holding onto my camera!!

Pardon my temporary obsession..


That's what he took with my cam.. Oh, the fishermen were handing out porridge to us. And they were Sedap! Look like some normal porridge..but it was super yummy, must be something they added.


Sarah, babyjeen, joanne and myself chatted with him til, I think, about 3 in the morning before we went back to get much needed rest..and really sweet dreams..


Day 3- Rockfall/Rapids (more like)/Ramly Burgers/Ridiculously cute little people/Raffish hunk/Razzle-Dazzle

Woke up at around noon..and hence the high tide and nice view..



We discovered that lunch was not covered..so we went on to have the Ramly burger..


At the outlet, little children were running about and enjoying one another's company..Joanne couldn't resist. Do you spot a mini JY?


..Over there at the back?



Don't she look just like a mommy bringing her brood out to play?


Ah haha haha..ultraman and spiderman!


The very very good ramly. Just taste different from the ones at home. The buns are crispier, the beef juicier and sweeter..The roti John too!


YUM!

A little bit of rest before we go on to find Salim cause he promised to bring us to this plunge pool in the forest.


happy jess and qin


Emo Joanne


Cute baby who refused to let go of Jess' fingers. I was stroking her puffed-up bib and wondered out loud.."eh, why hard hard one?" "Is she wearing a life jacket?", I asked her mom..it was as if she didn't understand me, cause she just smiled at me..then I wondered out loud again and continue to stroke, this time harder, as I was trying to make out what it was. Then Jess, horrified by my idiocrasy, answered,"What you doing?! That's the mom's hand under the bib supporting the baby la!!" At that point, I quickly retreated back and buried myself at the beach..


The many empty bottles that lined the edges of Salim's bar..I think only visible by day cause we didn't see them the previous night. A pretty sight.


On our way into the forest..


At the entrance..excited!!


Still trekking..


..and trekking.. (note: babyjeen taking a photo of everyone at that point of time)


..and trekking..wait, what's that white thing in front of us? No..it cannot be!! A couple in their wedding outfits trekking in for their wedding album shoot!


Pretty singaporean bride.


At last we reached the plunge pool. Was a bit disappointed because I thought it would be those created by tall plunging waterfalls, with all the undercutting erosional action right before my very eyes..those where we could climb up the waterfall to jump into the pool. Anyhow, it was good fun and super clear and cold water. It was bearable for me cause I shower with cold water..but for the rest of them, they were just shrieking whenever Salim splashed water at them. Rather comical..it was.


Babyjeen is just that little bit extra.


And why qin not smiling at the cam??


Was urged to get down and join them by Salim..who agreed to take pictures for us. And the result..all of them posing fine with a slice of my booty. meh..


Trying to create the splashing water effects again.


He ask me to come up and pose by the falls cause it'd make a good picture..but as I was coming up he was pointing the lens directly at me..,"wait wait wait..I pose nice nice first then you take.." Hence this shot.


Heh heh..caught him!


Took a long time to climb from one side to this side of the rapids..then another while to position myself nicely..I guess this would do..


Jess' turn


Only the professional cam whores were ready for this shot.haha..


O.o Joanne, you caught that droplet!


Nice! haha..she looks puny on the huge rock..


At the deeper plunge pool..Jess and Jo.


She's a natural!! What can I say..I've got good taste. See, we were all trying to do modelly poses (maybe me only)..and she got it in one shot! There will be no posting any of mine..because it was a total flop! But we had loads of fun laughing at me, no?


haha..looked like it was pouring..


BFF shot


As the sunlight was streaming in through the canopy, I quickly took a shot of this..pretty too!


Aww..She's just perfect just standing there, surrounded by the beams of sunrays..


A lonesome dead tree amongst all the greenery.


Another individual shot. Oh, notice all the poop all around. All produced by a single cow! How it manage to spread it all around, I have no idea.


Kitten in boots/socks. Carol was commenting it looked like it was wearing socks..haha. Oh yes, we were at Salim's cousin's house where he grew mango trees. And we were there to harvest fresh mangoes to enjoy later in the night during our BBQ!


Cute village boy.


I just thought this is really funny, how babyjeen's hand and top was strategically placed to cover my booty oh so protectively.


Fresh Mangoes all cut up and sprinkled with sugar!

Catch of the day


Sotongs


And plenty of Fish! Fresh out from the sea! He's so sweet..upon knowing that we don't have dinner provided for us that night, he offered to make a BBQ for us..and that he'll get all the food. I thought he was going to buy from the fishermen..but no, he went out to catch fresh ones for us!


On the grill..


Heh..the fishes were craving for some hotdogs..


Couple shot! Babyjeen said I look oriental..then Joanne said it's because she don't look chinese with her dyed hair so my black hair stood out..and then she went on to say I look like babyjeen's mom! Do I really?!


Anyhow, we were happy and all, so I let go of what Joanne said..still, it was a sensitive area to venture into..people who know of my stories with really unpleasant encounters about others mistaking me for my sis' mom and of me looking for a wedding band when I stepped into Lee Hwa Jewellry should know why.


They were happy too.. but qin kuku-ly brought the wrong medicine, which induced drowsiness and she was seh-ed out for the rest of the night..


Careful, don't let the flames burn your perky behind!


He was doing a little bit of this..and I wanted to try..


..all I succeeded in was to pose..meh


All of us! With a very high Man in the background.


With the rest of the group..


With daniel (in blue) and Jim (in red) who's acbc-ing..

When we walked back to our resort..Adrian was still hanging there. We saw his back view and I was going into a mini-hyper ventilation mode..then he turned around. "eh..why you look different..??" "You shaved off your moustache!!" Totally gasping for air then.. Joanne was just commenting the previous night that he would look better without the unnecessary facial hair and viola, off they went!

I swear..so much so much more charming and good-looking!

PIctures then..




Aye..but he had all these weird expressions..is impossible to catch him with his usual smile if we ask him to pose for the camera. It was good enough though..cause we were all sort of still dazed that he put his arm around our waist! Yes he did..haha...we were standing stupidly, not knowing where to stand to take the pic..then he just slid his arm around. *beams somemore*


This one's good enough then..save for the unequal eye-size..Another night of sweet dreams. Oh yes..before he went off to bed (at around 2, didn't stay on for the match because wasn't a huge soccer fan) he came over to shake our hands again (at first to introduce himself the previous night),"it was nice knowing you guys.." I positively melted.

Eh, no..we watched the Germany VS Russia match later on.. Now Spain has a worthy opponent to compete for the cup and they will triumph!


LAST DAY

Don't want don't want to go back!!!!!!!!!!!!

But what to do..


Bags packed, ferry due to fetch us back soon. The next time I go it'll be at least 2 weeks!


Joanne was having some alone time with her comb..


No..we don't want to go back..


sighs..


..more sighs..


..and more and more sighs!


My morning did brighten up a lil though..look closely and you can see that in this shot, I was taking a picture of..


In his morning attire! T-shirt and board shorts..all ready to teach a batch of people to scuba dive. Yes, did I mention that he is a diving instructor as well? Le sigh..


And of course, how can I possibly be glum for long with my baby by my side..



Obviously posed..but you get our drift.


As we made our way to the jetty..really don't want!


Logic overwrote everything and soon we got moving..waved goodbye to adrian, whom earlier came over to bid farewell and smile this gorgeous smile,"yeah..leaving is the hardest part.." Yes it is..


Our ferry to home..

Last few glimpse of the beautiful Paya beach..






Bye bye Tioman..


Back in Singapore with all our barang, memories and the familiar MRT tracks..

Really enjoyed myself this time around and got to know a lot of people..Scottish architect, english lecturer of chinese nationality at shanghai university with his son, Salim, Man, Adrian, Daniel and his bunch of friends..even the friendly uncles and fishermen who made us porridge! So am truly grateful for this break in which I just kicked back and totally let loose and had loads and loads of fun.

Right, it's now 5.43am..yes, I know I blog damn slowly..but I was trying to remember the details right half the time! Goodnight!