Malaysia...kinda like Singapore, only with character & grime.

Johor Bahru is the Malaysian border town to Singapore. Not much to speak of, except cheap shopping and this gigantic duck. We took a bus from JB to Mersing, & from there got on a ferry in the South China Sea to Tioman Island. Here's a view from the boat. That's me on Tioman Island with Ingrid and Tioma (as if we planned it...Tioma on Tioman!) Tioman Island featured crystal clear waters & lush tropical forests. At high tide, the water sometimes hid tiny jellyfish that would make itchy, though harmless stings. And there was always the danger of stepping on a sea urchin, as Ingrid discovered. (Malaysian cure: hit the stings with a piece of wood & then squirt them with lime. It works!) Although we went on a holiday weekend, there weren't any crowds bothering us. It was a peaceful (and cheap!) weekend getaway from S'pore. Hiking, snorkeling, fishing, eating, lying around doing nothing were all possible daily activities. There was a patch of trees that the bats hung out on. These are big fruit bats (cats with wings), but at night we'd see the insect bats (mice with wings) flying around. Click here for more bats. Tioma with a batdrop, I mean backdrop. Heh. Chickens wandered around freely. This one wanted to make a phone call. We saw a few big monitor lizards. This one was about 2 feet long, but we also saw one that was easily 4 or 5 feet, though it ran away before I could take its picture. Click here for more lizard pictures. Did I mention that this tropical paradise was cheap? 4 days, including transportation there & back, lodging, & food, for about US$65 each.