First of all, I would like to bid everyone especially my readers a very good day! It's been awhile since the last time I've written something in my blog about my journey in life as they were parts of my growth as human. Many things had happened in that period of time. Neither any of us have any idea that the most deadly virus has spread even until now which causing so many loses and pandemic to the world. Let's pray that our family, friends and ourselves will be protected from this catastrophic disease and the world will be healed at the soonest.

    Last weekend, it was an important event to all Malaysian. On 31st of August, we celebrated 63th  Malaysia Independence Day. The event fell on Monday, which means a long weekend, yeay! Last year, I've proudly celebrated it at the peak of Mount Kinabalu. But since we are not able to travel abroad, I was wondering what to do this year. One of my best friend, Putry suddenly approached me asking if I had any plan on mind. She suggested that we should have a short island retreat. Oh yeah, I'm totally down! I said yes and we began to plan the trip. It was super last minute plan. 

    Pulau Tinggi is located 30km off the east coast of Mersing, Pulau Tinggi is a mysterious tropical island perfect for a weekend escape from the busy city. The island is surrounded by clear blue water and covered by virgin tropical rainforest at the interior. Not many knows that this secluded island is well-known for natural beauty and serenity. I believe it is a heaven to divers and snorkelers to explore the underwater world. An escape to this island is highly recommended especially for budget travelers who prefer quiet getaway as their next vacation destination. The island has only around 500 villagers spreading over 3 villages. It offers stretches of white sandy beach for you to lay back and enjoy stunning view of dazzling ocean.

Day 1 - Departing to Pulau Tinggi

    Initially we planned to go to Pulau Babi Besar (you read it right!). Unfortunately since it was a last minute hunting, turned out they were fully accommodated. So we did some research and came across Shaz Resort at Pulau Tinggi. We took a stroll on their website and decided to book for 2 days 1 night package at their resort. The package costed us RM295.50 per person with provided boat transfer services, 2x meals and our lovely accommodation. You can check them out for more infos.

    We departed from Kulai at 9am and it took us 2 hours chill drive to Jetty Tanjung Leman. Please be noted that you have to pay for marine park and jetty fee which costs RM10 per pax. The parking fee is RM4 per day. Our boat was scheduled at 12pm but it was slightly delayed due to crowded tourist since it was on weekend. Then we had another 45 minutes wild and bumpy boat ride to reach the resort. The resort is located next to the Johor Royal Family Kellong. You can see it clearly while reaching the shore. We were welcomed by a drink to wash away our thirst on that sunny nice weather. After that, we checked in our room. The room was comfy and cozy for two of us. Our room was right in front of the mini zoo. We could hear sound of chicken clucking from our room. We rested for awhile before jumping for activities.

This is our room looks like

      Unfortunately, we were unable to execute our initial plan that day. We thought that we can do jungle trekking that evening. However it requires at least a group of five people to trek the jungle. They said we must pay a price of five pax if we were to do the trekking which was absurd. It is super expensive. We tried to scout people but failed to do so. With heavy heart, we decided to rent bikes and cycled around the village. We didn't regret the decision at all. Although it was a small village, I could feel the vibes and enjoyed the stunning views. For bicycle rental rate, it costs RM10 per hour. But they gave us extra hour free ride, since not many were renting that evening.

    The most favorite part is the semi-abandon jetty. The jetty is not meant to be abandoned but they are fixing it and it is still in construction phase. The jetty is an ultimate insta-worthy spot. You can take as many pictures as you want at every angle and the outcomes will turn super gorgeous. Trust me or look at the pictures below!

    Once we were done with our so called photoshoot session, we thought that we should dip into the swimming pool. Yes they have a pool and even few water slides. This place is perfect for a family gathering or even for company trip. It has many kids friendly facilities. Exciting right? We thought that we need to have our chill out time and just relax our mind and body by the beach. Putry sat on a bench and read her book (read: prop of the day) while I did my yoga routine and witnessing the beautiful sunset. Since I did not bring my yoga mat, it was quite tricky to do difficult yoga poses on a sandy surface. But it was fun.

    We had our Nasi Ayam Penyet for dinner, served by the resort around 8pm. It was not bad at all. That night, we went to karaoke for an hour and half. Yes, they have karaoke too! The last time I went to karaoke on an island was during my trip to Redang Island back in 2015. Can't believe they have these variety of activities in this secluded island.  

    That night when we were chilling out at the gazebo, there was a local approaching us and offered to guide us for a jungle trekking the next day. We called him, Syah. He is a kind and friendly. Actually, we were planning to go for snorkeling the next day. But we were hesitating since they will only bring us to one snorkeling spot. As soon as Syah suggested us the idea, we were glad and agreed to have him as our guide. He briefly explained to us what should we expect for the hike. We will be exploring a total untouched forest which excited us. We had a good sleep and woke up early the next day.

Day 2 - Merdeka hike and exploring the pristine jungle at Pulau Tinggi

    The next day, after breakfast, we gathered in front of the police station around 8.15am. We were waiting for Syah to manage our hiking permit. There were five of us including an uncle who claimed to be the most experienced guide between them. We started our morning hike at 8.30am. It began with the sloppy and uneven path in a farm owned by the resort. After 10 minutes, we went through magnificent broad-leafed forest which we found very difficult and challenging for us. We did not bring any knife and wore improper shoes. There were lot of slippery surfaces to climb and made it harder for us. It is not as hard but there was no track at all and we have to pass huge logs and thorny leafs. That part was challenging.

    It was almost 10am when I arrived at the first waterfall checkpoint. We were separated as we were a bit faster than the others. The waterfall supposed to be a spectacular and kinda huge in size. Syah said since Malaysia had lock-down recently, there was not many people to take care and preserve the jungle. There were plenty of humongous fallen trees which preventing the water to fall through. There was a cascade, the stream burbles as it travels along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches and a mini waterfall as our background. The others showed up after half an hour. We decided to halt our climb as we need to catch our boat back to main land at 2pm. We have to hike for more than 2 hours to reach the peak of waterfall. With our condition, we cant afford to proceed further. So we had a quick break and took pictures before leaving the checkpoint. We need to be extra cautions as we climbed down due to extreme slippery and steep surfaces. We took another hour to reach the farm.

    As we had few hours left, we decided to jump into the sea and dive in the crystal clear emerald water. It felt so good after wrenching in sweat and that tough hike. I had few jumps and swim through the ocean. Putry was a bit scared so she just taking pictures and watching us. 

    Even though, it was a really short trip, we enjoyed every bit of it. And thanks to our new friends we could experienced something that we never imagined. We bid our farewell as our boat was waiting for us. We stopped by at Sedili to buy keropok lekor for our family. Then, we headed back to Kulai and reach our respective homes.

    I hope you had fun reading my entry this time. I am juggling with works while writing this. Regardless, I am glad to take some time off to share my compressed experiences at Pulau Tinggi. Feel free to ask me anything in comment section about the island, I'll help. 

Until next one!