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| Our handsome driver |
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| Jeannie's splendid meal ended up as "spicy shark fin soup"... in a bag |
This morning, after a short debate on logistics, we were relieved all bikes, baggage and riders could fit into the 3 pick up trucks pre-booked for our trip back to Tekek. Even though, there were enough rooms in the cabins, some still preferred to squeeze themselves into the cargo area for a joy ride!
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| Tioman airport on the right |
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| The canal stretches from the Kampung Tekek Jetty all the way to the village |
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| Passing through the village |
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| The Promenade |
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| The Promenade |
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| The walkway linking Kampung Tekek to Kampung Air Batang |
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| Beautiful sea view |
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| At the end of the walkway |
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| Kampung Air Batang |
Arriving early at Tekek, some of us decided to have a quick breakfast at the food court opposite the jetty before taking a short ride up north to Kampung Air Batang, passing by the air strip and waterfront promenade. Then it was time to leave the island…
While boarding the ferry at Tanjung Gemok was orderly, our return route was chaotic. There were no seat numbers issued for our journey from Tioman to Mersing. Instead, our printout tickets were either scribbled / stamped with codes B9 or B10.
We soon found out we were separated into 2 ferries depending on these codes. Ferry B9 was overloaded with some passengers having to stand throughout the journey. The only good thing was it sailed directly into Mersing. Ferry B10 though, went on to pick up passengers from Paya Beach and Kampung Genting.
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| Andrew on his rescue mission. Circled in orange is his helmet bobbing in the sea |
Meanwhile, a little drama unfolded as we were boarding our ferries. Andrew’s helmet was blown into the sea! Instead of saying goodbye, he jumped into the sea to retrieve his lost item!! That explains how a very wet Andrew and his helmet boarded the B10 ferry instead of his earlier designated one; taking with him, Sherrine but abandoning her bike altogether! Thus when Kelvin, Jasmine and Sarah got off at Mersing, they were scratching their heads as to whom the bike belongs to!
Thankful to data plan that seemed to work better on the west coast of Tioman, we managed to communicate to the whole team on the bike extortion fees. As a bigger group on board ferry B10, we managed to cut down the bike handling fees from RM30 to RM15 per bike, the same handling fees we had paid at Tanjung Gemok.
In the midst of all the negotiations, there were threats to throw our bikes overboard. The operators also came up with lame explanations that different ferry terminals has differing bike handling fees and so does different ferries! Kelvin would have paid RM25 per bike had he not received our text messages.
The extortions were not only confined to passengers with bikes but extended to all passengers with baggage. The ticket collector at the terminal charges RM2 as “toll’ to get past him!
Arriving back at Mersing, we had an appreciation lunch before going our separate ways. While the Johoreans made a pitstop at Khass bicycles to collect their camping gears from Irene; Andrew and Sherrine retraced the previous day’s cycling route by car, arriving back in KL late at night. The lasts to arrive home were Kelvin and Jasmine who stayed another night in Mersing and a few more places before returning to their love nests!
Click on link to see the Great Rescue by Andrew Sia
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1jQ19dngpNz885b3A
Photo courtesy : Jeannie, Sherrine, Henry, Andrew, Mindy, Kelvin
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Mersing Seafood Restaurant
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