Kuala Lumpur 8/7, Bus to Mersing, Ferry to Tioman, Malaysia 8/8/2006

We walk into the airport after the Air Asia flight from Langkawi to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Check prices on buses into KL and then check a flight to Johor Bahru, the most southern city to Singapore, and then a bus to Mersing to catch a ferry to Tioman Island.  The girl at the counter discourages me so we get the bus into KL.  Nice comfortable bus.  Taxi from where this bus drops us off to the bus station to check on a bus to Mersing where we will take a ferry to Tioman Island in the South China Sea.  The taxi driver wants to drop us off on the opposite side of the street from the bus station and make us cross this busy street with traffic coming from everywhere and no crossing lights or visible crossing.  We tell him no and make him drive past the train station, make a U turn and drop us in front of the station.  Big steps up.  I get up the steps and ask one of the guys hanging around to help with Janeen's big case.  She's been a bit of a pain in the ass this whole trip with that big case and her inability to lift it.  The bus station is very old, dirty and filled with shabby people hanging about.  We buy our bus ticket to Mersing and it doesn't leave till 11:30 p.m.  We check our luggage at a storage place.  Chinatown is close so we walk there.  Janeen buys more crocs!  I spot a nice looking hotel between the station and Chinatown and suggest we eat and hang out there.  Chinatown is just shops with a few eating places.  I didn't like it.  If you want to shop it would be good probably.  There was a nice looking pair of boots for a song, cheaper than the ones I had made in Vietnam and nicer.  We go back to the hotel Ansara or something like that.  Order a nice meal, filet, ratatouille and masked potatoes.  It was great.  Then had a cheesecake that was ok and coffee.  Ran to get some money at the ATM and back, then went to the Internet and wrote an article on Melbourne.  Was there for 2 hours, 6rm, I pay 4, Janeen 2 as I had done some personal work too.  Need to be back at the station to get our bags before 11.  We had thought of seeing a bit of KL but I'm not really interested.  Picked up a walking tour at the hotel.  KL is very smoggy.  These big cities in SE Asia and Asia are dirty.  I'm over big dirty cities so we decide not to go see their famous towers or to do the walking tour.  Pick up our bags at 10:45 p.m. and sit waiting for the platform call on our bus.  About 11:15 p.m. we know it's Platform 8.  We've been sitting upstairs waiting for the platform information.  The platform is downstairs and we descend down these old dark dirty stairs to the platforms beloe.  I'm ok and get a guy to help Janeen.  Load our things under the bus by ourselves, no claim ticket.  Had to ask a guy as the compartments were not open.  Get on the bus and the driver checks our tickets off his list.  The bus is quite nice with decent leg room and much more seat space than the Vietnam buses.  We leave pretty much on time.  We're very tired from the travel here and the entire day here in Kuala Lumpur.  The bus is harder for Janeen than for me.  She's sitting by the window and I'm in the aisle seat.  The driver is crazy.  I fall asleep and wake up to pouring rain.  He's driving very fast and taking the curves so it almost throws me out of my seat.  He stops for a break about an hour out of KL.  We stay on the bus because we don't want to use the toilet.  About an hour later he stops for a dinner break.  I get off because I am frozen.  The bus is so cold my arm is almost frozen.  The driver is having his dinner.  He's a bit of a ladies man.  The Muslim girls are sitting with him.  One of the girls goes to the bus and gets him his cigs.  We're back on the road with the wild driver and the wild curves.  We get into Mersing, on the South China Sea,  at 4:30 a.m. and it's now August 8.  Off the bus and into the ferry terminal in Mersing.  We find a bench to sleep on till the sun comes up and it's light.  People keep arriving and are sleeping on the metal benches too.  Thank God there are no arms so you can lay across them easily.  Everyone is sleeping around me.  I sleep and wake up, sleep and wake up.  Janeen buys the ferry tickets to Palau Tioman (Tioman Island) for 45 RM ($12.50) each and asks the guy about an ATM.  There is one near here he tells her.  She asks him to wake her up in time to go to the ATM before boarding the ferry.  I think that is ridiculous!  What does she think she's paying for a bed in the ferry station!!!!  Sometimes I don't believe her.  She's now sound asleep with her mouth wide open.  I'm back to sleep and wake up with the light.  There is a Malaysian young guy asleep on the bench visible to me.  He has high top turquoise tennis shoes on, long slender legs and a straw fedora on and looks the part.  I wake up Janeen to go get her money.  I learn later the ATM machine is in town and she gets a ride on a bike from a kind Malaysian.  We move our stuff up closer to get on the ferry.  It was supposed to leave @ 7:30 a.m. but doesn't leave till 8 or so.  I have my pack on to get on the boat.  We're on the speed boat for a 90 minute ride in the open sea.  They have me put my pack up front.  Everyone with a backpack stored up front.  We are in a long fast speed boat with about 20 seats or more.  The waves are big rollers and the boat takes the sea well.  There are rocky islands all the way out.  You never feel as though there isn't some land.  We approach Paulau Tioman and stop at several beaches or resorts.  There is no roads on this island, only speed boats to take you to various beaches or resorts.  The island is beautiful.  Picture Perfect!  The beaches seen from the boat are small and many rocks.  Surrounded by coral reefs.  You can see all the pieces of the coral on the beach.  We make about 3 or 4 stops and finally get to Salang Beach where we want to stay.  I could not get off the boat with my pack as the dock was higher than the tied up boat.  I handed my little pack to the guy and he set it down on the steps from the sea.  It almost rolled into the sea.  Janeen saw it and yelled to the guy who grabbed it.  My big pack was handed up and I got out of the boat and carried it up to the dock......It was an experience.......here we are at Salang Beach, Tioman Island, Malaysia way out in the South China Sea......Tioman Island........