I woke up early on the day I was leaving for Tioman Island. Since I booked my bus at 9 a.m., I was already out of the house by 7:30 a.m. and headed to the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) to catch my bus, which was a straight shot from KL to Mersing, Pahang. From there, I would have to take a ferry to the island because there are to bridges for landed types of transportation to cross through.
By the time I arrived, the placed was already packed! So I immediately headed to Gate 2 to wait for my bus. I get through the platform entrance and I got my boarding pass at Counter B and C.
After the bus arrived, I made my way to my seat and checked my watch when the bus started to move. I was quite surprised with the promptness of the Transnasional bus operators and the spaciousness of the seats.
The whole journey from KL to Mersing took about 6 hours. We reached the Mersing Bus Terminal by 2:40 p.m. and I was told that the last ferry had left at 2 p.m.! I was about to panic when this friendly woman told me that I should try my luck at the jetty, just about 15 minutes away. Luckily for me, when I got to there, I found 9 other people who wanted to get to Tioman Island. The resort representative informed us that we can rent a speed boat to the island – or the other option is to wait for the next ferry on the next day.
We couldn’t wait another day so the 10 of us had to pay an extra RM 130 each for the speed boat rent. The speed boat arrived around 3:30 p.m. and the journey took almost an hour and 20 minutes of bumpy ride. With all the splashing against the seawater, my clothes were all damp by the time we reached our destination. That part of the day was really an adventure for me – I even got to meet other friendly people!
Another miracle happened when I was checking in – the receptionist told me that my room was upgraded to the seaview room! As soon as I was done checking in, I grabbed my bags and headed to my room, number 913. And indeed, the room was so nice!
I ended my day by having some remarkably delicious seafood for dinner at a very nice restaurant with the cool sea breeze brushing against my skin the whole time.
I have to tell you, that trip to Tioman Island is definitely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and I would surely go there again when I get the chance! And I would definitely choose Transnasional again because I feel like that bus is the best in terms of comfort.
