Pulau Besar ( Apr 1999)
Pulau Besar is one of the many islands along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. To get there, you need to take a boat from the Mersing Ferry Terminal which is about 3 to 3 1/2 hours drive from Singapore.
We arrived at Mersing at about 4pm taking the Transnational coach from Singapore. To my dismay, the coach did not stop directly at the Mersing Ferry Terminal(MFT). We needed to walk about 20 minutes to the terminal. I can remember it was a very hot day. Johora Express, another coach service, also ply to Mersing from JB. I like Johora service. Unfortunately, their tickets are usually sold out very fast.
At the MFT, there are many small tour agencies selling day trips as well as package tours to the various islands. I booked my Pulau Besar trip through one of them. There are some shops selling groceries and souvenir. There are also some Malay stalls selling food. Ferry schedules to the many islands varied.
We were transported to Pulau Besar by a speed boat. There were only five passengers. Three of us and a middle-aged English couple who drove all the way from Singapore. After about half an hour, we reached our destination, Nirwana Beach Resort. The word 'resort' is a little misleading here. It was actually a few wooden chalets with air-conditioning. No electricity after 11 pm or 10pm(I can't remember). It was very basic. I can understand it was tough for my wife and daughter who are used to the luxury of 4 stars facilities! So check it out first because most of such type of accomodations are plenty there. However, there was one resort that we found and liked it very much. It was called the D'Coconut Island Resort. At that time, they were still expanding the resort and building a pool. I suppose it must be completed by now.
Walking from Nirwana to D'Coconut took us about 25 minutes along a long stretch of pavement covered with cow dungs! Cows were plenty and they roamed freely about on the island. Besides cows, there were sandflies too. We were the victims of these irritating fries. We also joined one of the snorkelling trips to nearby islands. The corals were not as beautiful as those found in Tioman. I always will like to join an island hopping or snorkelling trip whenever I am staying in an island. In this way, I will not feel too bored.
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