Aerial Tioman

Tioman from a rarely seen angle.


Fave place to bunk down & lepak; Panuba Resort:




Tokong Burong; Quite far from Tioman but dived here once in bad vis. It was supposed to be a fantastic dive site.




Renggis Island; Just off the shores from Berjaya Resort. Popular with both Scuba divers and snorkelers.




Batu Malang (Rock); Good dive site and also popular with snorkelers.

Another Island (Tioman) Getaway

Making up for 2009, our 2nd visit for the year before the end of 1st Quarter 2010. Blessed with good weather for our dives and excellent for getting great colours for photos.

Missed out on the dolphins as the pod was spotted on our way back from our dives. None of us had a camera then. Even if we did, the dolphins were pretty far away for a descent shot.

The inviting waters on the day of our arrival. We would be jumping off the jetty (left of the pic) every day be it low or high time. Low tide means more airborne time ;-)







Fiery sunsets...




... even if the sun was obscured by clouds, the sky would be on fire.



Nocturnal creatures:
A flying fox....






... and Ghost crabs (I think that's what its called).




For size comparison only. Creature was not harmed in any way during the course of this photoshoot.




"Howling" moon. Good for Thriller music to be played.

Tioman - Lucky Shots!!

Being at the right place, right time and right equipment on hand got me these unexpected shots!

A sailfish playing(?)/ hunting(?) between Panuba & Air Batang village in relatively shallow waters.

Tioman Last Kopek - End Oct 2008

One cannot get enough of this beautiful place.  Shoals of anchovies at the jetty along with the scores of colourful coral fishes in crystal clear water.

Balihai Dive Centre

The sweeping skies and beautiful calm sea.

This is a surprise... autumn coloured trees!

View from the Balcony of SD9. 


One of the best beaches in Tioman is at Tulai (Coral) Island. Waters here are crystal clear and sand is powdery white. 

Low tide at Panuba.

Tioman Underwater Jul'08

Its been a while since I last posted. Too many photos in between so I'm just sharing the latest of the lot.


Red-banded Cleaner Shrimp - Night Dive @Panuba House Reef




I don't know what specie of Nudibranch this is. Looks like a Chromodoris Geometrica but I am not certain.
Spotted at Fan Canyon, Tioman.




This was also found at Fan Canyon.
Nembrotha Cristata




Solar powered nudie... will get name later.



Anemone Shrimp.

Return to Balihai

It feels like a long time has passed since I last stepped foot on the island of Tioman but really, it has been only 4 months. Well, it was a long time for me but I finally made it there again not once but twice in a span of 1 week. Crazy huh?

Balihai's Dive Boat at Panuba Jetty:


Panuba Resort with crystal waters and nice quiet surroundings:



Underwater critters just meters off the beach. A starfish 'standing' up:



One of Ladyhawk's fave; 'Electric-Blue' Damsels


A shoal of fishes feeding. They seem to move and feed together.



This parrotfish was kinda camera shy.


Baby cuttlefish in the shallows!! A marvelous encounter.


Same cuttlefish with its rapid colour change camouflage. Seems a bit confused here as to what colour that could blend with the hand underneath it.


New cleaner shrimp just off Panuba Jetty. Bigger than the other cleaner shrimps found near the tyre but just one or two of these.


Not sure if this is a sole or flounder or whatever.


Cat shark found just 50 meters from the shoreline at a depth of 2 1/2 meters. Unsual for it to be out in the daytime. Although we could not see any sign of physical injury, there was definitely something wrong with it. Made us feel happy and sad at the same time.

Tioman - Season Ender

It should have been the monsoon by this time but weather these days are unpredictable due to the climate changes as a result of global "developments". Oft we get a rather startled response when informed that we would be going to Tioman near year end. There's an impression most folks have that monsoon means never ending downpours and floods. It might be so but there are beautiful days of good weather as well. Boils down to one's luck I'd reckon.

We had 3 days of beautiful weather although there were some showers nearby, the sea was calm (flat actually) with gentle breeze blowing.




Beautiful contrast of the fishing boats against the shower.




Make no mistake though, the monsoon can play it rough as the remains of this boat testifies to the storm Tioman experienced a few days before our arrival. It was smashed against the rocks and this is all that remains of this fibre-glass boat. No casualties except to one's pocket.

Tioman - Season Ender (Underwater)

Divesite: Chebeh (Tioman Island)

Not just a Cushion starfish but look closely and you are likely to find macro creatures living on the starfish. Compare the size of the shrimp with that of my thumb (on the bottom left of picture).




Not sure which but it is either a Starfish Shrimp (Periclimenes soror) or Emperor Shrimp (Periclimenes imperator)



"Blue dragon" Pteraeolidia ianthina Nudibranch.
Some info provided on an earlier post - Recent Tioman Dive - Nudis


Goby on a hard coral.


Anemone clownfish or now very commonly referred to as "Nemos".




Batu Malang or Rock of Misfortune. Great site for both snorkeling and diving.
For this trip, we skipped the dive at this site and snorkeled for a change. It was lovely!



Beneath the surface.



Lots of hard corals...



Sunbeams dance around to light the world beneath...



Colourful coral fishes go around their daily business...



Its great to see the fishes just swimming around you...



Oops... the speedboat.