Small paradise on earth
When you think of Survivor you think of the most beautiful islands that the east coast of Malaysia has to offer, namely Pulau Tioman. The film South Pacific was, among others, filmed here and Tioman, after the Perhentian Islands, is very beloved for its white beaches and clear blue sea.
A few years ago I visited this idyllic bounty island, situated in the South Chinese sea, during my stay in Malaysia. From the old airport of Kuala Lumpur (Subang) you can book a domestic flight to Tioman with Berjaya Air.
Berjaya Air “Dash7”
The trip there is a real experience on its own and gives you the feeling of going back in time for a bit. It isn’t a super-de-luxe plan, but a propeller airplane (Dash 7) takes you along for a flight of 1 hour and 15 minutes towards the “Paradise”. Flying with a propeller airplane is a real experience and gives you the feeling that you are really flying, but that only gives that extra dimension.
Thanks to its 4 large propellers, the necessary noise with vibration and the additional turbulence, this was literally a flight of ups and downs where you also really wondered where you in god’s name were going to land during the descent when all you saw was water and an island completely overgrown with jungle.
That’s why in the beginning you weren’t able to see the landing-strip, but after the pilot maneuvered the plane into a sharp right turn, we saw a sort of road arise right next to the beach. At that moment you hold your breath for a bit and wonder sincerely whether it’s all going to be fine. Only after we hit the ground with a big bang and came to a halt just before the end of the track, we realized we arrived in paradise 🙂
Clear waters of Tioman