Upon arriving Mersing town our entourage were greeted with the kompang performance, the traditional greeting custom for the Malays as to honour the visitors and followed by lunch at the Mersing Harbour Centre before being ferried by speed boats to Pulau Besar.
Since our itenary involves both Pulau Besar and Pulau Tinggi, this posting will be related to what we were served during our 3 days 2 nights trip under Majestic Johor tour trip to promote the tourism industry in Johor.
Top : Islands that dotted the Eastern Coast of Johor
TAMAN LAUT SULTAN ISKANDAR
Taman Laut Sultan Iskandar (TLSI) located off the coast of Mersing, is made up of 13 islands in 6 island clusters namely Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Aur, Pulau Pemanggil, Pulau Besar, Pulau Sibu and Pulau Rawa, covering an area of 3,270 hectres made up mainly of Karangas Forest. TLSI has been gazetted as a Marine Park, is adorned by hill forest structure, mangrove and beach-side forest, apart from being a popular destination amongst divers and sea lovers.
Visitor can get to enjoy the beauty of the South China Sea as they stay along the various types of beach accommodation alongside some of the inhabitable islands.
DIVING PARADISE
Pulau Mensirip is one of a few dive paradise for diving enthusiasts. There's another little Johor down there under the sea. While not a diver, me and a few of my friends followed the boat trip to Pulau Mensirip to witness by ourselves the scuba diving activities. Its my first trip with scuba divers on their diving mission.
It was so lucky that I did not experience any motion sickness at sea while staying on the boat floating on the naturally chopping surface.
Top: Pulau Mensirip as captured on Google Maps
SNORKELING EXPERIENCE
Our entourage were also taken to Pulau Metinggi off Pulau Tinggi for snorkeling activities. It was also my first experience snorkelling, We were told that there are Nemo around the area but too bad I did not see it with my own eyes. However its so overwhelming to see small fishes swimming within reach.
Of course I did use the snorkel to feel the experience but many times I did swallow some amoung of sea water, LOL.
Some of us swam further out to see beautiful corals.
Photo by this blogger
Video by this blogger
RESORT
We landed on Pulau Tinggi on the first day and was accommodated at the Bayu Lestari Resort where we spent a night on the secluded and seems to be an island in her virginity state.
Bayu Lestari Resort is made up of chalets and villas is very calming aside the sound of sea waves and chirping birds. Its a resort away from resorts, Uh!, what does it mean? Well, A resort is usually a bit noisy and not very peaceful, but Bayu Lestari is not. Obviously calmness and peaceful atmsphere can be really felt especially during the night. If you are looking for a holiday retreat or honeymoon, it is a great idea to visit Pulau Besar especially Bayu Lestari Resort.
Photo Credit : was posted on SWA TV Facebook page. The villa
Photo Credit : was posted on SWA TV Facebook page. Interior of the Villa
Besides Bayu Lestari Resort, there are two other popular resort on Pulau Tinggi, D'Coconut Beach Resort and Aseania Beach Resort. All these resorts are located on the western shore of the island and away from the open South China Sea and hence safe from the monsoon when South East Asia experiences the North East Monsoon.
Top: Pulau Besar as captured on Google Maps.
TAd MARINE RESORT
We moved from Bayu Beach Resort to Pulau Tinggi on the second day and stayed overnight at TAd Marine Resort. It provide two types of accommodation, the individual chalets and double storey hostel like individual rooms.
TAd Resort contact information is listed below
ISLAND HOPPING
Another way to see the beauty of Johor Islands is through island hopping. Feel the excitement of the speed boat gliding on the waves and the Captain manouvering the 12 seater boat on the waves.
On Pulau Besar, visitors can hike the hills behind TAd Marine Resort to a beautiful waterfall in the forest.
DISCLAIMER
Photos published on this post belongs the the respective owner of the member of the trip unless otherwise mentioned. I have lost the information of who own these photos. If you want to be personally credited please contact me.
HOW TO GO
The islands of Johor is reachable by road from any parts of peninsular Malaysia. Visitors for island getaway outings can take the express coaches or taxi from either Kuala Lumpur or Johor Bahru to either Mersing Jetty or Tanjung Leman jetty, depending on which island you want to visit.
Express bus service is available from Kuala Lumpur to Mersing. One of the coach service operator is Transnasional Express (Tel: 603-2070 3300). Buses leave at noon and about 8:30 at night for about a 6 hours ride.
Chartered taxi service with reasonable fare is another alternative of public transportation to get to Mersing.
The fastest route is via the North-South Expressway. Exit through Ayer Hitam. From Ayer Hitam, continue your journey to Kluang and from there you can go to Mersing. The main entrance to Mersing Islands is through the Mersing Jetty or Tanjung Leman jetty in Johor. There are scheduled ferry services daily to all the islands. Journey to the islands will take hours depending on ferry or spedboats and the condition of the sea.
CONTACTS
Tourism Johor
Suit 3-24, Johor Tourism Information Center (JOTIC)
No. 2 Jalan Air Molek
8000 Johor Bahru
Tel: +607 2234935 / +607 2249960 / +607 2242432
Fax: +607 2237554
Website : www. tourismjohor.com
E mail : info@johortourism.com.my
Pusat Taman Laut Mersing
+607 7991161
Bayu Lestari Resort
Lot 4, Pulau Babi Besar, 86800 Mersing, Johor
Phone : 07-358 3399
Telefon: 013-645 4450
Tel & Fax: +60380239009
Website : www.tadmarineresort.com
E mail : info@tadmarineresort.com
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