Zulkifly Ab Latif visits Tioman Island’s Juara village during the Tioman Surf Festival and finds there is much natural beauty all year round
“ARE you Zul?” asks the young man in sunglasses and colourful board shorts standing next to a black pickup truck.
I look at the truck’s registration number and it is the same as the number given to me when making my travel arrangements. The young man is Shamel, who makes a living driving guests and visitors across the island of Tioman.
“I’m still waiting for two more passengers,” says Shamel while I load my backpack into the back of the pickup, which is parked along side the road next to the main jetty terminal of Tekek, the largest village on Pahang’s island of Tioman.
There are also other pickup trucks drivers waiting for pre-booked passengers. Some are seen haggling and negotiating with tourists who have just arrived by boat. Almost 15 minutes pass by and finally, two passengers walk up to the truck, with one looking visibly shaken and flustered. “Sorry. She had to go to the ladies room. Sea-sick,” says the man apologising, referring to the 90-minute journey by ferry from Mersing to Tioman.
Shamel shrugs, smiles and cheekily replies: “Welcome to Tioman!”
START OF THE SEASON
The pickup’s engine roars as it strains up a steep winding road, past lush tropical jungles on both sides. The drive to Kampung Juara takes about half an hour, cutting across the interior of the island.
The distance and the steep climb make it necessary to use off-road “taxis” like Shamel’s, although there are cases of fit and adventurous visitors choosing to walk the length of it.
“So are you here for the festival?” asks Shamel, referring to the three-day annual surfing competition, Tioman Surf Festival, which has been held for the past eight years at the village. I answer “yes” and ask him about the crowd since I’ve arrived a day late. Shamel enthusiastically tells me he has been busy driving visitors to Juara from Tekek, and that the crowd seems larger than the previous year.
The festival, he adds, is somewhat of an unofficial opening ceremony for the island, a signal that the wet monsoon season is over and that Tioman is ready to welcome visitors again.
SURF FESTIVAL
Arriving around noon, I see a large crowd at the beach where the festival is being held. Despite the scorching midday sun, there are surfers out at sea, some sitting on their surfboards and some performing tricks on the board.
Somewhere in the background I hear a voice blare through a loud speaker, “Wave check, wave check, you have three more waves.”
With a preference for scuba diving as opposed to riding its waves, I have limited understanding of what is happening, apart from the fact that the surfers are competing. Even so, it is an exhilarating sight as I watch the surfers perform their manoeuvres.
I share this mutual fondness for the oceans with Alvin Chelliah and Hasniza Razali from Cintai Tioman, a community engagement programme spearheaded by environmental NGO, Reef Check Malaysia.
Throughout the three-day festival, Alvin and Hasniza, along with the other local volunteers, have set up displays and arranged activities for the visitors such as crushing discarded glass bottles and recycling them into sand, and making artificial reefs.
What I find particularly interesting is the “no plastic” advisory implemented at the festival, where food vendors and booth operators are discouraged from using plastic packaging. Undoubtedly, it is a very positive move, and speaks volumes on their efforts to promote sustainable practices on Tioman Island.
After the brief walk through of the displays and activities by Cintai Tioman, Alvin introduces me to Beto, a volunteer from Juara Turtle Project, a sea turtle conservation centre located less than a 100 metres from the festival’s main venue. A trained marine biologist from Spain, Beto now lives and works at the conservation centre and is working on building a coral propagation tank at the centre.
The Juara Turtle Project is a popular attraction among visitors to Kampung Juara. Thanks to Alvin, I am staying at one of Juara Turtle Project’s volunteer houses, a more quiet and secluded accommodation in contrast to other festival-goers who are staying at various resorts along Beach games held during the surf competition . Juara’s pristine beach.
One such resort is Barat, a swanky resort with an almost Mediterranean feel. Most of Tioman Surf Festival’s visitors and participants are roomed here, since the main venue of the festival is in front of the resort’s beach. Facing the wide open South China Sea, the Barat is perhaps the most upscale accommodation one can opt for in Juara, with various seaside bungalows and even a large swimming pool.
With the festival in full swing and music blaring, the Barat seems crowded. Even so, I can imagine a stay here on any other occasion to be a peaceful and secluded experience.
KAMPUNG JUARA
Juara has the distinction of being the only village on the opposite side of Tioman Island, facing the South China Sea.
Despite the busy scenarios due to the Tioman Surf Festival, I can say without a doubt that one can expect a most peaceful and quiet stay in Kampung Juara if visiting on any other occasion.
Apart from the turtle sanctuary and a long stretch of powdery white beach, one can find the Mentawak River flowing down from Gunung Kajang, Tioman island’s highest mountain. Along with popular sports such as snorkelling and scuba diving, treks to nearby waterfalls and rock climbing are also available.
Taking advantage of my visit to Juara, I decide to give rock climbing a try near a spot next to where the Mentawak river flows out to sea. The climb, an almost 20-metre vertical wall, is particularly rewarding, with a wide sweeping view of Juara’s beach when I finally reach the top.
NOT JUST A COMPETITION
I am having a drink at the Barat’s spacious cafe when I meet Hisham Uyub, the organiser of Tioman Surf Festival. A local Tioman islander who owns and runs Tioman Cabana, a small resort at Kampung Tekek, Hisham is a surfing enthusiast who is hailed as the main man for popularising surfing on the island.
Hisham asks me how I like the festival. I compliment him and his efforts, particularly the involvement of the local communities and the green themes.
Hisham seems pleased and admits he is blessed to have the support of the island community.
“I just want people to know that you can still come to Tioman even when it’s the monsoon,” Hisham says, referring to the waves the surfers are riding.
Indeed, starting from humble beginnings, the Tioman Surf Festival is now a full-blown island festival celebration that combines sports, adventure, nature and culture. While speaking with Hisham, Rip Curl, Malaysia’s representative Moe Faisal arrives and joins in the conversation.
A loyal supporter of the festivalfor the past few years, Rip Curl, Malaysia is one of the main sponsors of the event, even printing limited edition T-shirts for the Tioman Surf Festival.
Moe also tells me that a special surfing league, the Rip Curl Pro Gong League, is being introduced during the festival and other competitions are being planned throughout the year at various surfing spots in the country. It is an ambitious undertaking, and to see this introduced during the festival shows how much the event has grown and flourished.