Having taken my 3 Star kayaking cert last year, doing things like going on multiday kayaking expeditions, braving the wind and sea have always been on my bucket list. So, when my kayaking coach, Teck Koon, invited me on this trip I said yes without hesitation. This was my first real open-sea kayaking experience, as the waters in Singapore are relatively calm. In Singapore, usually the longest route we get to do is round Pulau Ubin, which is a 21km paddle around a small island. Although it's quite an adventure initially, the charm fades off after you've done a few rounds around it. This time, the plan was to kayak around Tioman island with a total distance of about 60km. We broke up the expedition into 3 days (route below).
Day 0
We spent a whole half a day getting to Tioman. As you may know, Tioman is on the east side of peninsula Malaysia. We chartered a small van to fetch the 12 of us from Marsiling MRT, cross the customs, and to Mersing fery terminal. From there we took a private bumboat which belonged to our hosts on Tioman island. We also met our hosts, Uncle Ross, Aunty Aishah and their youngest son Zhafran who went kayaking the whole way with us! the boat ride there took about 3h+. as we got closer to the southern part of the island, we were greeted by 2 huge pinnacles, the were known as dragon horn. They are 2 large granite structures very visible from the southern side of the island. They are quite famous for rock climbing, about 300-400m high walls. They can be accessed from Mukut village which is where we were based at for most of the trip. After we reached, we had a short lunch and rested for the rest of the day in our accoms. While some of them went out to practice their kayaking, others just chilled at the beach or explored the village. There was only 1 small shop in the middle of the village. The phone/data signal there is also quite weak at some parts and Zhafran recommended Celcom for better signal around there. After some walking around, I just chilled at the beach to rest for the coming days of kayaking.
Day 1
On the first day of the expedition, we woke up at 630 for breakfast and set off at 730. the sun had just risen at around 645 so we started our journey as the sun rose. The boats we used were fibreglass slalom kayaks and we had 2 single kayaks and 2 double kayaks making up a total of 12 kayakers in the water. I was in a double with my buddy Sheryl. It took some time for me to get used to using the slalom as the ones we used didn't have a proper footrest.
It was my first time paddling anywhere out of Singapore and I was super excited! the waters everywhere was super clear and I could easily the corals 4-5m below us! The beautiful mountains to our left also made the whole experience incredibly enjoyable. We were in awe of the rock formations and how the massive waves, which many of us have not seen before, pound onto them endlessly. The first day was very relaxing as it was only about 15-16 km in total. in about 3 or 4 hours, we reached our destination, earlier than most expected.
Our destination was a beach called Juara. It's a long stretch of beach in a crescent shape which forms a bay around the area!
That day, we experienced some kayaking that isn't found anywhere in Singapore. You see, Juara is located on the east side of Tioman, facing the South China Sea. Monsoon season was picking up at this time and this year, it came slightly early causing unexpectedly big waves, the largest of which came up to 2m! Everyone in our group had at least 3-star kayaking cert, some even 4-star, 5-star and even coaches, which had experience with these surf conditions before. However, most of us 3 stars never kayaked outside of Singapore before and never experienced anything more than a 1-foot wave. Judging that we were pretty competent kayakers, our expedition leader gave the call to give us a sneak peek 4-star lesson on the spot. He taught us how to approach the shore safely as a fleet and how to maneuver through the waves as we approach. 2 of our experienced kayakers went ashore first to look for safer spots and the rest of us would then follow one by one. As my buddy and I approached the shore, we started to backpaddle as soon as the wave behind us was near. Once our kayak got over the wave's crest, we sprinted forward, chasing after the wave that just passed us as we were taught. Then, we simply repeat the process until we made it to the beach where we got off quickly to avoid the next wave pounding into us. It sounds simple, but the first time doing it, it was really not. If the timing of it was off by too much, the wave would crash into you from behind and capsize you and there's not much you can do about it. Luckily for us, we all made it safely to the beach!
As w had reached our destination much earlier than expected, we continued along with our "4-star crash course". One by one, timing the waves, we practised going out and coming back onto the beach again with wave conditions. We did that until all of us were tired and pretty much done. Which was about half and hour only, as it was immensely tiring to sprint out and back in many times in a row. After that, we brought our boats to the beach side resort and cleaned them thoroughly of the sand that inevitably went in.
We had a relaxing lunch after that and went to our respective rooms to rest. We stayed at a place called Tamara resort which is a really nice and cosy place situated just by the beach. Most of us were quite tired, but Jessie, Zhafran and I didn't have enough of the waves yet! We played at the beach for another hour. Call me a noob, but I had never experienced any sort of strong waves before. For me this was my first time experiencing such an incredible power of nature. Although only 2m high, when I was down there it was touring above me and stirred up feelings of both fear and excitement in me. What a wonderful feeling :) We tried body surfing the waves which was really fun. But because these were dumping waves, it only lasted for like 3 seconds before we were tumbled about in the waves.
After that, uncle Ross arranged for us to visit a museum and a nice water fall on the island!
Day 2
On the second day of kayaking, we got up early in the morning at 5 am and got ready to leave by 6. The waves at the beach were as big as yesterday, so we had to find the window between the waves where it wasn't as big. We got out smoothly boat by boat until the third last one where our friends, Mike and Nan Lan encountered a huge wave with bad timing. They were completely swept up by it and capsized. We then spent a good 15 mins just to try to retrieve the kayak which was being pushed up and down the beach by a continuous series of big waves. Eventually, we retrieved the boat. After a short break from the exhausting experience, we tried again to set off. Luckily for me, the waves died down when I was attempting to set off. Just launching off took us about 30 minutes due to the big waves around the beach.
On this day, our total distance was about 21 km, which isn't usually terribly hard. But as we were fighting against the current all the way, it was quite a challenge. Adding on to that, I also took the single kayak today as I wanted to experience the freedom of a single kayak in these waters. It was fine at first, nothing in particular was very different from the double. But as the hours dragged on, 4/5 hours into the trip, I really started to feel the strain of being on a single kayak. A double kayak had the advantage of 2 people paddling one boat, albeit slightly larger boat, which makes it much easier to paddle long distances. Furthermore, one paddler may rest or hydrate themselves while the other paddles on. Being on a single, you had to paddle all on your own and having the current punish you for any rest that you may take. Which was very demoralising everytime I had to take a short water break/toilet break or just to snack. Nevetheless, I pulled through till the end of the day to Salang, which was our rest stop for the night.
We reached at about 3-4 pm, but everyone was already exhausted from the long paddling that day. We all went ahead to rest in our rooms. But as always, a few of us didn't have enough yet and we went out to snorkel in the bays of Salang. The water was clear and there was some coral on the right side of the jetty.
Day 3
On the third and last day of the expedition, we got up at 4 am before the sun had risen. the plan was to experience a night kayaking which was prohibited in Singapore by law. No non-motorised boats were allowed to operate from 7 pm to 7 am in Singapore. Moral was low that morning as we had a gruelling day before and expected an equally tough day ahead, if not an even tougher one as the estimated distance was supposed to be 27 km today.
As we paddled, the ocean was exceedingly calm compared to in the day. The current was mainly on our side, hence we made good pace while the sun was still down. along the way, we also saw bioluminescence! It was quite strong, lighting up our paddles with every stroke. Sadly it couldn't be caught on camera. It was a really interesting experience! Kayaking at night time was so calming. There's something about being outdoors at night that makes it magical, almost dreamlike. Whenever I hike in the dark I get the same feeling. It just feels as though you're in limbo just repeating the motions over and over, feels like time doesn't exist. The next thing you know, 2 hours have passed and the sun is up!
We were very lucky to have had great weather the whole trip. Even on the last day, we experience only a slightly drizzle which gave us the most wonderful rainbow!
We planned to set off early on this day so that the current would be on our side for as long as possible. And we took advantage of that as much as we could. In the end, it took a mere 5 hours to complete the 24 km that we did today, as compared to the 6 hrs for 21km on the second day. We all made it back to Mukut village safely and in high spirits!
Day 4
On day 4, we stayed in Tioman for 1 last day of fun activities like snorkeling and waterfall hiking!
But the best was saved for the last. Our chef cooked up a wonderful seafood FEAST!
Finals Thoughts
I think that this has been a very big eye-opener for me in terms of what I could experience while kayaking. I had gotten bored of the usual kayaks around Pulau Ubin, Sembawang, Pasir Ris and this trip has definitely re-ignited some of my lost interest in the sport. From crystal clear seas to glowing bioluminescence, 2m waves crashing onto you to double rainbows after a rain. What an eventful trip it has been. Hopefully, in 2023 I would be able to get my 4-star (Sea) certification and who knows, maybe even level-1 coaching!
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