At the other outlying dive sites, there are many beautiful swim-throughs. Moray eels and groupers are common. There are also several wrecks that attract schools of barracudas.

Tioman Reef Divers have well-maintained dive equipment, good air, and very experienced and professional dive masters. Contact Reeno or Akemi at reeno@tm.net.my, or see www.tiomanreefdivers.com.

Finally, with my friends, we gathered courage to go on a snorkelling trip to the coral island just off Tioman. In our tiny, one-motor speedboat (the boat was shaking furiously), we, with life jackets, plunged into the deep, deep water. The two big rocks on the surface were colourful coral reefs below. Fishes of many species were swimming below and even towards me. There were many jellyfish, but also pretty pink and orange corals and scary black urchins. We later proceeded to other places, but what was memorable was when we accompanied a local abang (brother) to look for turtles. We found two of them and a small reef shark. For a novice snorkeller, it really made my day.

The captain was great -- he took us to several nice dive spots, and we did some scuba and some snorkeling. We saw the usual fish, but also sea turtles, which I had never seen, and lots of rays. The areas were not crowded at all. We took some good pictures, including one of me chasing a turtle!

Normally the snorkeling trips start from 9 a.m. onwards. If you only have a couple of people, you can join a big group where they go by a bigger boat. However, it is more flexible if we have the whole boat all to ourselves, and of course more fun too!

First, it took us around 20 minutes to get from Berjaya Resort jetty to our destination - Tulai Island. It is a secluded island with sandy beaches along the coast (well not so secluded when boats full of snorkellers come and ruin the tranquility). The sea here is crystal-clear. The turquoise sea is sparkling under the sunlight and I can say it is truly a tropical paradise here.

The corals here are all right, not too impressive but at least it is not all dead corals that we are seeing. The marine life here is plentiful. We also stopped at a few 'no-name' islands and later headed for lunch at Salang Village.

Next, we went to the Marine Park. It was a total disappointment. The water there are murky and there are not many varieties of fish. Not recommended at all. The boatman told us that the murky water is due to high tight.

Our last stop was Renggis Island, an island that looks like a broccoli! It is only two minutes boat ride away from Berjaya Resort. The surrounding coral is quite nice, with an abundance of marine life. However, the other side of the island has strong current and is a little bit too turbulent for snorkelling.

We came back at about 4:30 p.m., tired and sun-burnt! The snorkelling sights here are not really that great, but if you don't hold too high expectations, it is not too bad of an experience.