TIOMAN
Tioman is in Pahang ("East Coast") within the Mersing Marine Park, which contains fewer commercial islands such as Sibu Island. The primary gateway Mersing is in Johor ("South").
Tioman's beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie South Pacific as "Bali Hai". In the 1970s, Time magazine selected Tioman as one of the world’s most beautiful islands. The densely forested island is still sparsely inhabited. Also it is surrounded by numerous white coral reefs, making it a haven for scuba divers from around the region.
Already the most commercially developed of Malaysia's eastern islands, a controversial RM 40 million marina project for Kampung Tekek, complete with 175 m cargo jetty, now threatens to speed up the pace of development on Tioman considerably. The marina is finished and the jetty is under construction. However, visitors with an aversion to such progress can avoid this part of the island and stay elsewhere without any impact.
Monitor Lizards roaming the village in Salang).
You will find enormous monitor lizards across the island and in the kampongs you will often see them sifting through the rubbish piles looking for food. There is also an abundance of domestic cats.
Rubbish control on the island is still in a development stage, apart from in some of the resorts. So expect some less than pristine circumstances, but there is no doubt that at June 2011 places such as Air Batong are making progress on this front, encouragement required.