LOCATION:
Tulai Island is located off the northeastern coast of Tioman. It is also often referred to as Coral Island by tourist boat operators that offer daily excursion to this island. The journey will take about 30 minutes on speed boats from Salang village. There should be boat operators departing from Tekek or Air Batang as well, but the journey will take slightly longer time.
DESCRIPTION:
I arrived here from my dive at nearby Chebeh Island. Most dive operators will make in-between dive stops for about an hour before departing for the second dive of the day. While there is another sandy beach area on Tulai Island called Tedau Bay which is also known for dive breaks, I think you should insist on stopping at this one.
Actually, the name of the beach is Pantai Pasir Panjang (or Long Beach). I can’t blame the locals for coming up with such unoriginal name because there are also Long Beach(es) in Pulau Redang and Pulau Perhentian.
A lady who was in the dive trip made a remark, “Does the water really look like that?” when seeing the amazing colours of the ocean as the sweltering sun shines through it. Indeed, this beach is extremely beautiful. The sands are surprisingly white, and of course, powdery soft. Any angle that I see it, I only could think of flawless beach scenes that are commonly epitomized by postcards and travel magazines.
The water was enticing enough that I couldn’t help myself but dipping in the crystal clear water for a quick bath. There are also some good patches of coral on the beach, hence snorkeling boats are commonly seen here. For better snorkeling experience, I strongly recommend the nearby Malang Rock which is accessible by boat.
