To celebrate my birthday, we journeyed to Pulau Tioman, an island 250km from Singapore, off the east coast of Malaysia. I’ve wanted to learn to dive for so long, so we did a lesson and dove right in!

The waters were super warm, about 27 degrees, and beautifully clear. We saw a massive moray eel, pufferfish, rays and tonnes of other brightly coloured tropical fish that I don’t know the names of. We also saw turtles and one blacktip reef shark, but weren’t quick enough with the camera!

Diving was a magical experience. It put me into a zen state of mind where 45 minutes felt like 5. Upon surfacing, I experienced a sort of come down – disappointment at being back in the real world – albeit a very beautiful real world.

I’ll post later about the full trip, but for now it’s safe to say I’m hooked on diving and will definitely be planning more trips.

If you’ve been to Tioman Island or have recently learned to dive, I’d love to hear about it. Drop me a comment 🙂