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Kampung Nipah is located in Tioman Island. Tioman is in Pahang within the Mersing Marine Park, which contains fewer commercial islands such as Sibu Island. The primary gateway Mersing is in Johor. 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. 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. There is a RM10 (Student) and RM20 (Regular) Tioman island fee, and a RM15 (Student) or RM30 (Regular) Marine Park fee. Both must be paid separately at two little kiosks just before departing from the Mersing ferry terminal. The biggest Kampong (Village) on the Island, Tekek, will be your most likely point of entry and wether arriving by ferry or plane, transfer from there can be arranged by your resort.

How to Get There

By Ferry

Most visitors arrive by ferry from Mersing on the mainland. Bluewater Express operates the ferry services and its boats are fast and comfortable taking approx 2 hours to the first jetty in Kampong Genting. This ferry is now the only option, the smaller and faster services being cancelled because of safety concerns after a tragedy. The boat is sometimes boarded by the Malaysian coast guard but it appears that the operators' are aware of when this will take place and take pains to follow the rules only on those days. There are three services per day in each direction (sometimes only 2 during week days), but tidal issues (or lack of passengers) may cause cancellation. Bluewater Express charges RM 35 (RM 55 before 7.30 am and after 7.30pm) for an adult ticket, RM 25 for a child ticket. The timetable is variable and depends on the tide. The ferry will stop at the different Kampongs ("village" in Malay) along Tioman's west coast.

By Plane

Tioman Airport (IATA: TOD, ICAO: WMBT), also known as Pulau Tioman Airport is located next to Tekek village (Kampung Tekek). The sole commercial operator to the island's small airstrip near Tekek is Berjaya Air.

Tourist Attractions

Air Batang Village (ABC)

Air Batang is a village which is spread a couple of kms along the coast. It is full of basic accommodation charging around 50 MYR a night for a fan room. There are also more upscale accommodation with air conditioning. Mini markets are available. Restaurants in this area have low quality. Drinks are available at a few place where you can also enjoy the beautiful sunset sipping a cheap beer. Regarding snorkeling, the quality of the reef is poor on the north of ABC. Also a trip for snorkeling at Coral bay and Monkey beach does not offer much to see underwater. A 40 minute walk to Tekek airport allows you to go to the duty-free shop, where you can buy a beer as low as 2.5 MYR for a can. It is a mini-market where you can also buy other products.