Day 3 - Monday 9 January 2017

Booking.hell........The purpose of staying in Mersing for one night is to make sure I catch the ferry to Tioman Island today but I needn’t have worried. Arriving in Mersing mid afternoon left plenty of time to get to the jetty for the 5pm service. When I arrived at Mersing Hotel yesterday they mentioned that the departure times varied due to the tides. It was only confirmed to me at the jetty about the 7am morning service being the only departure so I must get it right. But I don’t. My clock was still set at +7 hours GMT instead of the +8 here. That crazy word again; I assumed I had changed the setting. So that’s it; no departure today. Two things need to be done now. One is to contact them on Tioman and the other is to find another room here. When I do call the chalet I am advised to contact Booking.com but I know it’s too late to amend the booking though them. All I can hope for is a bit of understanding at the chalet. However, given the mess I got into in Singapore I’m not at all hopeful that I won’t be charged for the missed booking. At the point of writing I’ve lost faith with the online booking system and it’s only because I’m in a strange country, I decided to use it. Well we’ll just have to see how this story ends. It’s time for some breakfast. That consists of coffee and dumplings.
Bluewater Hotel........Google Map. My attention now turns to finding alternative accommodation. As mentioned before there is building work going on in the Mersing Hotel. In its present condition, I wouldn’t recommend it to a church mouse but when fully renovated I’d recommend it to the church cat. As there are other options in the main street leading to the jetty I start making enquiries. Of the three I visit, all would be an improvement on Mersing Hotel but the one I select is Bluewater Hotel which just happens to be owned by the ferry company. Well thank you Booking.com for not guiding me here before. As well as offering me a much better room for a few ringgits more, I can now buy my ferry tickets as well. I take a room with a view overlooking the river lined with fishing boats. I’ll repeat that...a room with a view!
Time and tide waits for no man........When I check the ferry schedule, the departure tomorrow is the same time as today, 7am. Thereafter it moves to later times according to the tides. With no departure after 5pm you can see that with one service per day at the moment, a point being reached, as has just happened, with a 5pm departure followed by a 7am departure the next day. As I’ve mentioned many times before there are always ups and downs on these tours but you can guarantee you never get bored. Even today, which is clearly a dot day, I’m looking forward to enjoying some respite in relative comfort.

Cat food........It’s still only midday and time for an early lunch but with so much appetising food available Katoon finds some reason to reject it either through smell, colour, taste or freshness. When all she finds is soup at a Chinese noodle kitchen it’s the final straw and I decide to eat alone from now on. I wouldn’t give it to the cats that exist here in abundance. However I get more sustenance at a bakery where I order pastry and green tea. The afternoon is spent in the room out of the heat of the day and mighty relieved I am too.

Mersing beach........Google Map. Around 5pm we decide to go for a stroll. Mersing has a beach which is popular in the cooler evenings. At 6pm I order fish and rice near the jetty which isn't too bad but Katoon won’t eat anything pre-cooked. Along the beach tables have been set up to sell snack food and Katoon finally finds something she can eat. On the way back we do a little shopping to take to the island tomorrow. Back at the room it’s getting dark and they’ve laid tables out along the riverfront. With the river bridge lit up in the background it sure looks inviting but I think I’ll turn in early. Something I read on an office door at the jetty sticks in my mind. It reads ‘The morning is great after yesterday’s failure’, to which I can add, ‘it provides an opportunity not to make the same mistakes again’. Let’s hope so. Next Page.