Learning about the diving basics

For diving, PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the leading scuba diving training organization in the world today, and they have schools all over the world. Through their webpage PADI offers an online learning package, which means that you can basically go through all of the theory online in your own home before you leave for your diving destination. This saved me a lot of time, since I was able to finish not only the theory but also the theory test before leaving Japan. Normally it will take you between 3 and 4 days to go through the diver’s course, which is valuable time particularly when you’re on holiday. However, I managed to go through the whole course in 2 days, thanks to the online theory I had taken beforehand! :)
B&J Diving Centre was the school I decided to use; it's history goes back to 1987 (they're even older than me! Haha..) and they seemed to be very professional. I had a great time with them, and can recommend this school to anyone willing to try out diving in Tioman;)

Pool exercises!

The first day my instructor Sammi showed me all the basic stuff such as how to put on the diving equipment. After that there was a lot of practical training, and all these exercises were done in a small swimming pool next to the dive center. This took most of the morning to get through, since there are a lot of skills one needs to practice. If you don’t feel comfortable being under water it might take quite some time to get a hang of it too, but don't worry if you can't make it at first; apparently it is quite normal.

Sammi ready to show me how to dive

The diving equipment is somewhat heavy.. :p

In the afternoon however, I had gone through all the pool exercises, and was ready for my first dive! Yuma tagged along with some snorkeling equipment and an underwater camera, so thanks to him I got some great photos from my first dive! 

My first dive.. Oh yeah! :p

Peace! Little too confident on my first dive, perhaps?

..And of course, a picture with my personal underwater photographer!  My boyfriend is a handyman<3! Haha..

Practicing some skills under water

A false clownfish! Look how cute they are:)

Another one.. There are loads of them!

Coral-sightsseeing

Corals and fishes

Some more interesting underwater creatures

Another picture of the underwater world

Again, I have Yuma to thank for all of my photos from this post!

As you can see there are a lot of cute fish here..

After an hour-long break I had my second dive for the day, which included practicing some more skills as well such as using a compass under water.!

The second day we went in a large group to go diving by some smaller islands about half an hour away from Tioman. I have to admit I didn’t feel too energetic that day, but once I got into the water I forgot all about that. The underwater world was so beautiful:) Since I was little my family always spent the summer holidays in my grandparents’ cottage by the sea, so I have always liked activities such as swimming and snorkeling. With the diving equipment it felt like taking snorkeling to a new level.

This day we had two dives as well, with a lunch-break in between. We saw a lot of pretty fishes and even a sea-snake. I have to admit though that the other groups were luckier; they saw a turtle as well.. 
Soon we’ll be in Bali, and hopefully we can do some diving there too. Because by finishing the diving course I now officially have a diver’s license, which means that I'm certified to dive again also in other parts of the world!

If you are going from Mersing to Tioman Island you should notice that there is only one company providing this service, and that their boat only operates once a day!

The time varies with the day, because of tidal differences etc. Going to Mersing by night bus might thus be a good idea, since you’ll have enough time to buy the ticket good time in advance and to chill out before the ferry’s departure. The price for a one-way ticket is 35 Ringgit, but note that you also have to pay a 5 Ringgit conservation charge to support the Department of Marine Park Malaysia before leaving the main land.

The harbor is about 15 minutes away from Mersing bus station by foot, so it might also be a good idea to go there straight away to make sure you're in time. They’ll provide you with a map showing the way to the harbor when you buy the ticket to the ferry at the station, so it is more or less easy to get there (not the best map though). The boat trip itself takes about 1 1/2 hour, but that really depends on where on the island you are going. We found that the island is quite long, and it can be hard to get to the other parts of the island by foot.

Edit: Apparently there is one more company that offers boat-trips to Tioman island, but it might still be hard to get a seat onboard unless you buy the ticket early. One option might be to buy the ticket online.! Good luck with your trip;)