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Taking in the scenic delights of Tioman island

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FLYING into Tioman Island is not for the faint-hearted, but for a romantic away-from-it-all trip the hair-raising flight is half the fun.

Sitting in the back of a twin propeller-driven Dornier as it skims the water off the shore, it seems as though the plane is heading straight for the side of a mountain as it lands.

With no visible sign of a runway in the thick rain forest the aircraft descends to little more than tree-top level.

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The runway, a tiny strip of tarmac cut out of the thick Malaysian jungle on the only piece of suitable flat land then comes into view and the plane rolls to a stop outside a wooden structure that serves as the immigration and customs post.

The Pelangi Air flight from Seletar military airport in northern Singapore takes about 35 minutes and costs S$190 (about HK$892) return. Flights also leave for Tioman from Kuala Lumpur and take about 40 minutes.

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For nervous air passengers there is a daily ferry from Mersing on the Malaysian peninsula which takes about two hours.

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