It is the Island of the Sleeping Dragon. Historically a refuge for assorted orang laut ("sea gypsies"), pirates, merchants, and even Japanese soldiers during WWII. Immortalised by Hollywood as the setting for Bali Hai in the movie South Pacific, Malaysia's pulau Tioman has a reputation as the ideal island getaway, and has blossomed into a modern day tourist Mecca: a popular duty-free island famed for its turquoise waters and lush green peaks.

Embraced by the regional diving community as a value-for-money weekend escape, Tioman now attracts rock climbers, trekkers, naturalists, and in the monsoon season surfers and bodyboarders. Tossed into this eclectic mix are the backpacking sun-seekers, mainland families on a weekend picnic, mass tourists on a quick seafood-shop-swim holiday, high-end holidaymakers cocooned in exclusive yet rustic boutique resorts, and the occasional yachtsmen from Thailand, Singapore, or Australia.

There is no getting escaping reality: This island still draws countless visitors to its shores. But is this all that brings them there? While duty-free shopping is often touted as an undeniable attraction, both local and foreign tourists surveyed by Suzane Samy, a postgraduate researcher at the National University of Malaysia, revealed the biggest draw of Tioman is its natural environment.