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Our Survivor
Sun reporter discovers the other
side of paradise
Special thanks to STEVE PAYNE -- The
Toronto Sun
Pictures by Laurie Keith
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Reporter Steve Payne turned chicken at the
prospect of a rat dinner. He opted for beer.
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PULAU TIGA, Malaysia -- When the rat was served
up on a dinner plate, I chickened out. "No way I'm eating this,
give me a beer instead," I told the waiter.
Ah well, one less rodent on Survivor Island, where hundreds run rampant
at night. Talking of rats, it was the evil Richard Hatch who snared $1
million U.S. after connivingly fighting off his 15 rival castaways in
the mega-hit CBS TV soap opera filmed here.
If only one of the numerous poisonous sea snakes on nearby Snake Island
had swum over and bitten that naked rear end he liked to show off. A
quick fang or two and he'd have been dead in five minutes. Colleen
Haskell might have won instead. She's prettier.
Anyway, just where is this Survivor Island that gripped 50 million TV
watchers?
For one thing, its real name is Pulau Tiga and it's three tiny South
China Sea islands, 10 km off the coast of Sabah, on the Malaysian side
of Borneo. The islands were declared a national park in 1978 and its
wildlife, flora and fauna, some unique, are jealously guarded.
Getting to this paradise takes 36 hours.
First up is a flight from Toronto to Los Angeles and then on to Kuala
Lumpur via Tokyo. A further two-hour flight from the vibrant Malaysian
capital brings you to Kota Kinabalu.
CERTAINLY NOT DESERTED
Next is a two-hour drive to the town of Kuala Penyu and, finally, a
30-minute boat ride.
Survivor Island deserted? Forget it. There's a dive resort, 42 cottages,
restaurant, bar, souvenir shop, audio and games room and park offices.
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Terence Lim the on-site project manager for the
TV series "Survivor".
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Malaysian Terence Lim, 32, on-site project manager for Survivor, watched
every move of the 16 castaways during filming last spring. As the
right-hand man for Douglas Primus, a litigation lawyer in Kota Kinabalu,
who owns the resort on Pulau Tiga, Lim's job was to protect and promote
the island's interests.
He had good reason. His boss spent $1 million building the resort.
Construction on the centre, staffed by 40, began in January 1999, a few
weeks before the idea of hosting Survivor apparently came about.
According to Lim, producers first visited Pulau Tiga in March, 1999,
choosing it as the location eight months later.
"It was sheer fluke that the show came here," insists Lim,
"and the TV people had no idea we were building the resort."
Coincidence or not, the 98 film crew members took up residence in the
furnished, stilted wood chalet-style cabins. While Survivor contestants
roughed it out on two beaches less than a kilometre away, the film crews
enjoyed homes with washrooms, air-conditioning and ceiling fans.
Winding down after a hard day's work wasn't difficult for the crews
either. The resort restaurant offers Malay and Chinese food, there's
coffee, tea and soft drinks and the bar is stocked with beer.
The show's entourage paid the going cabin rental rate, $60 a night and
up. Considering the show's monumental success, it was a steal,
especially as the Malaysian government received nothing for allowing the
island's use.
Of course, the hope was that Survivor would showcase the islands and
attract droves of tourists.
So far it hasn't.
The room and board paid by the film crew -- plus cash changing hands at
the "Survivor Bar" -- represents the only time the resort has
paid its way.
"We are disappointed at the lack of bookings," concedes Lim,
adding he hopes publicity and reruns will eventually translate into
curious tourists. Until then, he adds, the resort will run at a loss.
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Steve Payne plastered in volcanic mud from a
jungle pool.
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Whatever its future, with fellow visitor and Survivor fanatic, Laurie
Keith, a Calgary travel publication editor, as my guide, I toured all
the show sites.
We strolled the jungle paths, the Pagong and Tagi tribal beaches,
examined the contestants' makeshift shelters, sat at their tribal
council deck and toured the game venues, some of which still have the
show's props.
Lim also revealed some Survivor secrets viewers missed.
When games were rehearsed by teams of local resort staff and film crew,
the locals won every time. And when contestants argued some games were
too hard, the locals proved otherwise, making some castaways look
stupid.
"The survivors had lessons on finding food and one group
unknowingly slept under a fruit tree the whole time. We didn't let
on," laughs Lim.
As for castaways Greg Buis and Colleen denying a romantic attachment,
Lim says they were as entwined as the jungle vines. "They were
always going off together. Everyone knew what was going on," he
says.
Lim says some survivors tried unsuccessfully to bribe crew and staff to
bring them food and goodies.
While the island is barely 2 km across, it's easy to get lost in the
jungle, as one crew member found when he ignored orders not to go into
the jungle alone after dark.
LOST IN THE DARK
"He used his cell phone to summon help and I was called,"
recalls Lim. "I said there was no way I was going to rescue the
fool and I told him he could stay there all night."
Realising help wasn't on its way, and, with the prospect of spending the
night with leeches, mosquitoes, monitor lizards and possibly hungry
monkeys, the lost soul finally figured out how to use his flashlight to
make his way back to camp.
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Steve Payne and Laurie Keith hike back after
visiting the jungle pool.
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Note the lack of reference to jungle snakes. Contrary to the TV show's
suggestion, poisonous snakes are rarely seen on Survivor Island. But
there is a 4-metre python who could have a crush on you.
Lim says another crew member got into more mysterious trouble. He ran
into camp one night screaming in fear, claiming he was chased by a
ghost.
"His imagination," dismisses Lim, although others, including
me, were woken by strange wailing at night.
You would think all this would turn some people violent. "The
prospect of the survivors turning to violence was seriously discussed on
a regular basis by show staff,'' Lim says.
"With $1 million on the line, violence was always a possibility,
and there is a host of ways it could have been committed, including
poisoning food." Lim says the careful watch paid dividends because,
he says, nothing serious happened.
Lim, meanwhile, is pondering an offer to team up with producers for the
next Survivor show to be filmed in the outback of Australia and
broadcast next year. But he says it's more likely he'll stick with Pulau
Tiga.
For our part, Keith and I emulated the show's cast by climbing up the
rock where Richard stood after winning, and doused ourselves in volcanic
mud in a jungle pool.
At the resort, we washed the dirt away with an ocean swim.
Later, after dinner, we sat on the end of the dock, the symphony of
jungle sounds echoing at our backs and waxed lyrical about our survival
on Pulau Tiga, if you can call it that on this idyllic haven.
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