Pulau [Island] Redang

We passed our one hour boat ride surprisingly quickly, coming to the shallow seas of crystal clear blue-green waters dotted with marine areas indicating coral reefs below. Handing the wheel back to Mi, we went back out to be dazzled by the gleaming seas, still too far out to see shore.


The big rocky island shaped like a few blunted volcanoes joined together, loomed ahead of us, getting bigger and bigger as we neared it. It was the biggest island; the others were merely coral atolls that were so abundant in this part of the South China Seas. We passed by many other resorts, all primitive looking, except for the first one located in a private lagoon, the Berjaya resorts. A helicopter passed overhead, heading towards the only landing pad of the island, on a smoothed peak above the Berjaya resorts.

Finally we turned into a small bay with a short stretch of white beach surrounded by large rocky cliffs. This was the Laguna jetty at the back of the Laguna resort, fortunately, for the view of the sea was almost completely obscured by cliffs on both sides of the jetty. We later found out that the resort actually occupied the largest white sandy beach of the island, when we reached the front after a 5 minute walk through the chalets.

Having arranged to meet Mi and Eddie at 5:30pm for a private snorkeling session to see baby sharks, we waved goodbye and followed the other tourists to the lobby to check into our rooms.

The hotel was constructed on wooden stilts in the style of traditional Malay architecture. Kuala Terengganu is one of the largest Malay states of peninsula Malaysia, with over 90% of its population being Malays. The main building was made of dark oak, with high wooden ceilings and wooden floors, blending into the beach as natural as if it were part of it, yet welcoming and stately at the same time, being impressively large. The lobby contained rattan chairs and tables, and a contrasting modern marble and glass bar, where the guests were welcomed with freshly-made prune juice.

Looking out to sea from the lobby, the sweltering heat outside did not affect us as the air was partially-cooled by many fans on the ceiling. I was involuntarily taken aback once again at the immense beauty of the azure waters of the sea, fading greener as it neared shore and finally transparent upon the white sandy beach. The water was so clear that I could see the small rocks that dotted the right side of the bay, until they bottomed out on the sands below water.

Our room needed cleaning and was not available until 1pm. With an hour and a half to spare, we decided to shop for bikinis, since we had never worn a bikini before. This was perfect for a truly complete beach experience.


Having asked the concierge where the nearest convenience shop was, we were directed to a pink and green wooden two-storey building off the right side of the hotel. The More More Tea souvenir shop was on the ground floor and a karaoke and bistro was located above. We walked in and I quickly selected a striking water-patterned blue bikini while Cherlyn picked a white one with small dainty orange daisies. We were giggling and really looking forward to putting them on to stun all those beach boys out there.

Lunch was ready by then, and we helped ourselves to sumptuous Malay cuisine, although being careful to watch our waistline. Shortly, we moved off to place our luggage in our chalet beyond the central swimming pool of the hotel. Thankful at escaping from the noonday tropical heat, we rested briefly in our air-conditioned hotel room.

The room was charmingly decorated, with a king sized bed in the middle, wooden furniture and rattan chairs and tables. There were two extra twin beds on the opposite wall, a small television and large cupboards to place our clothing. The toilet and shower-room were separate, and tiled with pebbled floors. The whole room was lighted with soft golden light, which I thought would be perfect for couples on their honeymoon. Everything was great so far, except that all the tap water and drinking water of the island was slightly salty!

We changed into our bikinis, put on tanks and shorts and packed a small towel and our sunblock lotion into a small bag and set off for the recreation centre at 2pm. We rented our snorkeling set and were again pleasantly surprised to find out that we could hold onto the sets which cost only RM25 for the whole duration of the trip and have only to return them before checking out. With a mass of people already in their bikinis, swimsuits and some even in their diving suits, we walked over to the jetty in order to board the boat to our snorkeling destination.

Packing ourselves comfortably into one of the seven boats, we headed towards Lima island. “Do we really have to spit into the goggles in order to see clearly below water?” I turned to the blonde Australian girl next to me and asked with a disgusted look.


“Yes, otherwise it fogs up pretty quickly and you’d have to keep removing it to wipe the glasses.” She answered and we introduced ourselves and made friends. It wasn’t her first time snorkeling and Cherlyn and I were glad that we would have someone to watch over us.