My Adventure in Pulau Redang

What a trip! 4 nights and 5 days of bliss. With minimal mobile network coverage, you certainly realise that the bloody battery operated toy is a nuisance.

I took the morning MH flight from KLIA at 7:30am and landed in Kuala Terengganu airport at 8:20am. It is journey that I have done frequently over the past few years. Upon collecting my dive gear, we headed out to the waiting driver for the next short drive to Merang jetty. The boat ride is about 1:30 hours and is quite pleasant. As you near the island, you start to see the clear turquoise coloured water. Amazing.... The resorts are mainly on Pasir Panjang. There are several variety of accomodation to suite all level of travellers. It ranges from your basic hut or chalet to a higher end hotel like the Berjaya Golf & Spa. Most of the resorts caters to the average tourists like students and families.

For divers, there are few preferred resorts. I stayed at the Coral Redang Resort, a 10 year old resort that has hardly changed over the years. I was first there in 1996 and did not go back again till 2004. Surprised.....the resort remained the same...hardly changed and the charm remains. It is a clearly a resort for divers, and adult holiday makers that want to have a quiet time. There is no TV in the room and only a projector screen by the Cicak Bar. Even that, the screen is seldom down. Music is played throughout the day in the background. The guests either dive throughout the day, or laze by the beach....soaking in the quiet and sun. The sand is almost pure white....with fine sand. The colour of the water amazes me. As many times I have come to this part of the island....it still has so much that I have yet to discover. Down along the busier stretch of the beach, people are busy gearing up for trips to the Marine Park.

If you like the busy atmosphere, the Redang Beach Resort, Redang Pelangi Resort, Redang Bay Resort and Redang Lagoon Resort is definitely for you. It is constantly humming with activities....football, volleyball and even beach jazzexercise at Laguna Resort.

A diving enthusiast, the world beneath the sea in Redang is absolutely beautiful. The waters of Redang is calm and currents are not that severe. Thus, diving in Redang is very easy and relaxing. The visitors to the reef is as surprisingly interesting. The beauty can only be seen with your own eyes.....no amount of photos can tell anyone the beauty underneath. In one of the dives, we swam with the sharks. Then, in between the rocks, a 2 metre Moray Eel lay resting. And for me swimming closely to a 1.5 metre wing span Stingray made me at loss of words. Mother nature is certainly amazing. As a keen diver now, it is sad that many of us still do not appreciate nature and continuously take it for granted. The inhabitants of the reef is suffering from the impartial attitude of humans towards the reefs. We are polluting our waterways......kiling the reef. Operators on the island are taking for granted that the reef will be there forever. Most of them are out there making a quick ringgit. We can only hope, and in other ways, hopefully to educate all that our reefs are one of the best in the world.....and that we should protect them. Every dive into the waters is amazing. No single dive is the same.

To add a spin to the variety of dives, night diving certainly opens another world to you. As night falls, the day time visitors to the reefs take shelter. You will greeted by the shrimps, crabs, concs and other night creatures. At the same time, you wonder.....who is being watched :-) Pulau Redang....for sure....a haven for divers.

I will definitely be back. I have planned for another longer trip this coming July. ....bliss....the sea breeze.....