Pulau Redang

Sun-kissed beaches, swaying coconut trees and crystal clear waters - it's Pulau Redang, a scenic island off Kuala Terengganu on the East Coast of Malaysian Peninsula. Right when we stepped onto the island, I knew we made the right choice of destination for our open water diving course. (Yeah, we're now certified open water divers!)



More than half a year ago, when I mentioned about wanting to get a diving license, Kim expressed interest too. But it wasn't until May that we started searching for information. Being poor ryuugakusei's as we are, it was obvious that we jumped at the most affordable (ie. cheapest) package. RM1240 for accommodation 4D3N and the open water diving course.


Due to our early flight, I had to fly to Kuala Lumpur the day before and crash at my cousin's place. Taking an early flight in the morning (my fourth flight in the week), we arrived at Kuala Terengganu by eight, where our bus awaited us. From there, it was another half an hour's bus ride to Merang and an hour's boat ride to the island. Car, airplane, bus, boat; four modes of transportation in one morning!


This, is the sunrise which we almost missed because we were told that sunrise was at seven. Luckily, we decided to get up thirty minutes earlier.

So, where're the fishes, you say. Truth is, the photos we took with our rented underwater camera were crappy. Besides, buoyancy alone got our hands full. Staying steady and shooting photos were more challenging than walking on a tightrope. So, sadly, all of our photos turned out to be more like "abstract art" than "photos" - all off-focus and motion-blurred.

I've no intention of posting our underwater photos here. Neither do I think words alone would justify what we could see at 18m underwater. All I can say is - the underwater world is an oversized aquarium. Whatever you see in an aquarium, they're a few times bigger down there. It's as alive as any metropolitan city! In the eyes of a fish, some of the corals are as big as skyscrapers. There is Roppongi Hills too - home to the better-off fishes, where the corals are more extravagant. Somewhere further away from the outskirts of the metropolis, lies a poker-faced morris eel, who has retired from the rat-race of city life a long time ago and now leads the life of a hermit under a rock. There, a sea cucumber shares his backyard.

Before the next diving trip - which I hope is going to be soon - I want an underwater camera and a strobist!