Experience is a great teacher. Indeed, with age comes wisdom. But as I grow older and travel more, I notice I am no longer easily wowed. Tired of the daily grind in Singapore, I succumbed to the call of the islands. I headed to Redang, an island the Terengganu government recently decided to convert into a luxury destination. To safeguard the islands’ environment and control the number of tourists, the government will only allow the construction of five star hotels.
For years, Berjaya Resort was the only luxury option, but Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa, opened last year, is posing serious competition. The imposing chandeliers, ornate gold leaf appliqué on the furniture and majestic décor convey overstated opulence in an island setting. I turned my back on these trimmings of grandeur and, instead, laid my eyes on the deep blue aquamarine hues of the waters. My bare feet make circles in the soft powdery white sand. I look over and over again at the photos I snapped of a charming little Malaysian boy at Merang jetty. He laughed and giggled as I took his photos. It didn’t matter if I didn’t speak Malay and neither did he speak English. His giggles and big toothy smile clearly conveyed the simple joys of being a child. I remembered what I meant to be easily wowed by life.
Paul Leggot, the resort’s dive instructor, was eager to take us out and impress us with Redang’s rich marine life. Since 1991, a Marine Park has been in place to minimise the impact of human activities to sea creatures. No fishing or collecting of marine species is allowed here. Many tourists clad in orange life vests snorkel around the Marine Park. Knowing better, this seasoned dive instructor took us further out. He scouted around for turtles bobbing their heads, and then they appeared. My companions and I gushed. We counted them… one, two, three… four gentle turtles swimming gracefully near our both.
As we plunged down to snorkel, one girl shrieked, “Look it’s a barracuda!” Then four huge bluish gray fish with a protruding forehead and a flat face came our way. Paul identified these two-feet long fish as Humphead parrotfish. The seasoned British dive instructor has seen many baby sharks in these waters. But on this day, they seemed to shy away. Nonetheless, our eyes still experienced a fiesta of colors and textures with the appearance of moon wrasse with neon stripes, red breasted wrasse, several sightings of Nemo, squid and many other fish our amateur eyes failed to identify.
Later in the evening, I had one more task to experience. I heard that sparkly blue sands could be found only at night in Redang. I headed to the edge of the beach in search of a grand light spectacle. When finding none, I rubbed the moist sand with our feet several times. Finally, a tiny glimmer of blue light sparkled. This skeptical, hard-to-please adult was not all disappointed.
GETTING THERE:
Fly directly to Redang, by taking Air Berjaya (www.berjaya-air.com) from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Or fly via Air Asia (www.airasia.com) or Firefly (www.fireflyz.com.my) into Kuala Terengganu airport. Take a 45-car ride to Merang Jetty, where you can catch a 40-minute boat ride to Redang island.
WHERE TO STAY:
Pick from mid-range to luxury accommodations on the beachfront of Long Beach in Redang such as Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa (www.saripacifica.com) with rooms starting at US$350. Most resorts are closed during the monsoon season from November to February.
