Redang Lagoon Beach Resort: The Return 2013

After a great experience last year, we went back to Redang Lagoon.

When I went there last year, I was going through a difficult period of my life and needed that break so desperately. A change in environment to put things into perspective, to clear one's mind and to contemplate on things. One year on and our lives have changed dramatically. Life is stabilizing into a new routine, work is becoming more challenging and getting more involved in research activities.

Sometimes it is good to go back to a familiar place. So, we went back to Redang Island, a "paradise" island off the coast of Terengganu. We stayed at the same resort, Redang Lagoon. This time, we travelled a day earlier and stayed at Batu Buruk Chalet Resort for one night. It was an okay place as a stopover. The Batu Buruk beach is a beautiful sight but it is not suitable for swimming as the underwater currents are strong. The Resort has a swimming pool for children to dip into.

Batu Buruk Beach, Kuala Terengganu

Early the next morning, we headed towards Shahbandar Jetty in Kuala Terengganu and took the Sejahtera Ferry to Redang Island. Most resorts offer packages inclusive of ferry rides, four meals a day, accommodation and snorkeling activities. We reached Redang Island at 11am and checked into our room. The kids were so excited and headed straight for the beach. Lunch was provided for. We had rice with 3 meat dishes and 2 vegetables.




Redang Lagoon Beach Resort, Redang Island

After a short nap, we went for our first snorkeling trip in the open sea. The water was around 4 metres deep and we could see the corals underneath. We had our life jackets on and were taken there by very fit experienced lifeguards.

It was great swimming amongst the fishes. After tea, we headed for the beach again and went for a swim. It was incredible just swimming and gliding along with the fishes. Yes! there are also fishes near to the shore. We had our barbecue night and it was chicken, fish and cuttlefish. I stayed up late that night walking along the beach with my daughter, feeling the cool breeze and listening to music from nearby resorts.



Barbecue dinner at Redang Lagoon

On our second day, we rise up early at dawn prayer and watched the sunrise. After breakfast the lifeguards took us to Marine Park Fish Sanctuary for our second snorkeling session. Again, the underwater view was breath taking. It was nice to know that the people there remembered us from last year. We chatted to the owner of Redang Lagoon Resort who was such a nice lady. She used to be a lecturer but has now retired and spend nine months in a year at the island. Then, there were the lifeguards who were very funny but I couldn't understand half of their jokes. Just enjoy watching them swim around like dolphins. They are just such powerful swimmers.

Then, after lunch we had our third and final snorkeling trip. We came back to the resort and spent the rest of the afternoon lazing by the beach, swimming in the water and chasing after fishes.

Our guide showing off his swimming skills

The next day, after breakfast it was time to pack our things and check out from the resort. We had to wait for more than an hour before our ferry arrived. The journey back to the mainland took around 2 hours. I had parked my car near the Jetty at the Majlis Perbandaran carpark. It was a reasonable parking fee of RM9.80 for such a long stay. The entire package for 3 adults and 3 children cost me RM1600++ and we had to budget for the toll which was around RM30 (RM5 at KL-Karak, RM3 at Karak interchange and then RM21 for the Lebuhraya Pantai Timur), we exited at Jabor as the highway ended there. There was a bad traffic jam before Dungun due to road works. Petrol may cost around RM60 - RM70 one way and for equipment rental such as mask and life jackets is around RM10 per item. You may want to bring additional cash for souveneirs and titbits. There is a small shop at Redang Bay resort, next to Redang Lagoon where you can get drinks and basic necessities.

It was another incredible experience and we would definitely go back again in the future insyaAllah. There are many available resorts. If you are looking for a more expensive chalet type resort with your front door heading straight to the beach, you may want to check out Sari Pacific Beach Resort. Redang Lagoon Resort offers basic room with downstairs double bed and upstairs double mattress. It has own shower/toilet with solar powered hot water. (So no hot water in the morning). The chalets are traditionally made with wooden frames which is more to my liking.