Redang Island

Redang Island is one of the many islands in the Malaysian archipelago that exists in South China Sea in North East of Malaysia. It can be reached only through a ferry ride which is an enjoyable activity in itself. If you manage to strike a conversation with the ferry driver, you can hear stories of the various big and small islands that you pass by, stories of war, stories of human spirit and stories of adventure. As you move away from the shore of Terrengganu, the water starts taking deep hues of blue dotted with lush green islands that look like little dots from a distance. This is exactly how you see them from Palau Redang. (Pulau is the local word for Island.) Periphery of Redang Island is blessed with white sand and it is a pleasure to walk on this white sand leading to blue waters. If you choose to stay at high-end hotels like Taaras Beach & Spa Resort you can look at these pristine beaches from your room. We stayed at Redang Island Resort and the view was all green of islands sandwiched between the blue sky and blue of the sea. There is a small jungle trail that takes you from one part of the island to another through a thick forest in about 40 minutes or so. Takes some effort but totally cuts you off the civilizations and all you hear is crickets.

Snorkelling in Redang Island The biggest attraction of Redang Island is the opportunity it offers for snorkelling. The colourful seabed of South China Sea is a paradise and you can snorkel at a stretch for many days without ever getting tired. Small boats pick you up from the beach side and take you deep inside the South China Sea where the patches of colourful corals can be seen. This was first snorkelling experience and I still remember the awe on my face when I first saw the colourful sea bed. There were giant flower like structures, ship wrecks, sea cucumbers and corals that looked like overgrown grass. As I moved around with my orange coloured rubber tube ties to our boat, I was totally lost in the world of corals. No amount of documentaries can prepare you for the experience that you get when you are floating over corals. Corals reflect their colour in the sun shine so it is always good to go snorkelling when the sun is shining, between breakfast and lunch is a good time. If you do not want to go deep inside the sea, there are many corals that let you snorkel closer to the beach. You would see lots of local families’ snorkelling and I was surprised to see children as young as 3-4 years old were snorkelling independently though they were surrounded by the required safety gear. Redang Island is very popular with local population for snorkelling and is rising up on the international attention.