Weather, work, pandemic … no matter! Nothing was going to cease me from making my third consecutive annual journey to Pulau Redang in Terengganu, apart from the lockdown legal guidelines which wanted negotiating previous.
The monsoon is historically an low season interval for holidaymakers hoping to frolic in the waters of the peninsular East Coast, however heavy rain, uneven seas and large waves routinely put paid to these plans.
Our climate has turn out to be so unpredictable over the previous few years.
My daughter went on a four-day oceanside tour to Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu a number of weeks in the past, and she or he was greeted with principally sunny skies.
I headed to Pulau Redang as a substitute, for an equally quick jaunt and, excluding a bathe one morning, daily was simply one other superb one in my most visited island, after my hometown Penang.
In the late afternoon, the waters acquired a bit uneven, however the monsoon wasn’t at full tilt but, where one needed to keep indoors.
Of course, that is in the center of October, however by someday subsequent week or December, the monsoon will likely be raging.
But the interval between October and early November opens an opportunistic window to go to the East Coast islands, particularly Redang.
Redang actually tops the choices because it has the finest upmarket lodge, the Taaras Beach And Spa Resort, and an airport that connects on to the Sultan Abdudl Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor.
As for the different islands, it’s a flight to both Kuala Terengganu or Kota Baru airports before boat rides to the resorts.
I merely needed to make this journey as a result of two mainland Chinese buddies from Hong Kong had been crossing their nation’s borders for the first time since quarantine guidelines there have been relaxed.
They had been fortunate as a result of simply two days before their departure, the quarantine rule was rescinded!
Otherwise, their vacation would have included the lengthy quarantine keep in accommodations whereas burning away treasured go away days.
But lo and behold, the quarantine guidelines ended, and so they didn’t even must take a full PCR Covid-19 check as per their pre-departure necessities.
Travellers often keep away from going to the East Coast islands throughout monsoon season however the climate in the previous few years have been so unpredictable.
I used to be happy as punch that I may provide two buddies a retreat they craved for and witness their expressions of jubilation once they swam with the pleasant turtles simply off the lodge shoreline.
It was a transcendental expertise for them, and so they regarded it as a “once in a lifetime” prevalence, however sadly, going to Redang is one thing we frequently take with no consideration as a result of it’s at all times accessible to us.
At the finish of the day, as we sipped our beers from the seaside bar, watching the beautiful sundown, we agreed that our greed and irresponsibility have broken Mother Nature and scarred this stunning marine ecosystem and its waters.
My buddies merely couldn’t think about swimming in crystal clear waters surrounded by scores of fishes, describing the expertise, “like swimming inside an aquarium, except this is real”.
We seemed round the seaside and realised we had the complete island to ourselves, other than a number of friends.
“In China, during summer, the popular beaches would be swamped with thousands of people and here, this incredibly beautiful beach with lovely sand is near empty. Malaysians are so lucky!” he mentioned, the irony clearly not misplaced.
Indeed, we’re. We’re really blessed to have certainly one of the finest seashores and waters in the world.
The author swimming with vibrant fish in Redang, where the marine is solely superb.
As we left Redang for Subang, he made a confession, saying he stopped posting photos and movies of our journey on his social media as a result of he may sense that his buddies from China had gone from being envious to jealous!
A number of weeks later, I texted my daughter, who was having fun with herself in Pulau Perhentian.
“Got rain there ah?” I requested curiously. Her reply got here quick, “What rain?” and despatched me an image to show her response.
And then I requested if it was higher than Redang, and she or he retorted: “Nah. Nowhere near Redang.”
