Getting Away - The Redang Trip Friday, May 23, 2008
Joyce, Lauren, Yenli and I had an early dinner in 1 Utama, very much earlier than the appointed time of departure. At about half past 11, we were joined by Kwo Kuang and E Guy (who were carrying their own share of luggage). After the previous night's conversation with Eelaine about overpacking, I had expected her to arrive with her entire house. Mana tau, she actually brought less things than I did. Before long, the 30-odd seafarers were soon idling around the bus depot, waiting for the bus to leave. At 11.55, the bus trundled away, only to stop at a 7-11/McDonald's rest stop, for us to stock up on supplies. After buying enough snacks to feed and army and their cats, we re-boarded the bus, ready for the long haul. 7 hours passed by rather quickly, and we were soon on the Kuala Terengganu jetty, a bit worse for wear, but ready to taste the tangy scent of the open sea. The boat which ferried us across the open ocean was bedecked with an open area, where most of the guys stood, only to get drenched by the waves and drizzle.
Lauren, Yenli, Joyce
Waiting impatiently at the bus stop Li Theng, Sue Ann, Yomae, Siok Kin! This was before everyone started dozing off The much required toilet stop
Our mode of transport to the island... ...the BatBoat. It was rather cramped in the BatBoat So the guys decided to brave the weather outside Kian Siang and Kohilan share a special moment Happy and wet people The pensive Johnson
The boat which ferried us across the open ocean was bedecked with an open area, where most of the guys stood, only to get drenched by the waves and drizzle. 45 minutes was all it took for the worthy fellow to get us across to Redang Bay Resort, and the first words that Kohilan uttered was, "Wei. This place dem seteh* wei." We unpacked our luggage, and checked into the rooms, for a short rest, before lunch was served, ala camp-style, where everyone ate together at long tables. Joyce and I decided to forgo the snorkeling, and just strolled around the beach and (attempted) to build a sandcastle, while the others played volleyball and snoozed in the sun. Sadly, the day was rather cloudy, and nobody really likes cloudy weather when they're on a beach resort. Eelaine and Joyce were rather keen on the Banana Boat ride, so we managed to gather 7 people who were willing to be towed around the open sea on an inflatable raft. After the initial pass, we were soon thrown into the sea, with the girls screaming "I swear hes going to kill us." On the second pass, we managed to survive the treacherous curves, and were rather proud of ourselves. The boatmen gave us a peace sign from afar, and we were clapping ourselves on the back about how great we were until we realized that it wasn't the peace sign he was giving; apparently he was signalling that two people had flown off from the back of the banana. We turned around to see Eng Teck and Matthew missing, and saw two floating specks several metres away. Rather fun, that.
Seteh resort, according to Kohilan Lunchhour, ala NS Camp
Johnson soars like an eagle Cloudy weather Even more cloudy weather
Joyce, next to some rocks Kwo Kuang and Sue Ann build some genitalia around Yomae They like to get close to genitalia
The afternoon quickly passed, and dinner was served the same way as lunch. Now, I had planned a surprise cook-out dinner on the beach for Joyce, since it was our second year anniversary, and everything started out rather well. I had packed spaghetti and all the works, ready to be cooked with the mess tin and solid fuel tablets that I hid in my carry case. The fuel tablets were burning merrily, the ham was sitting, waiting to be cooked, and the sauce was ready to be heated up. Things took a turn for the worse, however, when the pan I was using caught fire.
Ok, I don't know how that happened, it just did.
When I finally called Joyce to meet me on the beach, the pan had turned into a blackened lump of tin, and dinner had to be served cold. Oh well, I guess its the thought that counts *shrug*. More walking around for me and Joyce, while the others broke out the bottles, and began to have the time of their lives. Since it had been a long day, Joyce and I retired early, but I managed to wake up at about 5 a.m. to take a solitary walk along the now quiet beach.
Just before dinner
Its nice to be hugged in Redang... ... and carried as well
The first activity the next day was snorkeling, off the Marine Park. We were ferried along in an ancient fishing trawler (ok, it just looked like one) to another island about 1/2 hour away, where we donned our goggles and peered at weird looking fish. Kwo Kuang made his debut foray into a large body of water, and also managed to survive looking at schools of fish without drowning. When we came back, it was just in time for lunch, and an afternoon siesta. I was approached by Zhao Heng in the afternoon, who needed a kayaking partner. I was game for it, and we started off rather gung-ho. When we were halfway through, however, we met the people returning from our target island, who kindly informed us that it was still an extremely long way to it. Not wanting to die in the open sea, Zhao Heng and I decided to turn back, and paddled to the beach, where we collapsed in exhaustion. Another Banana Boat ride later, and we were all just relaxing on the beach before the group photo, where I made full use of the tripod I had carried along. Dinner was soon served, and we fell to with great gusto. Han Yang complained about the lack of chicken, so we walked over to the 'famous' chicken stall to get Han Yang's chicken fix. Joyce and I walked around the beach again, this time, to get souvenirs, and take photos of the scenery. That took a surprisingly long time, and by the time we were done, it was already quite late. The guys were already ready to watch football, and there was another table that had loads of bottles on it, so, again, we took leave earlier, and went to bed.
Me Me and Zhao Heng start off on our wondrous adventure The Beach "The Lucky Man", according to Eelaine Me and Joyce
Me and Joyce, yet again...
I jump slower than the normal human I'm not too sure whats going on here, though The Compulsory Group Photo Baywatch Guard and Tommy
Me and Joyce
Joey looks sheepish It costs RM9 Taken at night The other resorts...
The More More Teahouse Yet another resort
Also taken at night...
Sunrise
Sunrise on the jetty
Sunrise on me and Joyce on the Jetty
The next morning saw us out early, and we were asked to pack our stuff and check out by 9.30. We boarded the boat at 11.45 a.m., and we were soon (again) on the Kuala Terengganu pier. After the bus had travelled for an hour or so, we stopped by a floating restaurant for lunch. The food came at the speed of a snail, and the teh ais was more like just air ais (maybe thats how they prefer it, over there), but still, it was a rather pleasant stop. We boarded the bus again, and this time, it was a straight shot to 1 Utama, stopping for an hour at a McDonalds (again) for dinner. Before we knew it, the bus had left, and the trip was over.
The Rhinoceros Beetle, made popular by Kian Siang
Leaving the shore
On the boat (spot our group) Kian Siang gets retarded Kuala Terengganu!
The Floating Restaurant (on stilts)
The Air Ais (with colouring) Joyce and Sue Ann
Me and Sue Ann
I can still feel the fine sand under my feet and the smell of salt on the air, though.
Guess the memories won't be over just yet.
*seteh - colloquial Indian term which encompasses a whole range of meanings, strange, weird, teruk, etc.
For more photos on Facebook, click below!
Posted at 03:18 pm by IsaacCheah
 | | | Soon Seng
May 25, 2008 06:40 PM PDT
Jackie: Haha.. thank you, thank you.. Actually, I just kept on adjusting the camera settings and snapped away, until I got the pic I wanted.. thats how I ended up with 400+ pics... | |
| | | Jackie
May 25, 2008 02:47 PM PDT
The pictures are great!! "WOW" and the jumping shots, as well as the night pics...Pretty cool! U've got to teach me..hehehe.. | |
| | | Soon Seng
May 23, 2008 08:55 PM PDT
Lauren: That one was teh ais ler.. And, I ordered.. haha..
Noler, just stories to tell when we have breakfast! | |
| | | lauren
May 23, 2008 08:31 PM PDT
the air ais damn geli weiii!! who ordered?
and what weird stories you're supposed to tell me??? | |
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