Before earlier this year at Sipadan and Mabul islands, my previous diving trip was Redang, way back in 2005. After the very first dive at Mabul island, I realized how much I actually missed diving and promised that I would do it perhaps 4 times this year.

I guess I over achieved, it is June and I’ve went on 4 diving trips already. This time at Redang island, it was a trip organized by Terence to con our buddy Horng in getting his PADI Open Water certification.

turtle at Redang
Terence chasing the green turtle

Together with Haze, Kim, Kerol, FA, Joe (went to Tenggol with), and dive instructor Edvin from OceanXplorer, we started our journey just after midnight from KL to Kuala Terengganu on Friday.

The drive took a little less than 7 hours, which proved to be a bit of a mistake in scheduling. As our boat does not leave till past 9 am, we ended up having to spend over 2 hours at Kuala Terengganu for breakfast. Should have left at perhaps 1:30am instead to optimize the journey and catch more sleep prior.

haze, FA, kim, kerol at Merang Jetty
Haze, Kerol, FA, and Kim. bottom rigth: 2 vagabonds found on the boat

In contrast with the departure point to Tenggol at Dungun where there were perhaps half a dozen people heading to the island, Merang Jetty was absolutely packed. There were tourists representing all continents, a cacophony of foreign languages and various local accents served as white noise while we board our relatively comfortable boat.

A little less than an hour later, we arrived at Redang.

KY & Haze, Joe with his cam, Horng and Edvin
KY & Haze, Joe, Horng getting his PADI certification by Edvin

While Tenggol was a hidden paradise, Redang felt more like a well oiled machine all prep up for tourists.

Boat load of people being herded to the resort registration counter like sheep by hounds, tractors hauling your luggage, loud PA system announcing snorkeling time, and huge dining area not entirely unlike school canteen.

Eagle Ray at Redang island
freaking lucky Horng, Eagle Ray on his first ever dive

Having said that, while I don’t particularly like the commercialization of the island, it does have advantages some can’t live without.

There’s projector with Astro showing world cup, convenient store, pub by the beach with dance floor and all sorts of alcohol, and even eateries offering pretty awesome Cantonese noodle and lor mai kai (glutinous rice with chicken).

Terence, Horng, KY, Joe geared up for diving
Terence, Horng, KY, Joe,  diving at Redang on 2nd day

I did 5 dives at Redang, the first was the shore dive in conjunction with Horng’s very first compressed air breathing experience in the ocean. We saw a magnificent spotted eagle ray!

nemo, cleaner fish
puffer fish, nemo’s cousin, and cleaner fish on my fins

The second dive we did was with the resort’s dive operator at the site just a couple minutes from the beach. The dive turned out to be pretty forgettable, not a whole lot to see and a tad too many divers at the same time. I did manage to get some cleaner fish to service my fins though 😀

Luckily quite a lot of people left the island on Sunday (our 2nd day). The lesser crowd was a blessing, and though not related, the diving was much better too.

blue fish, more nemo, moray eel
blue coral fish, moray eel, more nemo, blue spotted sting ray

Our second dive at Tanjung Tokong dive site had the best visibility I’ve ever experienced, we could see well over 30 meters. It was like diving in 1080p HD quality.

We ended up visiting a lot of nemo in our 5 dives. There were other usual suspects like moray eel, trigger fish, cleaner fish, shrimp, puffer, porcupine fish, green turtle, and blue spotted sting ray. There weren’t a lot of nudibranch though.

Unfortunately, there were also some signs of coral bleaching due to the warm ocean temperature, hopefully that will reverse itself in due time.

shrimp, ikan kembong, porcupine fish
another eel, ikan kembong?, cleaner shrimp, porcupine fish

While the diving weren’t superb, they were still pretty enjoyable. The excellent vis at Tg. Tokong was a savior, and of course the feeling of being in water with total freedom and almost total quietness was always something I love.

Kim and Kerol did a discovery dive with Ed and totally loved it, I think there’s probably more certified divers in #porkgang next year. As it stands, all the guys are certified divers, and none of the girls are. Lets change that soon guys!

Pulau Redang revisited, 5 years later
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39 thoughts on “Pulau Redang revisited, 5 years later

  • June 25, 2010 at 11:27 am
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    lets really make this an annual thing, instead of 5 years once! FOL

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 11:34 am
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    kimberlycun,
    or more than once a year! 😀

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 11:46 am
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    oh…so nice…always wan to go redang..but always plan change…LOL…

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 11:48 am
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    Very Nice dude..I ve got latest n3 too Check it out !! It’s very cool, really ;D

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 12:29 pm
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    v!vi@n,
    just do it! don’t wait! 😀

    suhaisweet,
    oOo wokie 😀

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 12:35 pm
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    Yah multiple times a year best, let’s avoid Redang in the middle of peak season tho 😀

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 12:56 pm
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    ShaolinTiger,
    yah, lets do that beginning next year. Haze’s thinking of getting certified too. 😀

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 1:48 pm
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    KY you good in scuba diving??? I dunno how to scuba diving how?? They got some1 to teach one izzit? Hope to be their with the fish some day.

    Reply
  • June 25, 2010 at 1:54 pm
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    kumfye,
    yah, get yourself certified! need to attend short classes and stuff, but it’s all good to be safe. 😀

    Reply
  • June 26, 2010 at 3:05 pm
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    I wonder if 5 years later redang will still be as beautiful as now

    Reply
  • June 26, 2010 at 11:00 pm
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    eee… jeleslah. i wished i had the guts to do diving

    Reply
  • June 26, 2010 at 11:59 pm
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    Wow, nice scenery and underwater XD Seriously, diving is one of my wishlist before my death. Must go diving some day 🙂

    Reply
  • June 27, 2010 at 12:29 am
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    nice pose with HAZE . . .wo0t!

    Reply
  • June 27, 2010 at 3:25 pm
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    Kok Hsien,
    I sure hope so.

    eiling,
    make it happen, learn only!

    vicky,
    yeah, everyone should do it, earth is covered by 70% water after all. 😉

    foodcrazee,
    thanks thanks. 😀

    Reply
  • June 27, 2010 at 7:11 pm
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    damn lucky guy to spot an eagle ray on first ever dive!!! I have yet to see one!! ;(

    your photography skill is really impressive!

    Reply
  • June 27, 2010 at 7:14 pm
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    DiN,
    yah damn lucky for Horng, it’s already my 50+ dives.

    Reply
  • June 28, 2010 at 9:33 am
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    Waaah. Smoking hot photo of you n Haze!
    (Nice meeting you all the other night at Sue Lynn’s party)

    Reply
  • June 28, 2010 at 11:01 am
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    hey ky, i like the picture u took with the girl…very nice shot!

    Reply
  • June 28, 2010 at 12:12 pm
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    Hey is that your new gf? Nice shot!

    Reply
  • June 28, 2010 at 1:17 pm
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    J,
    Heheh thanks thanks, likewise. 😀

    via,
    Thank youuu

    Kii M,
    my fiancee 😀

    Reply
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  • June 28, 2010 at 10:56 pm
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    hey, i’m wondering where did you stay in Redang? was it good?

    Reply
  • June 29, 2010 at 9:41 am
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    DiN,
    stayed at Redang beach resort, it was not bad. 🙂

    Reply
  • June 29, 2010 at 2:43 pm
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    The pic of you and Haze in bikini shot look Superb!

    Reply
  • June 29, 2010 at 5:41 pm
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    Jolyn,
    Thanks! 😀

    atrica,
    hehehe yes

    Reply
  • July 1, 2010 at 10:04 am
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    The underwater pics are so surreal. 🙂

    Reply
  • July 2, 2010 at 5:26 pm
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    Wow~~ The pictures are so nice. Like it very much!

    Reply
  • July 2, 2010 at 8:41 pm
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    university student
    thanks 😀

    Reply
  • July 3, 2010 at 6:52 pm
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    yeah. like willingly kena conned for PADI certification.

    Din, I’m just lucky i guess. although by the time i saw it, dun really know what type of ray it is.

    Reply
  • July 4, 2010 at 12:47 pm
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    Myhorng,
    haha now you do!

    Reply
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  • July 14, 2010 at 8:51 pm
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    just wondering what camera r u using and flash too
    thanks 🙄

    Reply
    • July 15, 2010 at 10:25 am
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      for the redang trip it’s mostly just canon s90, without any flash.

      i do have a canon 400d with 580exII though, sometimes shooting off shoe.

      Reply
        • July 18, 2010 at 12:18 pm
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          for underwater only Canon S90 without using any flash. I have the Ikelite underwater casing for the cam.

          Reply
          • November 28, 2010 at 9:44 pm
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            😀 how much is the Ikelite case?

            Aiya, i should have check out your site before my dive in Koh Samui last Spring… sigh

            Reply
            • November 29, 2010 at 6:30 pm
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              Dino: the casing is like RM 1200 from scuba symphony, but I think you might be able to find places that sell it for slightly cheaper.

              Reply

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