Redang & Perhentian Island

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I had looked forward to this trip so much cos I've been wanting to go der for de last couple of yrs. I booked the accommodation through Ping Anchorage. After much research on de net & talking to those who have been der, I decided on Coral Redang Resort . It was one of the two more expensive resorts, but it's worth de little extra you pay, believe u me.

Once again, I booked my trip online (with a Malaysian tour company called Ping Anchorage - very reliable)....so each of us paid abt SG$200 lesser than if we'd booked with our local agents! :-)

The resort has 40 detached and semi detached chalets. The biggest & most expensive being the famly suite (beachfront). Each chalet has air-conditioning , fan & hot water bath. After a 10-hr long coach ride (departing at 10pm), and a half-hr boat ride, I was brought to this white sandy beach of Redang island.

The warm welcome was at the Chicak Poolside bar where I got checked-in by very friendly staff. My room was a std room. It was clean and quite spacious. There was even a small balcony. Meals were served at the Matahari restaurant which faces de beach. It was a great view from the restaurant.

Coral & abt 7 other resorts (including the newest Laguna) share de same stretch of beach. However, the beach rite in front of Coral is cleaner somehow. But if you wanna see baby black-tipped sharks, u need to walk abt 300m away, to de beach in front of Laguna. That is a gd spot to snorkel. Coral also has a fully-equipped dive shop. In fact many of the resorts there do. The cheaper resorts cater to divers and even locals..so it does feel like a community centre in de evenings...with loud sounds of karaoke & mah jong! Reallieee... Do note dat if you wanna stay at Berjaya Redang, it is located at a totally different part of the island.....so it has its own beach..and there are no other resorts ard it....if you like this kind of setting...den Berjaya wld be great for you...but I didn't like dat cos I wanted to be where all the other resorts are........more 'things' to see..u knwo what I mean...

After spending 3 nites @ Coral, I took another boat to Perhentian, another island w great corals and marine life. This time, I stayed at a rather high-end resort called the Perhentian Island Resort . The beach was more pte, scenic & quieter than Redang was. The waves were stronger & bigger so was not so much for snorkelling.....I'd say it was a nice place for those who prefer to do nothing except to laze ard in de sun. There is also a fully-equipped dive shop here if u'd like to explore the dive sites ard the island. If u lay on de beach at nite....u will see de most beautiful starlit sky.....and they appear so close!!! It was really a breathtaking view. As for the room..it was very spacious and nice. It was so close to the beach that you can hear the crashing of waves as u doze off to sleep!

I love the place for it puts me right smack on the beach. How many places do you get to fall asleep to the sound of the waves, right. And for many reasons, Perhentian is a place that is hard to forget.