A diving trip in Redang, Malaysia

Previously, I used to plan each trip very early to have ample time to find travel companions and to prepare more thoroughly for everything from accommodation and meals to transportation and booking land tours. But after the Covid-19 pandemic, the trend in backpacking has changed: nothing is certain, so I usually decide on trips in minutes, research for 1-2 days, then plan and book services a week in advance. This trip was no exception. Although I had a long list of countries I wanted to visit in the two years that were put on hold due to the pandemic, I still chose Malaysia for safety with my plans.

Having been to Malaysia many times before, planning was quite easy for me. Instead of going to the city, the highlands, or hiking like on previous trips, this time I chose to go scuba diving at Redang Island – a small, little-known island in northeastern Malaysia. Compared to the nearby Perhentian Islands, Redang has fewer tourists, a more beautiful underwater ecosystem, and a higher chance of seeing whale sharks. After researching, besides the 3-7 day diving packages offered by luxury resorts, I couldn't find any other diving center besides Aquarius Redang. With only one diving center and only one diving session available, we still set off to explore Redang.

Although Malaysia had reopened to tourism a few months ago, the once bustling KLIA2 airport had been replaced by a dreary scene, with more than half of the counters closed, many flight information boards blank, and my favorite food stall nowhere to be seen. Surprisingly, KLIA2 greeted us with a sign that read "Beautiful Terengganu," my destination.

We took an 8:35 AM flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Kuala Lumpur, but had to wait until 3:35 PM for our connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, so we didn't arrive at our hotel in the city center until 5 PM. Despite the limited time, we still managed to visit the Crystal Mosque (Masjid Kristal) – a famous landmark in Terengganu.

The next morning, expecting to walk over 1 km to Shahbandar pier near the hotel, we leisurely packed our bags to check out and have breakfast. However, we learned that the pier was temporarily closed, so we quickly took a Grab taxi to Merang pier, which was 39 km away from the hotel! Luckily, we woke up early, so we arrived at the pier, bought tickets, and still had time to have breakfast while waiting for the ferry. Buying ferry tickets here was strange! The ticket sellers didn't sit at the counter but waited in the waiting area. Afraid of being scammed, I walked around asking for detailed information before booking a one-way ticket to Redang Island, not forgetting to get their phone number in case they didn't sell tickets for the return trip at Redang.

The second strange thing is the ferry access charge. You don't go to the pier before taking the ferry? They don't include it in the ticket price; they sell it separately. And finally, there's the Marine Park ticket; the ticket seller said you have to buy a ticket to go to the island, even if you don't go to the park. In short, it cost 85 RM (450,000 VND) to get to Redang Island.

Upon arriving on the island, there were no services available right at the pier. I contacted the resort and waited for them to arrange a vehicle, but they charged 20 RM per person. It took quite a while for the vehicle to arrive, and it was a dilapidated pickup truck. Only after two days did I realize that in the fishing village on Redang Island, everyone uses such run-down vehicles. If you arrive from the private pier of each resort, you can only walk to the resort itself; there are no roads between the different areas (each resort occupies an entire bay and has its own pier). The resort I chose was located in the middle of the fishing village and I arrived from the public pier, so there were no services available.

After inquiring about the check-in procedure, I contacted Aquarius Redang, intending to go to the diving center to check things out and sign a liability waiver. However, Zan – the owner of the diving center – told me to wait at the resort and he would drive over. Then he appeared on a motorbike, just as dilapidated as the pickup truck, and drove us here. When I asked where the center was, Zan said it was right at the pier. I was surprised when we arrived at the pier! It was an impromptu pier with a tiny watchtower and a jumble of diving equipment that Zan had brought and left ready.

When I asked where we could change, Zan said "somewhere on the island," which startled me once. After the boat had been out of the dock for a while, Zan pulled over to a small island so we could put on our diving gear. Zan didn't forget to warn us to be careful of the monkeys that were ready to snatch our clothes at any moment. In the ensuing panic, I put on my clothes inside out and only realized it when I got back on the boat. The boat then pulled over again so I could change for the second time.

When the boat reached our first diving spot, Terumbu Kili, the waves were quite big. We had to rock back and forth on the boat for a while before we could put on our diving equipment. Even after diving, we were still rocking back and forth, feeling dizzy, until we reached a depth of 5 meters where we finally stabilized. At that point, we encountered a current and had to navigate through the coral reefs. Zan pointed out some turtles swimming in the distance, but by the time we got closer, they had already swum away. There weren't many fish, and they were all small. Instead of focusing on the fish and coral, we were looking further away to see if we could spot any whale sharks. The second dive at Pasir Akar wasn't anything special either, just small turtles, jellyfish, pufferfish, boxfish, clownfish, etc. This was partly because we went diving on the full moon, so the water wasn't clear and visibility was poor.

While having dinner at Aima Grill Fish restaurant, we stumbled upon a snorkeling tour and immediately called to book one. We even negotiated a great deal on a boat trip to the nearby Lang Tengah island. They sell snorkeling tours visiting 3 to 7 islands at various prices, with the most popular being a 4-point tour east of Redang: Ekor Tebu Island, Kerrengga Besar Island, Lima Island, and Turtle Beach. Along the way, the boat stops at the white sandbank near Long Beach for some Instagram-worthy photos. Although unplanned, we managed to capture many more beautiful pictures than we would on scuba diving, especially getting very close to the turtles and taking some outstanding photos.

In the afternoon, with nothing to do, Zan asked if we'd like to walk about 1 km to the highest point of Redang Island to watch the sunset, and we immediately agreed. Zan brought four friends along. During our conversation, I learned they lived in Kuala Lumpur but had visited Redang more than 10 times for diving, and from being just guests, they became Zan's friends. I also showed them pictures of the beautiful scenery in Con Dao and invited them to come to Vietnam to go diving.

Even though it was only a short two-day trip and I didn't see any whale sharks while diving, I deeply appreciate Zan's friendship. If I have the chance, I will definitely return to Redang on a day with better sea conditions to explore more of the ocean floor around Redang.

Huong Do (Helix)