At the end of April, Leo and I took a 4 day holiday to visit the east coast of West Malaysia, specifically we headed to Redang Island off the state of Terengganu. We left after lunch on a Sunday for the 4-5 hour drive. It actually took us much longer because of a heavy downpour that slowed traffic near Kuala Terengganu (KT). KT is the capitol of Terengganu, which is considered part of the Malay heartland and is one of the more conservative states in Malaysia. We checked into a budget hotel in the center of town and after we dried off we set out to sample the seafood and see what kind of nightlife KT offers. In an essentially dry state, the nightlife consists of sitting in cafes until late drinking coffee or tea and snacking. The rain and the fact that Sunday in Terengganu is the first working day of the week didn't keep people at home.
The next day we woke up early to catch the boat to Redang. The seas were choppy and the sky overcast. The weather would hold for our entire trip, making this the one snorkeling vacation that wouldn't send me home sunburned. Our resort was a budget one -- clean but without too many amenities. We spent most of our time snorkeling -- going out once on the first day and twice more on the second day. The seas there were full of fish. We rented an underwater camera the second day and you can see some of the photos if you click on photo albums under Links on the side bar. There was much more than you can see in the pictures. It was difficult to keep the camera steady in the waves so many of the pictures came out blurry. The third morning at Redang we caught the boat back to the mainland after breakfast.
We took the inland highway back which cut through small villages and oil palm plantations. Cows, chickens and monkeys wandered along the sides of the road. We stopped frequently to sample and buy some local delicacies, such as keropok (chips made from fish, prawns or squid) and dodol (a taffy-like sweet made from brown coconut syrup). We also stopped for lunch at a roadside stall. There were several fire department vehicles parked along the road there. We figured if the place was popular with the local fire department, it would do well for us. It served very traditional Malay food and proved to be one of the best meals of our entire trip. The girls running were unaccustomed to serving many white tourists. I think they were surprised that I could not only eat Malay food but that I cleaned my plate. We arrived back to Bentong in mid-afternoon. I had only two working days until the weekend. My relaxed post-beach holiday state made those two days seem like nothing.
