Bits and Pieces of Life…

It was after our first dive at Mak Cantik that the dive master Jan Shir was asking, “Do you guys wanna see something different?” and let us think about it during the surface interval. The ‘different’ site is called just ‘Sandy Bottom’ (and I heard the divemaster calling it ‘Twilight Zone’ but I might be wrong) and there will be no corals and no big fishes, but he guarantees we will be seeing something different. Even though Redang is not known for great muck diving site, Bill and me are all game and we want to see something different than the coral reefs. Read more…

Expenses

Transnational Bus: RM60/pax for 2-way KL->KT, 33-seater, comfortable reclining seats. Do wear long shirts/pants or a jacket as the night journey can be very cold as the aircon is quite strong. It is recommended to buy bus tickets (2ways) few weeks ahead at Putra Bus Station.

KL->KT: We bought the night bus on Thursday night 11pm and bus arrived at KT on 5:30am. 1 stop at Chenor.

KT->KL: Sunday 2pm starts but the bus was damn slow and arriving at Putra Station, KL at 10pm. 2 stops, one at Chenor and another at Termerloh R&R.

Redang Holiday 2D1N Package: RM180/pax (including 2-way boat transfer from Merang<->Redang Island). 2 Stars.

Redang Pelangi 2D1N Package: RM120/pax. 2 Stars.

Taxi from KT -> Merang: RM40/car (i.e. RM10/pax)

Bus ride from Merang -> KT: RM10/pax (see item#1 below)

Diving package @ Redang Pelangi: RM200 for 3 dives. Normal pricing is RM50/dive w/o equipment rental. Equipment rental is RM25/dive, and flat rate RM50 for 2 or more dives. Nice people here (our dive master is Jan Shir).

Total Cost for the trip: ~RM600, which I think is pretty reasonable considering this is the super peak season (starting of school holiday and at weekend). A few other friends booked Laguna Redang Resort and that set them back almost the same amount like us, but they were snorkelling package (3 snorkelling trips) while ours included 3 dives and we sneaked in a snorkelling trip as well. Of course, Laguna is more luxurious.

General Information

1: if you don’t have pre-arrangement (well, just like us :p), just go
to the end of the Merang Jeti area where you can spot many tour buses
stopping on roadside waiting for pre-booking clients. The drivers
mostly will be having tea and ‘lepak’ at the gerai there. Approach any
of them for a bus ride back to KT, it should set you back for RM10/person.

2. Most of the Redang resorts offer 3D2N package, which includes all the 3 meals plus a tea break, 2-3 snorkelling trips and 2-way boat transfers (Merang <-> Redang). Snorkelling gear rental normally is not included in the package price and it ranges from RM20-30 per set. Fin is not recommended to be used especially for shore snorkellings to avoid damage to the coral reef. There is no discount to the package price even if you opt to not go for the snorkelling trips (well you will save the equipment rental cost, of course). Most tourists have booked tour package before coming to Redang. 4 of us probably were the only ones that didn’t have any packages and do walk-in.

Had a very short trip – 5 hours including the driving time – with Hiu to Sekinchang, a small fishing village just about 20km away from Kuala Selangor. Sekinchang is renowned for its fishing village and padi fields, and the sole purpose of our trip here is – what else? – to capture some photos during the dawn. It is always pleasing to be able to get out of town and breath some fresher air, and better yet, I don't have to drive (Hiu is the driver for the trip)!!

A drive from Damansara to Sekinchang almost took us 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon. We went thru Damansara toll and then headed to Sungei Buluh and followed the Kuala Selangor sign board, and upon arriving K. Selangor, followed the Serbak Bernam direction for another 20km we arrived Sekinchang. It is impossible to miss – you will be seeing the seas of padi fields at the right side of the road while approaching the town center.

More photos from the trip is here: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/sekinchang/
 

We took some photos in the padi field while waiting for the sun to go down. The rice is not riped yet and it is just endless sea of green. The cloud was quite thick and the metering is tricky due to the huge dynamic range. The 100mm F2.8 Macro lens, like usual, didn't disappoint. It is really a sweet lens to use but I just wish the autofocus is faster. We later went to the fishing village trying to catch some of the 'magic light' of the dawn. People here are very friendly and it is just having a very nice setting around the fishing village. Well the photos turn out to be pretty good in my opinion . We spent some time to walk around the village and take photos until it is too dark to do so. The return trip to Damansara tool only 1 hr and 15 mins but some stretches of the road were really dark. Overall a very enjoyable day trip and we had great time exploring this little town.

More photos from the trip is here: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/sekinchang/

Breakdown of Cost of the trip: (I’ve wanted to do this for all my trips but laziness managed to fail me everytime. I am gonna pick up the slack from now on and get my act together… I hope!)

• Petrol: ~RM150 (from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Besut and back)

• Toll : ~RM40 (Genting Toll, Kuantan Highway Toll)

• Overnight at Dungun (Mayang Resort, 5km from UITM): RM140 for 2 rooms

• Kuala Besut Parking (3D2N, with cover): RM15

• Boat to Perhentian Island: RM60/person, 2 way.

• D’Ayumni House on Perhentian Besar: RM160/room for 2 nights – 2 double beds, aircond and shower but electricity runs only at night.

• Dive with Universal Diver: RM250 for 4 dives (I did 5, Hiu did 3, so all balanced out)

• A super-duper expensive dinner at the New Coconut Hut: RM107!

• And some drinks/breakfast/lunch at Nia Cafe: ~RM50-100 for 4 persons total

• A BBQ dinner by Universal Diver: Free (thanks guys)

That’s about it. Averaged out about RM470/person for the whole trip – probably one of the cheapest trips that I’ve had! And we all have great fun! And lastly, borrowing a phrase from MasterCard,

A Dive Trip with a few buddies on Perhentian Island: Priceless.

More trip photos:

HTML: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/perhentian_html/
Flash: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/perhentian/

This is Ayumni, the cute little girl of D’Ayumni House ->

It was a short 3D2N trip to Perhentian Island, and the journey was tough – we drove instead of taking flight, but the trip was fun and more importantly, quenched our thirst of diving. I’ve served my ‘surface time’ for over 4 months since last dive in Bali, I need some fix!

4 of us (Hiu, Bill, Kenny and myself) started off from Hiu’s house just over 10pm using this route:

KL -> Karak Highway -> Kuantan -> Dungun -> Kuala Terengganu -> Kuala Besut

This probably is not the closest road but the beach roads from Kuantan to Kuala Besut is straight and in good condition. We reached Dungun at 2:30am and stayed at Mayang Resort , which is just beside the beach road and situated about 5km from UITM Dungun.

The resort offers either rooms or one of the many houses (one house consists of 4 rooms, a living room and a bathroom). We rented 2 rooms in house#6 and cost us RM140 (including a simple Mee Goreng + coffee/tea breakfast). Rooms are equipped with air-con and 2 single beds. Some rooms having attached bathroom (master bedroom in the house), and some others will have to share another bathroom in the house. Overall the room is spacious and relatively clean, and we couldn’t complaint – it was already 2:30am and we desperately need a place to get some rest!

See More photos from the trip here: http://travelgaia.com/gallery/perhentian_html