BEACHY WEEKEND

The white sandy beach - ah bliss!

Last weekend getaway was good. I was at Redang Island with 100++ fellow colleagues, Ms Lactose and her children.

Surprisingly, the sea was not as rough as I thought it would be, given that it was already near the end of the year. Thank goodness it didn’t rain the 3 days while we were there.

I thought I wouldn’t survive the 10 hours journey by bus, due to getting old, worrying I might end up having a bad back after the whole journey. Surprisingly, I was okay. The way to Redang was filled with nostalgic memories. As I was trying to get a few winks of sleep on the bumpy ride, my mind didn’t stop wandering for once, reminiscing at the same route I took two years ago to Perhentian Island. The winding road on Karak, the awesome scenery of the oil processing centre in Paka, Dungun, the small deserted trunk roads littered with small petrol kiosk operating 24 hours, etc.

We stayed at Redang Reef Resort, located at the end corner of the stretch of beach. It is a drag that we had to walk a bit to get to the main beach, where Laguna sits perfectly, overlooking the calm turquoise blue sea. I like the open air patio overlooking the sea though, served as a romantic dinner place. Everything is within reach in the resort. They have Astro – where I could watch the Next Top Model bitching it out, and CSI; small souvenir cum convenient shop where I bought nothing except for a few ice creams, hammocks, lazy chairs and benches at the back of the resort, facing a rocky yet scenic sea. Meals were not that bad – they always have meat, fish, vegetables and fruits; albeit being rationed like prisoners’ food – I guess this is the best way to prevent wastage.

What to do in Redang? Well, the main thing one could possibly do is to snorkel, snorkel and snorkel (or dive for fellow divers). For those who doesn’t like to get wet that much, well, you can sleep the day away – in the room, in the hammock, or doing somersault on the white sandy beach, feasting your eyes on bikini clad ladies, play beach volley ball, catch up with some reading, or just sit on the soft sandy white beach, watching the day goes by.

I expected to be seeing legs instead of fishes while snorkeling but was glad that not everyone turned out for the snorkeling trip. Imagine if the 100 of us went on the same snorkeling trip. We would outnumber the fishes!

Sadly, most of the corals were dead; unlike a few years ago while I was there. They had banned the use of flippers to avoid amateur snorkellers from stepping on the delicate corals which would take years to grow.

It was a relaxing trip, despite some bitchy issues cropped up and had somewhat caused some unpleasant moments, but I was glad it eventually turned out to be alright.

One thing I couldn’t stand was the way some of my colleagues were taking pictures. I just couldn’t understand the logic of taking pictures just about anything – every corner of the bus, every single step they take, everything that they do, one pic after another and another. I thought I abused my camera bad enough, till I met them. The worst part was – sometimes, I had to be their photographer – and not only with one camera, but a few cameras of the SAME DAMN SPOT. The pictures would eventually be shared out in the company’s server – so I don’t think it is very bright of them to be taking the SAME PIC on the SAME SPOT by SO MANY different cameras, ain’t it?

I was a bit alarmed that my sister belongs to the same category – berposing posing habis. Geez! What a nerd!

Ah well. I should stop bitching now. The trip was great nevertheless – coz it’s free. Heh!

Sunrise

Oh yeah. One tip though for those who travel by bus to and fro from Redang Islands. Get some Hindi movie – it sure had you glued to the tv for the past 10 hours. We watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (and Herbie – the car movie?) on the way home, which I never get to watch at home because I could never remember the tv slot, or it was too long winded to be watching the movie alone. Oh boy. I cried buckets.

10 good moments while in Redang Island

1. Ms Lactose’s children calling me – Aunty Gina che che.

2. The son doing somersault in the sand and I ended up having sand in my face.

3. The daughter danced instead of singing during karaoke session.

4. Ms Lactose dancing sexily on a pole.

5. Some contractors ( I work with fellow Phua Chu Kangs, remember?) trying to imitate the same (no. 4)

6. The look on the Admin Manager’s face while being seasick.

7. The bikini clad Hawaian looking babe (named Miko – so I heard) bending to pick up the volley ball.

8. Having dinner at the patio overlooking the sea

9. Managed to spot clown fish without aid

10. The most gorgeous guy in the group bought me drinks (ok lah – he bought one for Ms Lactose too!)