We went for a short trip a few months back during one of the long weekends. It was our first trip of a very busy year and a trip that I absolutely do not want to do anything.
I have never been a beach vacation kind of person. I don't exactly like being in the sun and bum around all day. It just wasn't me, until recently. Maybe it's a sign of aging, or maybe I'm simply too tired that I really looked forward to not doing anything for a few days.
We flew AirAsia from Changi to Kuala Trengganu. There was a slight delay of the flight, other than that no complaints. We took a taxi to the jetty where we took the public ferry to Taaras, previously known as Berjaya. There are direct flights to Redang from Singapore, but they do not fly daily. We were somewhat worried by the bad reviews we read online - there were strikes, very horrible food and some bad service complaints. And when I emailed them to check things out, I got an auto-reply saying that internet was down till further notice! They were already really bad when I was asking about private transfers and ferries, it was so frustrating but I assumed that it was a language issue - certainly not a good impression!
We went ahead anyway, because of the beautiful beaches. While waiting for the afternoon ferry (because the hotel did not have private transfer), we took a slow walk to their Chinatown and market, buying a huge bag of mangoes for $4! We counted and there were 13 mangoes - RM$10/kg. They were all ripe and sweet. We were stuffed with mangoes the next few nights till I swore of mangoes for a long time.
Thankfully, the hotel did pick us up from the jetty (some people waited for hours). We were in awe of the beautiful beach upon arrival. They checked us in promptly, asking about our departure and said that they would prepare a breakfast box for us since we were leaving very early in the morning.
The snorkeling trip wasn't cheap at like around SGD$60 per person for half a day trip. It was badly organized really, with insufficient vans to pick everyone to the jetty. They simply dropped us there and we stood around waiting, not knowing what was going on. Then, after like 30 minutes of waiting we were ushered to the speed boat with 13 of us squeezed on it. A french woman was so upset about it, though we were totally chill. I'm too determined to enjoy my holiday anyhow.
The second day, we slept in and spent another day on the beach. The husband stayed there while I went for a facial and massage at the spa.
I really enjoyed the me-time and spending a few days just doing nothing.
By the way, the food was quite bad and the service was hit and miss. We confirmed our breakfast box during checkout the night before, but they said that there wen't informed (though they did during check-in). They said that they would arrange it, but we didn't have any breakfast boxes the next day! I insisted that we did ask for it, they eventually did prepare it for us but many other guests weren't aware. Internet was also pretty bad, and only available near the reception area. Food was really pretty bad and I would bring some cup noodles if I go back again.
The room was nice and comfortable, though it's pretty expensive. There's not much activities really - the karaoke room wasn't open and the games room had carom without the thing to shoot. There's only a small souvenir shop that's open in the day with a few Pringles chips and nothing but the resort actually. We would have brought some snacks and chips if we knew.
I have never been a beach vacation kind of person. I don't exactly like being in the sun and bum around all day. It just wasn't me, until recently. Maybe it's a sign of aging, or maybe I'm simply too tired that I really looked forward to not doing anything for a few days.
We flew AirAsia from Changi to Kuala Trengganu. There was a slight delay of the flight, other than that no complaints. We took a taxi to the jetty where we took the public ferry to Taaras, previously known as Berjaya. There are direct flights to Redang from Singapore, but they do not fly daily. We were somewhat worried by the bad reviews we read online - there were strikes, very horrible food and some bad service complaints. And when I emailed them to check things out, I got an auto-reply saying that internet was down till further notice! They were already really bad when I was asking about private transfers and ferries, it was so frustrating but I assumed that it was a language issue - certainly not a good impression!
We went ahead anyway, because of the beautiful beaches. While waiting for the afternoon ferry (because the hotel did not have private transfer), we took a slow walk to their Chinatown and market, buying a huge bag of mangoes for $4! We counted and there were 13 mangoes - RM$10/kg. They were all ripe and sweet. We were stuffed with mangoes the next few nights till I swore of mangoes for a long time.
Thankfully, the hotel did pick us up from the jetty (some people waited for hours). We were in awe of the beautiful beach upon arrival. They checked us in promptly, asking about our departure and said that they would prepare a breakfast box for us since we were leaving very early in the morning.
We didn't have much time before it turned dark, and we spent the evening lazing on the beach chairs and checking out activities tomorrow. To our disappointment, ALL the activities such as island hopping and seeing the sunrise weren't available because there was a minimum amount of people needed and nobody wanted that. We could only do the snorkeling trip.
We didn't have an underwater camera, but here's one of the views.
The snorkeling trip wasn't cheap at like around SGD$60 per person for half a day trip. It was badly organized really, with insufficient vans to pick everyone to the jetty. They simply dropped us there and we stood around waiting, not knowing what was going on. Then, after like 30 minutes of waiting we were ushered to the speed boat with 13 of us squeezed on it. A french woman was so upset about it, though we were totally chill. I'm too determined to enjoy my holiday anyhow.
The service was bad - they spoke zero english and didn't even tell us how many stops there were or when should we go down or how long will we stay there. The snorkeling was amazing though, way better than Tioman and both of us enjoyed it.
By the time we were back to the hotel and showered for our late lunch, it was already late afternoon. We spent the afternoon on the beach with me reading a funny novel while he fell asleep. Absolutely blissful.
From where I was lying.
Absolutely stunning beach!
The second day, we slept in and spent another day on the beach. The husband stayed there while I went for a facial and massage at the spa.
I really enjoyed the me-time and spending a few days just doing nothing.
By the way, the food was quite bad and the service was hit and miss. We confirmed our breakfast box during checkout the night before, but they said that there wen't informed (though they did during check-in). They said that they would arrange it, but we didn't have any breakfast boxes the next day! I insisted that we did ask for it, they eventually did prepare it for us but many other guests weren't aware. Internet was also pretty bad, and only available near the reception area. Food was really pretty bad and I would bring some cup noodles if I go back again.
The room was nice and comfortable, though it's pretty expensive. There's not much activities really - the karaoke room wasn't open and the games room had carom without the thing to shoot. There's only a small souvenir shop that's open in the day with a few Pringles chips and nothing but the resort actually. We would have brought some snacks and chips if we knew.
We had to go home after 2 days on the beautiful beach. Really reluctant to, though the bad food made it easier to leave.
It's amazing how we still feel the same way about each other after 10 years. Always thankful to have him on this journey.
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