I was inspired to visit Pulau Redang and experience the romance of languid summer days spent enjoying the island’s picturesque scenery.
The inspiration?
A hit Chinese romantic comedy movie ‘Summer Holiday’ or”嬷嬷茶屋” shot in Pulau Redang in 2000.
The storyline was simple enough to remember.
A woman (Sammi Cheng) sells her half of a resort on an island and falls in love with the other half-owner (Richie Ren).
Unlike a few smaller hotels between the Redang Reef Resort and Redang Beach Resorts, Laguna Redang Island Resort now stands on the original ‘Mo Mo Cha Inn’ (More More Tea Inn) featured in the movie.
The quirkily named inn’s delightful red and green cabin has been rebuilt into a charming souvenir shop. You can still visit this on the island.
Ride Through a Storm to Redang Island (Pulau Redang)
It was a quiet, sunny afternoon, and the air was humid and still, as we waited patiently for our water taxi at Mersing Jetty.
As we took off, the weather changed completely, and the boatman had to race through storm clouds and driving rains.
An hour later, we arrived at Pulau Redang, dripping wet from a speedboat racing through storm clouds.
The driving rains beat down, and water splashed from the sides as the skipper expertly took the small boat across the choppy South China Sea.
It was a frightening yet exhilarating experience to travel at the tail end of the monsoon season.
We rode through several ocean swells, which caused the speed boat’s tail to smack the water and bounce back up hard, sending sea sprays to hit our faces.
The dark clouds left us, and the sun shone brightly on Pulau Redang.
Island smiles are mandatory, of course. We grinned when we reached the jetty. Jubilant.
Terra Firma never felt so good after all that shaking and bouncing around.
Fortunately, no one threw up. My lunch of smelly fish keropok (a local fish cracker) and a light breakfast helped.
My mental note to self was to do weather checks and wise up to NOT traveling at the tail end of the monsoon.
Bring a zip-up parka and wear a swimsuit. And use weatherproof luggage to keep contents dry.
Arrived Soaking Wet
My new-found friends and I were in high spirits as we clambered on a wooden wagon pulled by a tractor to our hotel, the Sari Pacifica Beach Resort & Spa Redang Island.
We took a short walk to our room. It was a large ground-floor villa with twin Queen beds and a lovely ensuite.
We just had to rest a little on our beds, tired but desperately trying not to doze off.
It was just too beautiful outside.
The rain had trickled to a drizzle.
Now the sun is out, and mist rises as the water evaporates from the ground.
Pulau Redang’s Beautiful Pasir Panjang Long Beach
We changed and headed towards Pasir Panjang beach, which faced the aquamarine blue skies and a sea that thundered and roared a while ago.
I wanted to spend all my time in the water.
Braving the strong waves, I jumped in and swam out to snorkel in the water, adjusting to the world of trance-like calm beneath the waves.
Famished and tired, we soon dozed on the deck chairs, lulled by the soothing rhythmic sounds of the waves ebb and flow.
Long Beach.
The waves are strong.
There’s a truck that takes hotel guests along the Long Beach.
What I do best.
We planned to check out the pubs along the beach and to catch some Cantopop numbers belted out by local Chinese bands after a delicious BBQ dinner at our resort.
As always, seafood and barbeque set the tone for the evening. We walked the calories off and headed out to search for blue sands!
Search for Blue Sands at Pulau Redang
That night, we walked to the end of Pasir Panjang and crossed a wooden bridge. At a little bay, a group of people was sweeping the wet sand with their hands or feet.
The beach boys told us it was too early to see the blue sands.
“Come much later,” the boys called out.
“When?”
“Late, later, la!”
Maybe the sand will turn blue when fewer people are in that little bay? DUH!
Perish that silly thought.
We joined in the search, and after some time, we saw flashes of bright blue light in the water.
I scooped a little of the sand onto my palm.
The boy cupped his hand over it, leaving just a tiny hole made by his thumb and index finger.
Yup,
I see it.
A flash of little blue light.
We rubbed the sand again and repeated the cupping.
There it was again—the tiniest blue light in the cave of my hands.
The light is made by a Bioluminescent Ostracod, more commonly known as a sea firefly or a flattened seed shrimp of a class of Crustacea.
These tiny creatures, about 0.2 to 2 millimeters in size, produce a bright blue light at night when no moon is present for mating!
The light is to attract non-luminescent females of the same species and NOT curious tourists!
Image credit: Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa Redang Island
What a death knell to shrimp romance!
I felt bad for having deprived some little creature of its chance to mate and procreate. Awwwww…..
We turn to head back; the pubs have finished their gigs. It was quiet now.
The star shone in the velvet-black sky as we headed home to our hotel.
It was quirkily named Mo Mo Tea Inn, just beside the wooden bridge now serving as a gift shop.
I could recognize it in the dark. There was no mistaken identity.
The inn of a happy romance.
I’ve come a full circle and realized I was looking for my Richie Ren.
I dreamily fall asleep beneath my masseuse’s expert hands at Sari Pacifica Beach Resort & Spa Redang’s Sari Dewi Spa for a natural pampering massage.
It’s not a holiday romance that I wanted. I needed timelessness, which can only be described as island time, to reconnect with nature and find inner peace.
Image credit: Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa Redang Island
How to get to Redang Island, Terengganu
The only access to Redang Island is by speedboat or ferry.
The hotel provides daily speedboat and ferry transfers from Merang Waterfront Jetty or Shahbandar Jetty to Redang Island. For those self-driving, set your GPS to Merang Waterfront Jetty or Shah Bandar Jetty.
Parking space is also available at the Jetty.
Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa Redang Island
Address: Long Beach, Redang Island, Pulau Redang, 21090 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu
Blog Disclosure: This is a sponsored blog post, but all opinions are mine. Thank you, Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa Redang Island, for the staycation invitation.
