Snorkelling in Pulau Lang Tengah

View in front of the resort

Two weeks ago I went snorkelling in Pulau Lang Tengah, in the east coast state of Terengganu. The island was only about half an hour away from another well-known island in Terengganu, which is Redang. Lang Tengah Island was a relatively untouched and less people visited it than Redang.

It all started when I bought the Redang Lang Island Resort package in MATTA Fair in 2006 for RM257, which I thought was a steal because it included two-way boat transfer, accommodation, 2 snorkelling trips and meals. Two colleagues joined for the trip and we were all so excited as it was our first time to go to Terengganu by bus! The ride was surprisingly pleasant and cheap (only RM30 via Sani Express) and also very scenic. Going up the east coast, we saw a lot of places in between like Kemaman, Cherating with all the resorts including Club Med, and passed by Paka & Kertih, awed by the oil refinery.

Enroute to Kuala Terengganu, we stayed one night in Awana Kijal resort, where an old uni friend worked in the Sales department and broughts us round the resort. Too bad we were only staying for one night because the resort is so beautiful and the pool was just so tempting!

The next morning we contined via hired car straight on to Merang Jetty. If you are travelling to the islands in Terengganu, make sure you have the proper name of the jetty. A common mistake even the locals make is being confused between Merang jetty and Marang jetty. The two jettys with identical names brings you to different island - Merang jetty brings people to Redang and Lang Tengah. Whereas, Marang will bring you to Kapas island.

Anyway, we boarded an overcrowded boat to the island which was supposed to carry only 12 pax but it carried almost 50 pax on that trip! This is a very hazardous condition to the passengers because the engine of the boat might have an internal combustion due to the overweight condition. This was something that we didn't foresee and we should have insisted for another boat to come, instead of boarding the overcrowded boat. My advice if a similar thing happens to you, please insist for another boat.

Note: Overcrowded ferry, not enough space to sit, no ventilation, people got sick and puked.

Two hours later, we arrived at the resort which was basically a two-story chalet complete with air-cond and in house bathroom. There was only a communal tv and karaoke room, but then who needs tv when you are on an island as beautiful as Lang Tengah.

The horror of the boat transfer almost forgotten, we went round island snorkelling! We found rainbow coloured fish and live corals. The marine park in Redang island was also fantastic because of the variety of fishes. The water was so unbelieveably clear that you can see the inai on my feet.

This picture was taken on top of the jetty.

The jetty
Footsteps in Lang Tengah

Terengganu is a really nice place to unwind, get out from the hustle and bustle of the city and just enjoy the nature.....my next trip to Terengganu will be to Tasik Kenyir or Pulau Tenggol for diving. First, gotta get the diving licence first.........