I
have a lot of things to write tapi tak cukup masa. But for now, kita review on
our recent island vacation to : REDANG
ISLAND (04.06.2015 – 06.06.2015).
Since
it was school holiday season, jadi harga pakej kami adalah: peak season.
(1) 3H2M package at Sari Pacifica Resort and Spa (pre-booked):
Type
of Villa : Lagoon
RM598.00
per adult
RM299.00
per child (4yo and above)
*inclusive
of buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The
room : very spacious with 1 king size bed and 1 queen size bed, a balcony facing
manmade fountain, changing / wardrobe room, safe box, TV, make up room,
separated toilet and shower rooms and bath tub. The buffet spread meals were good
and delicious consist of salad station, dessert and fruit station, beverages
station, soup station and the main course station (nasi putih and lauk pauk and vegetables, pasta, noodles, nasi goreng, sausages, etc).
It
was just a walking distance to the hotel lobby, cafe and beach. The view was
amazing, Subhanallah. I have this love-hate relationship with the beach as I love
the scenery and the relaxing moments there but I hate to do the cleaning part
of the fine beach sand on our clothes. Teheee.
We
rarely take the kids to the beach as we are not so sure what to do on an island
vacay but after staying in Redang for the past few days I could not help but
fall in love with island vacation. My kids have had their enjoyable moments
there throughout our stay.
Thus,
island vacay : 1 - Wahida : 0.
View
from Sari Pacifica - Lobby
(2)
Ferry transfer : KT Shahbandar Jetty
– Redang Island (1 hour 30 mins):
EXPRESS SEJAHTERA by SEJAHTERA FERRY
Services Sdn. Bhd. (pre-booked)
RM35.00
(per adult) for one (1) way transfer
RM20.00
(per child) for one (1) way transfer
Our
Ferry scheduled time:
From
KT Shahbandar Jetty to Redang Island : 8.30am
From
Redang Island to KT Shahbandar Jetty : 11.30am
It
is advisable that you take your medicine to prevent from motion sickness. We
took our medicine (including the kids) half an hour before boarding the ferry
to Redang. Most of us dozed off in the 1 hour 30 minutes ferry ride to Redang
as there was nothing else you can do. There was TV in the ferry, but if you are
lucky to get the front seat, then you can kill the time by watching movies.
We
were being transferred to another boat when we were about 500 meters to reach Redang Island (basically it was
done at the sea) and only then we reached at the island itself. It has no
jetty at all – just a main drop off to the island in front of Redang Island
Resort. Next, we have to wait for our mini tractor to pick us up to Sari
Pacifica. It was basically a mini tractor with 4 huge tires which can be drove
through the sand beach heading up to our resort which was located about 300 meters from the main
drop off. We (and our luggage) had to be transported to Sari Pacifica Resort in two trips as the mini
tractor was not capable to move with heavy loads as it had to go through lots
of fine beach sand.
We
managed to check in early during that day and after rest for a while, we went
for lunch. Later in the evening, we went to the beach for sand castle and swimming activities.
From L-R photos : On
the transferred boat to the island | On the mini tractor to Sari Pacifica | Our
resort’s balcony facing the manmade fountain | In front of the mini gate of
Sari Pacifica | Hafiya had a swimming lesson in the sea | My beloveds enjoying the
beach | Fish feeding activity at Pulau Lima from our boat | Snorkeling time | All
of us before going for snorkeling |
(3) Snorkeling Package under Sari Pacifica
Resort:
RM70.00
per adult
RM40.00
per child
*inclusive
of boat transfer to Pulau Lima and Pulau Paku Besar and snorkeling gears.
For
this snorkeling package, we just booked through the resort at night during dinner and made
confirmation thereafter and set up for the departure time at 9.15am. Our
boatmen were Teng and Awang. There will be a brief explanation before the
departure and we were given life jackets, diving masks and snorkel. We were so
lucky that life jackets for Hafiya, Adam and Eizzat (3yo) were available in
their sizes.
We
had to walk through the sea water (about my chest height) to get to the boat
for snorkeling / island hopping purposes. *Note: please take out all your hp /
camera / belongings inside your pocket and put them in water-proof bags before
going to the boat.
Our
first boat ride was to Pulau Lima, situated in less than 10 minutes from Sari
Pacifica. I was the last person to join the fun of snorkeling that day as
firstly, I was busy taking pictures of them snorkeling and fish feeding;
secondly – I was scared as it was my first experience! Hehe. The kids were so
excited especially with fish feeding. Awang, our boatman brought Khayra to the
middle of the sea for snorkeling and they found gamat. So proud of Khayra as
she was brave enough to experience it and made several trips of going into the
sea for snorkeling. *Note: must send my kids for swimming lesson soon.
Awang
told me just to relax and keep calm so that we could experience the snorkeling
better and he was right! Hafiya also got the opportunity to be in the water for
a while as Awang insisted to bring her down to gain the experience to be in the
middle of sea.
After
about more than one hour in Pulau Lima, we moved to another small island called
Pulau Paku Besar – less than 8 minutes from Pulau Lima. As I was more confident
this time around and the water was quite calm than the island before, I enjoyed
snorkeling in Pulau Paku Besar. Subhanallah, the view deep down the ocean was
so amazing and so beautiful; I just could not explain in words here but it was
simply magnificent. The corals, the fishes and the scenery were so wonderful.
Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for giving me the opportunity to see your beautiful
creation in the ‘other’ world.
At
noon, we went back to Sari Pacifica and had our lunch.
From L-R photos : Hafiya
at the beach | Awang, our boatman did this for us – sand turtle | Hafiya – upon
arrival Redang island | Khayra and Awang found gamat during snorkeling at Pulau
Lima | View from our transferred boat to the island | Hafiya – playing with fine sand beach |
Overall it was a wonderful experience for me (and for all of us). Suddenly while typing these, I really want to go for snorkeling again! :D
