Snorkeling in Redang Island (Episode One) - Kalong Bay

Krabi - a place that holds great memories as the very first time i tried snorkeling; an underwater activity that brought me to another dimension on Earth. 

I would have loved to revisit except that the airfare this time was way too pricey! Therefore, i took advantage of the Malaysian Travel Fair and booked a package with Konsortium to Pulau Redang, an island on the Eastern side of Peninsular Malaysia.

There were (once again) too many pictures and i am in dilemma on what to touch on, how to segregate the posts in order to be as comprehensive as possible! 

Why not like this - let's begin with the activity that brought me to Redang in the first place; snorkeling! 

Unlike Krabi, a briefing session was scheduled before every snorkeling trip (at least for Laguna Redang resort). This is really helpful for beginners as the presenter touched on the do's and don'ts, how to wear your snorkeling kit etc. 

Most important message as emphasised on the board - don't step on the corals! They are fragile and need ten years in order to grow just one or two centimeters.

Our snorkeling contingent of over three hundred persons. To give you a better sense of the crowd, i was actually in the middle section.

Less than five minutes was the amount of time we needed to reach the destination - Kalong Bay! To be exact, this bay is so near to where we boarded the boat; i could have easily walked there myself.

The boatman preparing the ladder for our easy descent into the water. For those with wrist problems (like myself), you would fully understand my happiness when i saw this.  

*splash* and i am in! Always remember; wear Crocs shoes when snorkeling! 

Enjoy the following underwater pictures; courtesy of the recently purchased Olympus five-meter waterproof camera! 

Okay, this does not truly reflect the magnificent underwater landscape but do note that i wasn't that unfamiliar with the underwater function and wasted quite a while to run through the different "scene" modes.

Funny thing about pictures is that you can only have a limited scope and nothing really prepares you for the magnitude for what you can see in real life. The ocean is huge (as everyone knows) and sometimes, luck is required.

I surfaced for a moment to defog my snorkeling mask. 

People were still taking their own sweet time! I can snorkel for hours and would prefer to make full use of my time in the water!

Down again. Saw some fishes. Oh, i came out with a post on the essentials to bring for a snorkeling trip; please click here for more info!  

Turned to the other side and there existed an entirely different story; schools of fishes! 

Alex was happily dragging along a plastic bag full of bread and he was forewarned during the briefing session; no catching of fish using the plastic bag!

It was around three to four meters deep and the top-down view was not exactly pretty sight. 

Swim further away from the boats to get a better view. 

This looked like a pair of kissable lips on the rocks! 

A way better underwater picture. I was still fiddling with the settings and eventually gave up as the snorkeling mask kept fogging and the reflection of light was irritating to my eyes.

Some photographs were taken using the 5X optical zoom function. As many of you are aware, i am not a tall person and there is only so long i can stretch out my arms. 

Sea urchins! In Krabi, i can see hundreds, if not thousands of them! In Kalong bay, i could hardly see more than five. 

Well, those black spiny balls are nothing compared to the many colourful fishes! Water condition (clarity, murkiness etc) was not as favourable as Krabi though.

I was busy snapping pictures of dancing corals when Alex abruptly pulled my vision to the side. 

ARGH!!!! Jellyfish! Venomous yet so beautiful! Alex, an accomplished naval specialist (he would love this term) warned me that jellyfishes swim in groups and this lone ranger was a signal for more to come. 

He was correct (and this is rare) and we started seeing more jellyfishes floating towards us! Despite the short time, i scrambled back to the boat.

The boatman caught one floating on the surface; i have no idea the poisonous tentacles are so long!

Unfortunately, a few visitors were stung and as a result, our visit was cut short. I was sad but with the jellyfishes in the water, even i was not keen to enter the water. 

Returning was a breeze; disembarking was a torture. There should be a better system to improve efficiency and safety. 

Do look out for more postings on redang (another three just on snorkeling)! They would be tagged under Travel_Redang.