~Jac's page~ "Do not believe everything you think": Trip to Redang Island Day I

The trip to Redang was indeed a memorable one. It was my first time there and it was probably the I-don't-know-how-many-times that Hc had been to Redang. He has recently visited almost all of Malaysia's islands, I would say.

Anyways, we stayed in the ever prestigious Berjaya Hotel and were honoured with "first class" seats in the ferry. Not that it was special or anything... We were invited to a private, air-conditioned room with the rest who were occupants of Berjaya (including other ang mohs). The journey took us a full 1.5 hours, compared to a usual speedboat ride. We were wondering how did the people differentiate Berjaya occupants and non-Berjaya occupants and the most plausible answer was the mineral water bottles that we were holding. They were supposed to be souvenirs and I guess only we (and others) held it in our hands.

In the private cabin of the ferry

There are two Berjaya resorts in Redang - Berjaya SPA and Berjaya BEACH and having the privilege of being a BBC member, we were entitled to free stays in SPA, somehow just not Beach (We had to pay if we wanted to upgrade). Difference between the 2 Berjayas - OBVIOUS as hell! SPA was deserted, rahter desolate I would say...

Me at the SPA lobby, all quiet and deserted

Hc and I stayed in a room upstairs while the staff stayed in the room downstairs. How's that for a change? SPA was reserved for members like us while Beach catered to tourists, mainly Westerners, a few Japanese and Chinese here and there. Anyways, the first thing that we saw when we walked in the room was the king size bed (similar to the ones they have in Berjaya Langkawi) but I was kinda disappointed that it didn't turn out to be as luxurious as Langkawi. Not so much of a 5 Star hotel but more of a 4 star hotel...

The bed in the room

The next thing I saw was a left-behind pillow case on the chair. The plugs were unsafe. The toilet tiles were not very pleasant looking. Otherwise, the room was just as fine, even better than other hotels if we weren't being picky. A little dilly-dally here and there, we were ready to go over to Beach.

Pillow case

Plug

Toilet tiles

The shuttle schedule from SPA to Beach and vice versa

Arriving at the Beach resort, I totally felt an upgrade of status when I stepped into the lobby. It was a different feeling, like as if one was from the upper class and was treated with such luxury that one just didn't wanna leave the majestic place. The atmosphere was liven up by people walking up and down the pavement and the sound of flowing water coming from the fountain. We could even smell grilled food all the way from the lobby...

I was awed when I saw the beach... It was unbelievable (keep in mind that it was my first time there and it was nothing compared to Langkawi!).... We had a hard time finding for benches as all were occupied..., by towels... haha... Have no idea where were the people, probably down at the sea, cooling themselves after a full day of sun-bathing. I finally found one (at first) with no cushion on it and the one beside it was reserved by a pair of slippers, so Hc and I had to share for a while. Unfortunately, the place that we got were inhabited by huge, enormous sized BEES and flies! And what made it worse?! I didn't bring anything to spend my time while I enjoyed the sun. The smart ass brought a book without reminding me to bring one of my own. What did I do then? Played with his phone till it ran out of battery. Haha... We waded in the sea for about an hour and went back to SPA. Well, our time were indirectly tied down by the shuttle schedule and we had to leave early to "prepare" for dinner.

We stayed upstairs, room 474.

We had dinner at Beach. The white tent at the back was prepared for a couple to dine by the beach. How romantic is that? Way too romantic... It would sweep me off my heels, no doubt....