Mid-year holiday in Lang Tengah

My first trip to Lang Tengah was 14-15 years ago and I remember having such a fantastic time there.  Lang Tengah was not as well known as the more famous Redang or Perhentian Islands and I was totally smitten by its white, powdery beach and pristine underwater world.  Back then, the four of us had three guides all to ourselves for the few snorkelling trips and we got to see soooo much – including turtles and baby sharks.  I also remember the awesome view from atop the hill on our hike.  But I simply can’t recall the name of chalet we stayed and looking through the photos on the internet of accommodation options in Lang Tengah proved futile.  It could also be that the place we stayed no longer exists.

OK, enough of reminiscing.  So we took a family holiday to Lang Tengah during the mid-year holidays.  We booked the full board package from Summer Bay Resort.  Overall, it was a nice trip, but Lang Tengah is no longer the virgin island it was 15 years back, and we longer had the luxury of having individual guides for snorkeling.

In the speed boat on the way to the island

First family shot right after disembarking from the boat

Summer Bay Resort

 

Girls showing how fine the sand was

On the day of arrival, after lunch and a short rest, we joined the rest of the holiday makers for snorkeling around Redang Island.

The girls with their papa and a staff from the resort who helped Yan Yan with snorkelling so we could snorkel on our own with peace of mind

We then made a stop at the beach where Summer Holiday (夏日的麼麼茶), the film that popularized Redang amongst Chinese speaking visitors from PRC, Taiwan and Hong Kong, was shot.  A replica of the tea house from the movie serves as a gift and convenience shop now.

 Yan Yan was so tired that she fell asleep on the boat on the way back from Redang

On the second day, it was free and easy in the morning.  So while hubby watched over the girls at the pool, I took a walk around the island.

An abandoned jetty and resort

In the afternoon, it was another snorkeling trip, this time around Lang Tengah.

All ready for more snorkelling

Yiu Yiu took to snorkelling like a duck to water

We were back in the resort quite early so we spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling at the resort’s reserve area, and I was thrilled to spot many clown fishes J

After dinner, we were brought to a beach nearby to watch Blue Sands.  The blue sand is actually a bio-luminescent, shrimp-like organism the size of plankton, sometimes known as seed shrimp.  These ostracods are called "blue sand" or "blue tears" and glow blue in the dark at night.  Most use the light as predation defense, while some use the light for mating.  The guide went into the water and fetched a huge rock and as he swept his hands across the wet rock, it litted up with flickering blue lights that look like little dancing fairies before slowly fading away.

We had to check out early the next morning, as we couldn’t extend our check-out time despite our flight being in the late afternoon.  It was a blessing in disguise, as we used the time to explore Kuala Terengganu, which unbeknown to me, has a vibrant China town with loads of things to see.  More about Kuala Terengganu town in the next post.