Memoirs of A Boy With Memory Retention Problems Part 1

With each passing day all the fun memories of Redang are slipping through my fingers, so I better start blogging about it!

The idea for a trip after our exams was hatched by Jackson. He initially suggested an island getaway. Redang was one of the possible destinations, along with Pangkor, Tioman, and Perhentian. Being a Northerner myself, I forbade them from even thinking of Langkawi. Seriously, the waters are dirty!

I was quite apprehensive to the idea because it would involve spending quite a lot of money, and I preferred a simple day out to the mall where we could do all sorts of silly things like singing or bowling.

However, the majority of the class liked the idea of an island holiday, and Redang came highly recommended by Jay. Not wanting to be a wet blanket, I went along with the idea and started scouting for packages. I really didn't have to do that but I kinda slipped into the leadership role by habit.

After trawling the web for opinions and packages, I settled on a Redang Bay Resort package offered via Ping Anchorage. Ping Anchorage is one of the famous local travel agencies around, and they did not disappoint. They were professional and answered many of the nagging questions I had.

The 3D/2N package costs about RM320 inclusive of lodging, food, and 3 snorkelling sessions. The only extra thing we had to do was to find our way there. So I came up with a budget of the trip and estimated that each of us will spend upwards of RM400.

Then came the hardest part - collecting money. It's hard to be a polite money collector but I had no choice but to smile widely while extending my open palm. It was also around now that people started pulling out from the trip. A variety of reasons were given, and our initial group of 13 dwindled down to 5. Even then, collecting money from the other 4 people was a big chore that involved lots of SMSes and persistent nagging.

For the bus tickets to Kuala Terengganu, I asked Jackson to buy them from Puduraya since it's more convenient for him. I asked him to consider Konsortium but he got Transnasional tickets. Both are quite well-known so I had no problems with his choice. But after the trip I have to say that Konsortium buses are more comfortable due to its larger leg room.

During our planning for the trip I did a lot of reading on other people's experiences in the Redang.org forum. That is an excellent site with lots of information and the discussion forum where several active members answer all our noobs questions.

To be continued...