The one with Pulau Redang

Phew, what an intense holiday! Why is it that nowadays we need to take a rest even after returning from a "holiday"? It seems that we all want to make the most of the vacation that we pack in as much activities as we can. And so it was - the trip up to Pulau Redang on the East-coast of Malaysia. Jam-packed! Perhentian has always been my annual pilgrimage but this time, we (bunch of diver frenz) & I decided to try a different place. But there'll be no escaping from diving though.

So a 10pm departure on a Friday night & 9 hours later, we were at Merang Jetty awaiting the ferry to Redang Reef Resort. Can't say the journey was pleasant but I'll endure any suffering if it'll get me to paradise lost with its white soft sand, crystal clear azure waters and lazy sunny days. The anticipation as we jumped off the boat onto the beach is always exhilirating. Oh, can you feel the sand... smell the sea... yeah baby, we're here!


We chose to stay at the resort located at the far-end of Pasir Panjang Beach. After the customary briefing (yadda, yadda), we checked into our rooms & got ready for the first check-out dive. Haha, the initial gearing up is always a challenge. That's when you discover a slightly more snug wetsuit, equipment that goes all funny on you and you stare blankly into the regulator & wonder which end is which. The divemaster recommended we go explore the house reef right in front of the resort with the promise of turtles, baby black-tip sharks & fishies galore. And boy, it did not disappoint! No sharkies though but the sight of a turtle swimming got the old heart a pumping. Turtles are always a highlight of any dive.

Impressed I was though of the sheer number of fishes & varieties for a reef colony so close to a heavily populated beach. Stag-horn corals of all colours spread out over the rocky outcrop, colonies of anenome fish, fusiliers, parrotfish, surgeons, butterfly, angels & wow... pomfret! No wonder divers are always hungry after a trip underwater, there's no shortage of visual & stomach stimuli. With such a grand promise of things to come, you can't help but feel a deep fire burning on the insides; not unlike the feelings of yearning & lust for a gorgeous long-haired beauty who just smiled seductively at you from across the room. Oh dear, the anticipation.

Now, not that I'm complaining but a dive vacation is simple routine of eat, dive, chill, drink, party & sleep. Next day, repeat. Yessh, the sheer monotony of it all. Of course, I tend to spice things up a little by taking long strolls on the soft sandy beach; taking in the picture-perfect panaromic views of the expansive ocean & the truckloads of bodies absorbing UV rays for what it's worth. But of course my true intentions behind those pair of fashion sunnies were to sneak a peek at those gorgeous sun-tanned ladies in their most skimpy & colourful bikinis. Oh, did I mention skimpy? What a feast for the eyes... ah, I really do love the beach. I could get used to this: period.

Now the main difference between Redang & Perhentian is the atmosphere. I found out that Pulan Perhentian sprung out from the 80's and it was influenced by the backpackers & their trail blaze across South-East Asia. Redang was a late bloomer, probably in the early 90's. Hence more planning went into Redang and what you get are rows of resorts, chalets and purpose-built structures. More commercialised in other words.

Perhentian on the other hand has a more laid-back feel. You do feel like you're in a "kampung" (Malay for village) and that's the appeal. In Redang, you check into a resort, food is provided and you merely have to keep to the scheduled lined up for you. Not so in Perhentian. Find a chalet you like, then take a stroll on Long Beach and choose a cafe to have mee goreng & the most lip-smacking delicious mango milkshake this side of the Pacific. But that's another story. There's no schedules in Perhentian, you do what you like when you want. On the flipside, it's relatively dirtier in Perhentian because you get the local villagers going about their things next to pale western travellers. Locals actually live there & make their their honest living.

Now back to the diving. This would be my second attempt at underwater photography with my trusted Canon A80 digital camera (all 4 mega-pixels of glory) housed in a WP-DC900 underwater case (good to 40m depths). It does take some decent photos to remind yourself of what you saw during the dive but without a proper strobe, most of the photos come out looking bluish. That's why I concentrate more on taking macro shots; at least the flash brings out the brilliance in the subject. Look out for my underwater shots in an upcoming blog entry!

What about the food you say? Well, the one at the resort is pretty all right mainly chinese dishes with rice, soup and tropical fruits; they do remind me a bit of home-cooked food. Nothing fantastic but you get your fill three times a day. But you gotta venture out to the other restaurants if you want to suss out the good stuff. I always crave for the old favourite "Ramly" burger when I'm on an island. A juicy meat pattie wrapped in an omelette garnished with cabbage & cucumber, then sloshed with generous amounts of ketchup wrapped in buns heavily laden with margarine. The PATTIE makes all the difference. The beef version is succulent and just full of flavour. The taste explodes in your mouth after the first bite and it never fails to satisfy any hungry pangs. Moreover, it's cheap and with the change, you can wash the burger down with beer or iced black tea and you'll be in gastronomic paradise.

And what's a tropical island without the ubiquitous coconut. Ah, the refreshing juice and you will have loads of fun just poking out the flesh! There's seafood of course, BBQ everything from familiar fishes you see during dives cooked in a variety of marinates to squids & prawns. The attraction is the fact that the seafood are all freshly caught from the sea & goes straight into the fire - what could beat that?

Blame it on the diving but my night meals were always "heavy" leaving me bloated. Something about additional pressure on the tummy during diving that causes you to crave more food. Or it's just the exhaustion from finning & carrying those heavy tanks up & down the boat. What I was surprised to find out was that the locals thought of a solution to my tummy predicament. Party! One night, even before we could gulp down our third (or was it fourth) mug of chilled beer; the pounding sounds from the boom-box caught our attention. Suddenly it was shattered - the image of a quiet windy night by the beach, with the sound of slow crashing waves permeating the air. I think it was Britney that bursts our bubble; literally with her "hit me baby one more time!". Wow, a disco by the beach. Not one to miss an opportunity to shake our thang, we proceeded to dance the night away. The quiet beach with crashing waves; nah.. there's always tomorrow. I think we moved from the 80's retro (think Rick Astley) to modern rock/punk and songs that still make you cringe. Yes, the macarena and barbie girl - now what were they thinking?

The resort had its fair share of nightlife. There's a platform build on top of a rocky outcrop and they put a bar there with tables/seats that overlooks the water. What a view, both during the day and at night. It's a little more sombre here. Consistent with the moody feeling that a great thing is about to end, I chose to chill out here on the eve before we were set to leave. I hung out with my buddies, sipping wine, basking in the warm balmy night; and slowly danced the night away...

We did at least 2 dives a day right till the last day on the island. Diving is addictive; once you get a feel of what you can see, you'll start craving to catch those that you have not. As the boat moved away from the jetty the last morning, I peered down into the water and wished a silent good-bye to my watery friends.

Flight of the eagle

Here I was, walking blissfully along the white sandy beach of Perhentian Island when swooping down from the sky right into my path was an eagle! I wasn't sure if it was injured but it just hung around for the longest time. Maybe it just wanted company or a place to rest after scouring the skies for prey.

I believe it is a white-bellied sea eagle, judging from my search on the net. What a majestic creature. I love birds of prey.

Crab invasion

This is a surprise! Never knew they served whole crab parts with shell and all. I always thought it was too much of a hassle for ordinary folks in America. Or maybe it was the Europeans? Their food is always deshelled for convenience, for e.g. fillets & crab cakes. Even my experience eating lobster in Boston is pretty "convenient". The waiter deshelled it for me on the spot! No need to get my hands dirty.

So for dinner, we headed down to Joe's Crab Shack which is another chain store in the USA. Their speciality are crabs and other seafood in general. There are crab cakes, lobster fondue, fish chippies, grilled tilapia, etc. For the crab section, they have 3 types namely King, Dungeness & Snow crabs. I went for the snow crab option which I believe hails from the Bering Sea which is off Alaska. There was a documentary on Discovery about how the fishermen of the Bering Sea has the most dangerous jobs in the world. If they survive the crab season, they can stop working for the year; that is how much they are paid but there are perils every single minute when they are out at sea.

You also had to choose the type of preparation for the crabs, i.e. BBQ, garlic or steamed. The crab comes with jumbo grilled prawns on a kebab, corn & rice. The picture shows the coconut shrimps instead.

You got less than one half of the crab. Taste-wise, the crab legs were okay. The meat was sweet & succulent. However for some reason, it was cold. Maybe it was the air-con or it could be the way it was cooked. The shrimp was only average. I didn't like the corn or the sauces that they provided. I think it was melted butter and a hot sauce of some sort. The crab was nice in itself, it didn't need any sauces on it.

I still prefer the mud crabs we get in Malaysia & Singapore.

Alimento Italiano

Finally! I was getting tired of the typical American food here in Houston. It is an endless stream of BBQ, burgers, ribs, pizzas & chips. I was craving for more wholesome food. My prayer was answered in the form of an Italian restaurant called Olive Garden. There are branches all over USA.

Olive Garden was only a 5 minutes walk from my hotel. Can't believe I did not come here sooner. I have seen this place before but there is always a queue in front so I never bothered. But I'm glad I did persist this time. Twice. In one day!


For lunch, I saddled up to the bar. The service staff was really attentive and nice. Ambience was comfortable. Every order comes with either a soup or salad & baked garlic bread sticks on the side. I really, really love the croutons! They have an infusion of taste from the cheese & herbs. It really reminded me of cheesels! Only more intense. Yummy.


I ordered the "Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto". The description in the menu said "large sauteed shrimp served over creamy parmesan risotto with asparagus". I found it was a bit too cheesy but it was really delicious. The shrimps were huge. It costs around USD13.

For dinner, I had the minestrone soup and "Braised beef & Tortelloni" (tender sliced short ribs and portobello mushrooms tossed with asiago-filled tortelloni in a basil-marsala sauce). Another winner dish! The beef was really soft & tender. So much flavour. The mushroom added to the explosion of taste. The pasta was really filling due to the cheese filling. Asiago is a type of cheese that is produced in the Italian Alps.

To accompany the meal, I had their house red which you can only get from their restaurant. It is specially imported by Olive Garden only. Principato Rosso 2001. It is very smooth and reminds me of the Chianti wines I tasted in Florence.

The bill came to be under USD20 which is really affordable. The tiramisu in the menu looked really tempting but there was no more room in the stomach. Maybe next time I will order a smaller portion for mains & tackle the dessert after. Overall it was a enjoyable dining experience. I'm sure I'll be visiting Olive Garden again very soon.

Going mexicana

Mexican food is really popular in Texas. This is where the Tex-Mex was invented which is essentially Americanized Mexican food. You can read up on that on Wikipedia. While I was in Houston, I had my fair share of Mexican food. I'm learning to tell the difference between a burrito, enchilada and a quesadilla.

Had lunch at a place called Los Cucos which is a nice Mexican cafe by the freeway. I just love the tortilla chips served in the restaurants here. It tastes lighter and fresher. And the salsa sauce is just heavenly.

My main meal was called an "El Suegro" which consisted of sauteed prawns, onion & poblano peppers on rice; one beef fajita taco covered with chile con queso and a tortilla soup. The soup had strips of crispy tortillas & cheese and it had a nice texture to it.

The prawns were nice. It tastes remotely like chinese "kong-pou" sauce. I didn't like the fajita though. The beef was a tad too tough and the tortilla skin was hard. The cheese was also overpowering. But overall, I enjoyed the meal.

Raiding the Texas Ranger

After 3 planes & 20+ hours later, I found myself in Houston, Texas via San Francisco. Houston is actually the 4th biggest city in USA. With this visit, I would have seen 3 of the 4 biggest cities, the other 2 being New York & Los Angeles. What is left is Chicago.

I'm here for 2 weeks on business so I have time during the weekend to explore. The hotel I'm staying at is quite nice. It's called Homewood Suites belonging to the Hilton group. It is not a hotel per se as all the rooms are suites. The bedroom is separated from the living area & kitchen so it is very spacious. There are 2 TV in there just in case you need to really catch up on your television fix. The kitchen has the whole enchilada, e.g. microwave, fridge, dishwasher & coffee maker.



You could really put a whole family in here. The living area has a nice couch to relax on. Some paintings on the wall to complete the experience.



The bedroom is cool too. They had like 6 pillows! And they are all nice & comfy. To wake you up in the morning, they provided a radio alarm clock with preset channels which was pretty nice. The bathroom and wash area is roomy. Lots of space for doing what you need to do.

Breakfast was neat. They have a DIY pancake corner, a decent selection of pastries & muffins, breads and hot selections like omelette, crepes & sausages. OJ, apple juice, coffee & tea is of course served too. In fact, they provide a small dinner which is complimentary. This is to make up for the lack of a restaurant within the hotel grounds. But as I found out, it did not matter. We are next to Willowbrook Mall, Sears, JC Penny and a short drive away from Wal-Mart. There's probably also 10+ restaurants around the area including BJ's, Kirin, Sweet Tomotoes, Chili's, Olive Garden etc. You'll definitely not go hungry here.

Looks like a weight gain is imminent.