Pulau Lang Tengah Resort

Pulau Lang Tengah Resort

Pulau Lang Tengah Resort which is called Redang Lang Resort is nested between Pulau Redang and Pulau Perhentian in Terengganu, Malaysia. However, there are only limited resorts there if you plan to go, so please book very very carefully. On my trip there, I stayed at the Redang Lang Resort which did not turn out he way it should have looked. By the way, Pulau is Island in Malay.

Getting to Pulau Lang Tengah, you need to travel to Tanjung Merang which is about 22km from Kuala Terengganu town. There, the boat operators will direct you to your boat and it will take about 45 minutes to an hour to reach Lang Tengah island depending on the boat.

Pulau Lang Tengah Island- The only jetty there

Pulau Lang Tengah's Redang Lang Resort was in sight after a 45 minute speed boat ferry journey and on arrival, there was a small jetty to welcome us or you could simply jump into the water and wade in. Herded to the reception area, where the Redang Lang Resort manager will welcome you and give everyone a do's and dont's for the Island. It immediately reminded me of my school days where you go in an excursion and meet the camp leader. However, the two of us who were joined by other holiday makers on this trip did not have a clue on what to expect.

The tour operator Ping Anchorage in Kuala Terengganu never did mention anything about the military style resort we were booking. This I must say is pretty lame for them to just sell the package for the sake of selling and not knowing what the client wants. If they spent a little more time with clients needs, it would put them a notch higher in the service industry.

We are a city couple looking for a nice get-away to an island resort and they recommend us this resort. Thank goodness it was only a one night stay as I had to move on to Perhentian Island and Redang Island next.

Lang Tengah Island - Postcard perfect views

I have to admit that parts of the beach at Pulau Lang Tengah Island was really beautiful as you can see in some of the pictures here. The waters were also very nice with a lovely turquoise emerald colour. And the skies were super blue during my visit here.

Redang Lang Resort - Deck chairs out on the beach

Redang Lang Resort - Dormitory rooms?

Here is the fun part about Redang Lang Resort. If you choose the cheaper package, they put you in the dormitory style rooms. I thought this was a resort? The rooms are really badly taken care of so don't even dream of having a resort style living when you stay here. I guess from this you will know why big named resorts cost so much.

Redang Lang Resort - Basic chalets

Anyhow, the chalets were no better. This is a good example of a cheaply run resort. Mind you it was not cheap to book this package. But overall living conditions were one of the worst ever. I think staying in a Seri Malaysia Hotel would be much more comfortable. No kidding. So the catch here is, after that long journey here and you see the rooms, you will just go 'what the hell', lets just stay'. Remember, there are only two resorts on this side of the island and I hope that they(operators) will eventually see the possibility of attracting world class tourist instead of the local budget holiday makers.

Redang Lang Resort - The military styled dining area

Having your breakfast, lunch and dinner is also military style at Redang Lang Resort. It is buffet style and they have fixed times for your meals. There is no ala-carte dining so deal with it! If you are hungry in between, they have biscuits and coffee or tea.

Ok, so lunch is at 1.00pm at Redang Lang Resorts dining hall. I took some time to get ready and by the time I reached the lunch hall, it was about 1.10pm. Looking at the buffet spread, there was practically nothing left but rice. Knowing Malaysians, everything was gone. in the first 3 minutes. So, I asked a worker there, 'is more food coming out to replenish the finished dishes?', he just told me 'sorry, you have to come sharp 1.00pm. I will see if there is extra. There are biscuits over there if you like'. I looked at Lilian with this blank look and we were literally shocked. Eventually, they brought out 2 basic dishes, like some stir fried vegetables and some fried egg. Seriously, the food there is really bad.

At least something made me smile when I was at Redang Lang Resort

Thank god for lovely flora there or I would have gone mad with the overall service and attitude of the Redang Lang Resort. Here is the scenario of guests there. First, you get the local families on budget with their screaming kids. Next you have the school groups in different ages. Then you have the groups of teenagers out on their first group holiday and finally you have the unsuspecting tourist who has not been told of what to expect. So remember, always ask about your resort before blindly booking like I did.

Redang Lang Resort -Deck chairs on the beach

Scuba diving at Lang Tengah, it would be normal for seasonal divers to check in here. The Redang Lang Resort has a dive shop there catering to the small dive groups. I had not learned to dive before my Lang Tengah trip, so I never had the chance to explore the underwater world here. But on checking the dive shop, I was told that there are about 10-12 dive sites around Lang Tengah Island. Also from experience of the local dive masters, there have been sightings of Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, Leopard Sharks and Turtles in the waters around Lang Tengah Island so this would be one of the nice dive spots of Terengganu.

Dive packages for Redang Lang Resort

Lang Tengah Island - Beach volleyball

End of the day, Lang Tengah Island is a really nice place. To experience it, I would recommend you try the D’Coconut Lagoon Resort which is nearby. I believe it would be a tad nicer than Redang Lang Resort unless they seriously improve on everything.

However, if you think that resorts like these are the bomb, then I will not argue with you. This is just my personal taste and opinion. I think beautiful islands like there should have better and proper resorts. Not the ones who go for the volume and forget the quality of resort living. This was experienced by me in early 2008 for the record.

Information and reviews for Pulau Lang Tengah Island;
Pulau Lang Tengah Island information
Pulau Lang Tengah Island from JourneyMalaysia
Pulau Lang Tengah Island on Wikipedia
Lang Tengah reviews from Virtual Tourist
Lang Tengah reviews from Trip Advisor

Lang Tengah Packages:
Lang Tengah package from MariMari.com
Lang Tengah package from Cuti.com.my

Pulau Lang Tengah is pretty much promoted during the Matta Fair 2010 (Malaysia's largest travel fair, twice a year) so if you have plans to dive or snorkel or just want to try another Malaysian Island Holiday, I suggest you try booking a Lang Tengah Package from the next Matta Fair 2010 at PWTC.

~ David, Malaysia Asia

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