Utopia

I recently retreated to island of Redang in Terengganu. The ride to Terengganu was terrible. Just the day before, there was a headline about a bus express accident, 2 dead and 7 severely injured. What worries me even more, it was the same consortium that we hired and also it happened en-route to Terengganu, which is where we are heading. Plus it was a red-eye ride...

But if death is coming then it's coming. It's not like Final Destination, where you can foresee these things. I believe in fate - if it is my time... then it's my time, regardless of where it is.

Despite sitting at the front top deck and the fright of the double-decker bus overtaking other vehicles, the bus was shaking a lot so i couldn't sleep anyway. When we arrived, we were bugged by a persistent driver, we missed the 7am bus to the jetty, sat in a beat-up car with no a/c, seatbelts and it was raining.

In conclusion, it was one hell of a ride for us... Maybe for me, the least :P

The moment we arrived on the island, it was breathtaking... there was a gradient of blue. As the ocean goes deeper, the darker the blue is. At the beach, the water is so clear, you can see fish swimming underneath it. yadda yadda yadda... all those things that perhaps Tioman or even the Caribbean has better...

What amazes me is the culture and the life of the people who lives there. A beach boy probably earns little but his job is so rewarding. It is most rewarding when you get to experience the nature God created everyday and which no man can duplicate.
We talk of whose car is faster and whose house is fancier but these islanders are different. Instead of comparing which resort has the highest rating, they'd compare how much of relaxation and nature they could provide. You can stay at 5 star hotel and yet still visit the same places as the people who are staying in at unrated hotels. if the islanders would have gone through what i have experienced in getting there, they probably would not have complained... :P

view from mutiara beach resort, where i stayed (food is great, beach is private, cleanliness is superb, chalet is good)

And it also lead me to thinking, how much i wish if there is a world without money and luxury. A world, where we all can sit in our rags, catch fish to eat, wash up in the sea or river, sleep under a hut with no walls or windows, no air conditioning. no vehicles needed, no fuel needed... we will just depend on what nature gives. and with all that, i imagined there would definitely be no stress, no debts, no crimes... and i was blessed to have experience a true utopia in Redang even for just 3 days and 2 nights...