Malaysia is home to a plethora of beautiful islands, so much so that it sometimes makes it difficult for us to decide where to go when we want to Cuti-Cuti Malaysia. Just take a look at these islands in Malaysia you’ve probably never heard of!

The East Coast of Terengganu alone houses a set of islands with white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters that tourists from all over often flock to. Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Lang Tengah are just a few of the many gems found in this part of Malaysia.

But there is one island in particular that may not be as popular as it should be known as Pulau Bidong.

We’ve briefly mentioned Pulau Bidong before here to celebrate the ‘Visit Terengganu’ month last year.

This island once sheltered nearly 40,000 Vietnamese refugees who fled their home country to escape the communists between 1978 and 1990.

Pulau Bidong was also nicknamed ittle Saigon.
After serving as a temporary refugee camp, Pulau Bidong was handed back to the Terengganu state government in 1991.

One of the many relics left behind by the Vietnamese refugees.
Despite the island’s beautiful seabed and rich marine treasures, it was never officially promoted as a tourism product by the state.

That’s about to change very soon.

In conjunction with ‘Visit Beautiful Terengganu 2018’, the state government is transforming Pulau Bidong into Asia’s first underwater gallery.

The gallery will comprise of 13 sculptures which are replicas of cultural artefacts and relics found in Terengganu, including a turtle, a tengkolok, a pearl and the Terengganu Inscription Stone, as reported by The Star.

The Pulau Bidong jetty, only 20 minutes by boat from the Merang jetty.
Pulau Bidong may not be familiar to the younger generation of today, other than scuba divers, but it is truly a place full of heritage that is worth visiting.

So, mark your calendars and start planning your trip to Terengganu next year! An island-hopping trip sounds perfect, doesn’t it?