A tropical island gateway yet to be as commercialised as its renowned big brothers, its pristine beauty was readily apparent as we stepped off the speedboat onto powdery white sand.

Hidden from the stormy seas of commercialism, the main draw of the island is its pristine beaches and unspoilt coral reefs that start from almost the edge of its white sand. Its ideal location within Malaysia’s Marine Park Sanctuary means a plethora of living corals and endangered marine life species that are protected for the enjoyment of generations to come. One can savour its spectacular marine life by swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving, or even just standing in the water.

It was an enchanting moment as we had our first taste of Lang Tengah’s magical underwater kingdom. In the mornings, we were taken out by boat on a round-island tour that culminated at a secluded bay on the other side of the island.

Snorkelling in the crystal clear blue waters, 6m to 9m deep, we enjoyed the kaleidoscope of live coral, exotic fish and other species of marine life. They seemed to come in all hues and shades – giant purple fish swimming amongst the huge clusters of sea anemone, little blue fish darting maniacally among large yellow corals.

Our guide suddenly motioned for us to be still. He pointed into the distance. But for a slight grey-white movement of a familiar silhouette about 3m away from us, fairly close to the surface, we might have missed it. Majestic, though still not yet full-grown, a baby shark swam swiftly through the water, then paused for a moment as if sensing our presence. Intrigued, we stayed absolutely still, the thumping heartbeats in our chests seemed thunderous. Without warning, the baby shark made a swift turn and disappeared into the darkness.

Our next discovery was a lazy giant leatherback turtle resting on an underwater rock. Our guide surprised us by taking a huge gulp of air and diving towards it. He gently grasped the surprised and struggling reptile firmly under his arm and swam back up towards us.

Despite feeling guilty at interrupting the turtle’s nap, we eagerly took turns to stroke its leathery back. Feeling quite satisfied, our guide dived once again with our sleepy friend, and gently placed it back on the rock.

In the evenings, led by our guide, we swam out from the beach where the resorts were, via a tunnel-like sea passageway enclosed by seemingly infinite coral reefs on both sides, out to open sea. We were careful not to touch or tread on any corals and risk harming them.

The enchanting and mysterious underwater world was intoxicating. We could have gone on snorkelling endlessly, our eyes glued to the ocean depths for activity, had it not been for the calls of the guide to return as it got late.

Sundown was spent sprawled on a mengkuang mat on the jetty, drinking wine and munching on potato chips, enjoying a first rate view of the magnificent tropical sunset in hues of gold, crimson and indigo.

Dinner was an informal community-style barbeque where we had the opportunity to get to know the other guests as well as to show off our culinary skills – or lack thereof – grilling scrumptious beef steak, lamb chops, chicken drumsticks and wings, sausages, fish and crab balls, squid, and brinjal, on charcoal fires.

At midnight, when we returned to the mengkuang mat, we could still see the faint silhouettes of schools of fish swimming around and under the jetty. We fed them with tiny pieces of bread, causing even more to suddenly appear in droves, to nibble eagerly. As a light breeze filled the moonlit night, we sighed with contentment, awestruck by Lang Tengah’s pristine beauty.