the cherating experience_2008

2008 saw him and i travelling a little more often than usual.
after tioman, the next holiday was spent with kok beng and olivia in cherating kuantan.


well, there is nothing much to do in kuantan. upon arrival, we ate. checked into the hotel and slept. nothing like a good sleep after a long drive and a full stomache. if you are looking for a place to have good lunch or even breakfast, head to the stall with the HOtlink Canopy near Grand Continental hotel in Kuantan town itself.we actually stopped there to have lunch as we thought that sponsored places would be good as it would attract customers and the brand can be promoted as well.

so, lunch was great. there were not many varieties for the economy rice, but the little they had was simply scrumptious. yummy...(feeling hungry now). after lunch we checked into the hotel, slept a bit and later headed out for dinner.

at first we went to the riverside to book tickets for the firefly boat trip. we were not so fortunate because the lady at the ticket booth informed us that they do not carry out such trips when there is the full moon or rain. there was a BIG ROUND moon that night. sigh...plus it started drizzling and so we headed to Cherating to eat.

more than an hour later, slow driving due to rain, made us arrive a little wet and a lot hungry. we ordered a number of dishes and as usual, the camera-woman always forgets to take pictures until the very last minute...ie after we have started eating.





i do not know about others but the food to me... was delicious. we had prawns, lemon chicken, kangkung belacan, crabs, a yummy "sour vegetable soup), mix vege with tofu, beer, tea... (i feel that i have forgotten some dishes). it didnt come up to much ( when compared to kl prices). just slighter over RM100. definitely cheap.

we drove back slowly with the left car wiper giving problem; something we fixed the very next morning. we headed back to the hotel, just to curl up and enjoy the night.

the next morning, we headed towards teluk lumpur. we had a deliciously simple breakfast. yours truly was too busy stuffing the face to take any more pictures at this humble hut of treats and goodies. the breakfast was simple, filling and delicious... cheap too. the kuantan breakfast and nasi lemak is quite different from those you find in west malaysia. it was definitely worth trying.

after a full breakfast, we headed to the beach area. we stopped at a local handicraft shop. i wasnt really pleased with this place. the batik class was not open on a SUNDAY!!! isnt that when people want to do such activities? we browsed around the shop and olivia bought a really pretty batik-y skirt. it was reasonably priced too. the rest of us walked out emtpy handed. i felt that the things there were generally over priced and what was worse was the fact that most of the items found were made in CHINA!
hah!!

after the window-shopping session, we ventured a little further. we ended up along a small road leading to the turtle sanctuary. the road also led to Club Med Cherating. anyway, we went it to this small little not-so-well-kept place. it surely looked like it needed cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. there were pictures and posters mostly. we managed to take some videos of the turtles kept at the sanctuary. there was an interesting poster that caught my eye.

one of the staff told us that we could go back a little later to watch the turtles being released...for a token sum/small donation. i was sure that it was a form of bribery but to lose the chance? half-hearted but as the others were game, we did.

after that, we headed to the beach. He had been harping about wanting to draw batik. i could see KB not too keen on the idea, but since we were, we went anyway.
it was quite fun though at first a little annoyed because the craft centre was under renovation (has been since 2005 (the last time we went there). haha.
on the way out, we saw a sign saying batik painting. but the "artist" was multi-tasking with food catering and so had no time for us. so we continued driving out, until we came the the temporary pit stop for the batik painting.

AYAM (at least that's his initials) was there to help us set up and try batik painting.. he and i chose to colour a fish while olivia and KB chose a pretty home. we started painting after AYAM showed us how to do it. very helpful and soon we were on our way painting happily. he as usual is more patient and i was more in a hurry to see how it would look when it finished. all too soon, we finished. we were to collect it after a few hours and thus, we headed to a nearby restaurant recommended by AYAM.

THe food there was delicious but more pricey though. i cant remember the name and i dont want to describe the dingy toilet behind. it looks like creatures lived there. after lunch, we headed to the beach since we had time to kill. he and i actually played in the water while KB and Olivia snoozed on the soft whitish sands. the breeze was good, the water cold and it was quite fun. i had bought some langsat and we ate some. it was a good time for an ice-cream but alas, none was found there. =(

later that evening, we met up with AYAM to collect out batik pieces. some who saw us admired them. others chided us. i mean, why pay someone to paint ?? it truly didnt make sense when you put it that way. for me, it was the experience. (it's sept now, and we still havent framed it up) soon!!!




later, we released some turtles into the sea. we got free "lessons" on turtles and we got to touch them and see them up close and personal. i almost cried when we released them into the sea. it was a profound feeling...that i prayed to G*d to watch over the turtles. we were told than only one in a hundred survived. i didnt know what i could do to help but to spread the word. i did to all my classes and i hoped that there were those touched to do something...even if not now, but one day. sow the seeds of knowledge and awareness...

after that, we headed back to kuantan. we had satay, not great but the store itself was double storey. all the walking had caused my heels to hurt and i wasnt keen on going upstairs. we sat downstairs and ate away. i think we were all a little tired and hoped for a good night's rest.

the next morning, we agreed to do our own things but actually ended up meeting up in the same place. we shopped a little and this time souvenirs were keropok for a few people.

it was a good holiday. just recently, Olivia found out that she was pregnant. yahoo =)