Posted under Me
Apart from the inconvenience and torture of the taste buds… here is the weekend I spent in Cherating, Kuantan. The trip was a pleasant trip in all other aspect especially for my little camera!
Although we were greeted with some inconvenience in the start and a free sauna in the lobby, hence the stay was a pleasant one in mind. We were greeted by the fairly rough sea beating against the shore and the bright sun basking it’s light on the white sandy beach. The sea was of clear while the bright blue sky and white clouds made the scenery a relaxing one. There were children and adults playing and strolling on the beach, relaxed and refreshed. There were coconut trees standing tall clinging to the sand and giving shadows and shades for those who seeks it.
We relax on the first day where no activity was planned. The gang basically played beach volley ball and “monkey”. I did not join as I was not really a sports person so I skipped all the sports element activities. I was just shooting pictures the rest of the evening and strolling by the beach. The furthest I went was going knee deep in the sea. I did not really play in the sea or any other beach games though… I was just shooting around. It was a relaxing day though the bus journey was quite long, about 4 to 5 hours with 2 stops in between for breakfast and a break. Then the night complete the day with karaoke session at Xpose in Legend hotel. Then we called it a night and retired to sleep.
The next day we made a trip to Lake Chini and like the tour guide keep saying, it’s the second largest natural lake in Malaysia. The bus ride from the resort took about 2 hours just to reach Lake Chini and most of us just slept all the way. The activity in Lake Chini was boat ride, aboriginal village and also lunch. In the aboriginal village we were taught how to use the blowpipe. Almost everyone tried, but I didn’t, just like an antisocial brat as always. Nah, it’s just that I was not interested. In the same village we saw a mother monkey and her child chained by a tree. There was also a black hornbill there flying around in the trees. Then we gathered at this aboriginal’s house and saw some of the children playing games. Then we departed from there and made our way to river Chini. Near the entrance of the river, we saw some lotus flower, which was really nice. I was actually expecting the lake would be filled with lots and lots of lotus flower, but then it was shattered as I got to know tourist came and plucked them out one by one. I guess we never learn the lessons that have been taught to us since we were young. Imagine a lake full with lotus flower, what a heaven it would be.
Then we entered the river Chini, and we saw a lot of big trees along side the river. There were these Merbau trees that were hundreds of years old, various other trees, saw a lizard drinking by the river as well as a snake on a tree branch. The guide gave us a lot of explanation of the trees, what they can be used for, and other informations. Then we headed back from the river back to the lake and the jetty. The boat ride was really fun, we did some drifting and even a 360 spin right in the middle of the lake. What an experience! We had our lunch there and everyone was content. Then we headed off to the batik factory and then the salted fish shop. The rest of the evening everyone was playing on the beach while I was snapping photos again.
After dinner we went to the turtle sanctuary near club med. It was not fruitful as we did not manage to see any giant turtles come up and lay eggs, but they did release a handful of turtles. During this time I did observe that human are just ignorant as it has been reiterated so many times that no flash light or flash photography should be used, and yet they are people who use it, and there were a tour bus from our southern neighbour there. With no luck, we went back to our resort, grabbed a carton of beer and sat by the beach. We listened to the waves beating on the sand and the moon was shining so brightly that it did not feel like the middle of the night. We chatted and a bit of story telling came around. Then we retired back to our rooms.
The 2 morning there were spend chasing for sunrise. I woke up at 0500 in the morning and was out by the beach by 0545. I was really happy that I managed to see and snapped photos of the sunrise on both mornings. I can tell you that the wait for sunrise is exciting and long, but when the sun starts to rise, you only have less than 15 minutes to admire its glory and beauty. Then its breakfast and some games like ping pong, chat, stroll around the resort and packing. Then we were on our way back to the hustle and bustle of the city life and work the next day. What a weekend for me.
