Leaving on a jet plane

Arrrrgh, i hate last minute packing.
Even though the flight is on dec 3, this is very the last minute by my standards esp since the trip was only confirmed like yesterday.
Going to Saigon (and possibly Da Nang) in Vietnam for a short work stint and will be living out of the suitcase in hotels while there hence the need to be all the more precise when packing.
Summore i can't do any packing this weekend cos am volunteering for Pink Triangle's world aids day red carnival (www.ptfmalaysia.org).

So much clothes... so little time, gee i had no idea i had so may blue business shirts!
On the bright side part of my packing includes my new toy, a new olympus digital camera with 18Xoptical zoom :-)
Oh well better just do it than blog about it... ...

Sunrise over the sea

Took a risk that paid off despite this being the monsoon season, by making a quick beach escape out of the urban jungle we know as Kayel. All i wanted was some time by the sea with water clean enuf that one would not hesitate to jump in which was as near as possible to KL.

Given that it is monsoon season all out islands were out of the question and none of our west coast beaches fit my clean water criteria by my standards, the logical choice was Cherating which was godsend as the weather was fine for my entire 4D3N stay there except for a brief half hour downpour. Rasanya since it was the first weekend of the long school holidays, a lot of kids must have been praying for clear weather by the beach and all the bomohs must have been working overtime to ensure this LOL.

The beach of my choice was Kampung Cherating Lama and it was really a wonderful place with a very gradual beach which enabled one to wade out several hundred metres into the ocean with water level only waist high!! Best of all the resort i resided at, bayview resort (+609-5819248) gave us a beachfront chalet... and this was the view from the front door of our chalet :-
This was the chalet (first on the left):-
This is as much of the beach as i could get in one shot :-
At one end there's a forested hill to explore on on one end complete with a private rocky beach on the other side of the hill which purportedly was only reserved for the pahang royal family who have a villa on the hill slope:-
At the other "end" was a tidal river and lovey casuarina gove leading to a fishing village and mangrove swamps further in Actually it wasn't the end per se but i considered it the end as my beachstrolls ended there as i did not venture to cross the tidal river (possible during the low tide) over to the remainder of the beach where Legend Resort Cherating is located.
For me growing up in the west coast in the former sleepy hollow of malacca watching the sun rise over the sea was a real novelty as i was so used to watching it set over the sea as a kid. Thanks to the beachfront location of my chalet i was up with the sunrise every morning!!... 3 mornings to be exact:-
On day 2 we visited the turtle sanctuary and the beach where club med is located. There was a 3 y/o turtle kept there who seemed to love posing for the camera :-
Hactchlings (hawksbill and green variety but i forgot which is which, sorry lah dah tua tak leh ingat :-P) pending release to the sea, notice one of the black ones is slightly deformed (birth defect) so it will not be released as its swimming was very "tak tentu arah" poor thing, they should make it their mascot!!! :-
Club Med, which was dead given that it was monsoon season:-
Monsoon season is also surfing season in malaysia's east coast as surfers are ever willing to risk their lives for the perfect wave, not that our surf ever gets very lifethreatening (at least not as far as i know):-
Day 3 we made a quick trip to Kuantan the capital of the State of Pahang just to look around as its a town i have never visited. Didn't stay too long as we couldn't wait to get back to the beach for out last afternoon and evening there. Kuantan's riverside :-
Kuantan's elegantly resplendent blue mosque :-
As with all good things, my escapade to the beach had to come to an end.... but i already decided where to stay should i visit cherating again, Tanjung Inn (+6016-9305604) :-

Habis Cerita :-)