Betau Valley

Betau Valley

Saturday 17 March 2012

Seascapes of Kuantan - Cherating

Every year, or every now and then, Kuantan beckons with its sandy, sun-lit shores - especially during the months of April to July when the rains went away with the passing of the monsoon at the beginning of the year. For people like us who live in the interior, the sea is always an exotic landscape with its inhabitual salty offerings and of course, wide, wide vistas totally unobstructed by hills and trees (not that they're not pleasing - just different). I actually lived in this town (now city) back in the 80s and things were a lot different. For one, the roads were a lot easier to navigate without ending up in some neighbourhood totally unknown to me. I have yet to subscribe to any use of GPS and so the good ol' sense of direction is still put to use, albeit to relearn routes...

At least once a year, we make day trips to Kuantan just to catch a quick glimpse of the sea and to stock my freezer with freshly caught fishes (and spiny lobsters). This year, we were early but I reckon that the chanting of cicadas in my backyard (still a jungle) meant that the weather is clearing up and so it was...

Teluk Chempedak at Kuantan (Chempedak Bay)

I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness maintained by the city hall and despite being on a Saturday, the beach was largely empty...





The Turtle Sanctuary at Teluk Balai, Cherating

Juvenile turtles at the sanctuary

 Impressive beaches outside the sanctuary

 The beach beyond the signboard is 'claimed' by Club Med


Sungai Ular

Despite its raw charm, this stretch of beach is in bad need of a clean-up and a fine dose of civic classes for the public. What a sad relaxed attitude to what nature has offered...(trying my best not to include any debris, plastics, styrofoam lunch boxes and other rubbish that litter the whole place)

 still has charms that give it a postcard like allure...

a tiny island 

 balmy and inviting...

a dinghy abandonned on the beach...

typical salted fish shops' displays (hanging are dried cuttlefish and squids)


Tanjung Lumpur at Kuantan

 symbol of life on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia - the fishing sampan

a boat returning from the day's catch - and soon us too after our 'catch' at the fisherman market in Beserah...

No comments:

Post a Comment