Kuantan
Wed 8th Apr.
I went to bed early; I woke up too early, but I had a good sleep. I packed. I had 2 cups of coffee. I checked out at 09:00, saying I’d be back in about 5 weeks time.
I wanted to be a bit early in case I struggled with the ticket machine; I could’ve got a ticket from the counter, but wanted to get used to the machines. I caught the 09:33 train…again, in plenty of time. It was only one stop.
I got talking to a Swedish lady at the railway station en route to the bus terminal to get my Kuantan bus. Hers was a good/bad example of how things can go wrong with immigration if you’re not careful. Crossing borders can be a minefield.
It got to 10:40 and no bus. But it suddenly arrived and we left just after the 10:45 scheduled departure time. It took about 45 minutes to get out of KL, but I got lots of different views of the City.
A good 4 hour journey with a 10 minute stop half way. After the skyscrapers, and as we gained altitude, came the forests. Then huge areas of palm trees followed by more forests.
The Kuantan bus terminal was way out of town. I hadn’t got into the swing of Grab yet, and the taxi driver wanted 25RM to take me into the town; well, it cost me 30 for four hours on the bus. I offered 15 but he turned his nose up at that. Another guy accepted my offer.
He dropped me off fairly centrally. Apps are a godsend these days. I found V Hotel and Hotel Seasons, but thought I’d just check across the road at De Spring Hotel. I had a good laugh with Lufi the receptionist and his rate of 88RM was much better than the 99RM nearby.
Room 603 sounded good but actually it was on the ground floor…hence no window!! I decided to stay 2 nights; it was too late to be thinking of dashing off the next day. I paid my 50RM refundable deposit but there was no tourist tax. The room was spacious with a big bathroom…I was very happy.
I got into my shorts as it was sunny and hot. I walked 10 minutes down to the river; took a pic of a blue and white mosque along the way. By this time it was nearly 16:30 and I was feeling thirsty.
I found a bar that sold 5 pints for 90RM , so I went for that. There was okay music playing, but the scratchy/wailey voices of the ladies was irritating. I don’t ever want to be racist, but were they Chinese ??!!
I’d passed a restaurant on the way to the pub and I said I’d return. Which I did , and had dinner of 2 chicken satay skewers and meatballs with noodles. Quite tasty, and it was plenty and only cost 2.50Gbp.
A good travel day and I accomplished a lot on my first day in Kuantan. A good introduction to the East Coast. I was still feeling a bit tired and went back to my room a bit on the early side. There were no English channels on the TV, but I listened to a bit of music.
Thurs 9th Apr
I had a really good sleep and felt I’d caught up finally on lost sleep and travel fatigue. I was wondering what to do about breakfast but found that in reception one got a free tea/coffee and toast. That was enough for me.
I did my usual walkabout after I’d done a little bit of research…for a change !! Nearby were streets with lots of murals which required lots of photo taking. Not just murals but whacky things like the back end/half of a VW stuck in a wall, with the front half sticking out about 30 meters away.
And I had a selfie sitting in front of a barber with scissors, seemingly giving me a haircut…such fun. I went for a Kopi at a place recommended in reviews. It was nice, but a couple of hours later I was having the squits…the mix of coffee and their milk somehow doesn’t agree with me..!!!
I went back to the hotel. Having talked to Lufi, and he helped me with the Grab booking, I went to the beach at Teluk Cempedak which was just over 6kms away.
Certainly not walkable in the heat, and it only cost 6RM…just over 1Gbp.
I walked to the beach and considered having a swim, but the fairly steep shelf was a concern, although the water was relatively calm.
I’m glad I asked the lifeguard about the significance of the white/red flags, because he said ‘No Swimming ‘ due to there being jellyfish in the water. Phew, I’m glad I asked..!!
It’s not a very long beach, but I walked down to the end where there was a natural barrier of huge rocks. It was so secluded that I stripped off totally. I was there for less than an hour as it was too hot.
Of course I took photos of the beautiful white sandy beach. Basically, it cemented in my mind that I didn’t need to go to Islands promoting white sandy beaches, because I’d just experienced it at zero cost.
Oh, I’ve never experienced such burning sand before; no way I couldn’t wear my flip-flops.
I walked back down the beach and went into the Regency Hyatt to use their wifi to get onto Grab to order a taxi. What a smart hotel…of course…their 200RM+ versus my 88RM room with no window !! The Grab driver was very friendly and dropped me off right outside the hotel.
I had a refreshing shower then walked about 15 minutes to the Cool Bar. I ordered 3 large Tigers, and at the same time asked whether the bar added an extea 10% tax/surcharge to the bill…the answer was ‘No’. I enjoyed the noisy atmosphere that accompanied the beers, although it was rather cold in there.
On the way back to deSpring I stopped at the same place as the previous day and had 3 chicken satay skewers…I wasn’t particularly hungry. Dinner only cost a couple of quid.
And back to the hotel, passed the mosque and a couple of trees crammed with birds making a helluva noise. Lufi ( who had helped me with my Grab app was off duty and Ida had taken over. The staff are very friendly.
Fri 10th Apr
I got going slowly in the morning, knowing that I could enjoy my last day in Kuantan. I had a couple of teh tariks at breakfast, plus toast plus the snack that comes neatly folded in a triangular shaped paper wrapping. Inside was rice, half a boiled egg, some ‘whitebait’, peanuts, and a spicy sauce in a separate packet.
Back in my room I washed my blue shirt. I took it to the riverfront and sat on a ‘park’ bench as it dried. It is always relaxing watching the boats going up and down the river.
On day 2, I noticed some cobblers and tailors nearby, so I carried my kikoi with me to get fixed if the opportunity arose. In fact, one guy agreed to stitch it up immediately. That was after I had walked into the shop in my flip-flops; I hadn’t noticed the discarded footwear outside !! The 2 big rips were fixed; well, I’ve prolonged its life for a little longer.
At Spring I grabbed a tasty sandwich.
Next stop the ATM where I drew out 400RM…75Gbp ; at least I could pay for my beer. Then over to Cool bar for a bucket of 3 Tigers. Then the usual dinner venue where I had a noodle based dish.
And back to Spring where I relaxed in the reception area and played on my phone. I got bored and checked if there was somewhere nearby I could have a nightcap. Nothing doing so I reverted to Cool bar just for one Tiger.
Incredible sight on the way back…the big car park near/opposite the masjid/mosque is converted into a brightly lit, buzzing market at night. Possibly only Friday/Saturday..??
Talking to Spring reception, I realised I needed to get going relatively early in the morning because of rush hour.