Scenic Penarik, Malaysia.

Malaysia, especially the east coast states of the peninsular is blessed with beautiful beaches. Right from  Mersing in the south to Bachok in the north, there are good beaches for you to stop and have your picnic  or taking pictures. What I am going to tell you is another beach and coastal environment that had attracted me. It is Penarik  in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia.

Penarik is a small village lies 60 km north of Kuala Terengganu, located close to the sea. It is rural in nature and majority work as fisherman. Penarik is really interesting and eye catching due to its scenic nature. Not all beaches has the one that Penarik has. Penarik is a name in Malay which means "attraction".

This skeleton house is yet to be completed. 

This beautiful house with the green grass in the front and the sea at the back adds value to the environment.

The wall made of coconut leaves act as a barrier to strong wind in Monsoon season. It reduces the wind speed and hence protect the houses.

The village environment.

The children as usual use their past times playing kite.

Penarik beach.

The accommodation for visitors. The houses are old Malay traditional house being rebuilt.More than 20 houses are constructed on this site. Behind these houses, there is a river. You can take a rowing boat to appreciate the rich bio-diversity of the area.

This chalet can give a good experience to those who want to feel Terengganu's culture and tradition.

Coconut trees are the trademarks of Terengganu beach.

The road linking Penarik with other towns. The island in the background is Pulau Redang.

If you were from Kuala Lumpur or Kuala Terengganu, you take a coastal road to Kampung Raja. You will pass Batu Rakit and proceed to Merang. By the way, Merang is the transit point to Pulau Redang. Then proceed to Penarik. On the way from Merang to Penarik, you will be amazed with the scenic beauty of this drive especially near Rhu Sepuluh. You will see the blue sea and casuarina trees decorating the coastal landscape.It can relieve your stress. You can forget your problem. Stop and take  a sip of coconut juice as there many many stalls around. Listen to the wind. Inhale the breeze. It can rejuvenate and relax your tired muscles. Happy travel.

Scenic Drive of Terengganu, Malaysia

Terengganu is one of the States in Malaysia located on the east of Peninsular Malaysia. It has 200km long coast and its beaches are superior with white sand and lovely panorama. The white sand and casuarina trees are the trademarks of Terengganu beach. These beaches run parallel to coastal road from Kuantan to Kuala Terengganu that made it interesting to look at. We call this stretch of road as the scenic drive of Terengganu. 

This scenic drive involves areas around Kemasik, Paka, Dungun, Marang (Kelulut), Chendering and Batu Buruk in Kuala Terengganu. If you want to enjoy the beauty of these areas, you need to stop, relax, have refreshment and take pictures. Each spot has food stalls and rest area, even you can have a picnic there.

The entrance to Kemasik Beach.

Kemasik Beach with rocks.

The blue South China Sea and the rock outcrop made a perfect picnic area. 

The fisherman's boat being parked at the stream. Further up. there are many boats  too. 

The park is meant for the visitors. The red roof  is the restaurant.

Playground at the park. 

Six pictures of Kemasik beach give a beautiful illustration of the beach. It is scenic with its blue water. You can relax here. A lot parking spaces are provided and you can drink and eat too.

Next stop is Paka. If you are driving from Kuantan and you reach Paka town. Before you reach the bridge, turn right to visit the fisherman village nearby. You will see a few shops dealing with dried fish, salted fish and other fish by-product. I found this area is interesting when I got the chance to communicate with the locals.

The Paka beach and the sea. 

The man with a big fish smiling at me. 

The Paka fisherman happily pose for the picture.

The fisherman's boats are docked at the Paka River bank. This river flows to the sea.

When you have finished looking at this village, proceed to Dungun, another 20 km. When you reach a traffic light after the Petronas Gas Station, do not turn left, go straight to another traffic light and turn right and follow the road leading to Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). There you are. You will see the another beach. The long stretch of road will bring you to the town centre without a single traffic light.

This beach in Dungun suffers coastal erosion and now is being strengthen. The view is still nice. 

There is no building between the road and the beach. Therefore you can view the sea without any obstruction. On the left you will notice a few chalets and other kind of tourist lodgings  (one notable hotel  is UiTM Hotel, the teaching hotel), a few food courts facing the sea, and schools. If you feel thirsty, you can stop and take a rest and sip the coconut juice.

The natural Dungun beach at the end of beach road.

Dungun river estuary, a view from the bridge.

Seberang Pintasan (opposite Kuala Dungun), a view from the bridge.

The river waterfront of Kuala Dungun.

After driving this long coastal road, you will reach the town of Kuala Dungun (the estuary of Dungun river). You need to turn left and take a bridge toward Tanjung Jara. Tanjung Jara has a 5-star resort with a beautiful, traditional Malaysian architecture. The resort receives patrons from overseas due its class. You may stop and visit. 

After you left Tanjung Jara, go to the main road again and turn right. There, you are on the coastal road again leading to Kuala Terengganu. You will notice further 5km north, Rantau Abang, a once popular turtle landing site. Nowadays, you can hardly find these turtles landing on this beach. 40 years back, Rantau Abang beach is very popular with tourists who wanted to watch turtles lay their eggs. Their eggs were sought after in the markets. The government is discouraging the people from consuming those eggs through continual campaigns. You can stop here. This area had been gazetted by the government as turtle sanctuary. It has a small turtle "museum". You can notice its building from the road. You will not miss it.

Driving can be fun if you take a relaxing attitude and not to rush. The allowable speed is 90 kph only. At certain intervals, you can stop at the petrol stations to fill your tank. Once you past Rantau Abang, you can find an elongated wetlands on the right towards the sea. This wetland is actually lagoons developed naturally to protect the land from the sea waves. You will also notice road side stalls on the road reserve (both sides), people selling steam corn and groundnuts at Kampung Pasir Puteh.

Then after 25 minutes, you will reach Kelulut beach in Marang. You will find many food courts either on the sea side or on the left of the road. You can stop here and enjoy the scenery. You will notice Pulau Kapas (an island).

Coconut trees portray a tropical country. Pulau Kapas  (island) is at the back.

Coconut trees without fruits.

Bring your mat and you can lie on your mat. Take a deep breathe, inhale the free oxygen. This can rejuvenate your energy. This area is not congested as other beach. You can buy many handicrafts and fish by-product like keropok and fish crackers.

Ibai River that flows into the sea. This picture is taken from the Ibai bridge. Both sides of the banks have big open spaces for the people to relax and recreate. For example, the right bank has a few football fields for the public.

Scenic Ibai River and the bridge connecting Chendering and Kuala Ibai (to the left).

Next stop is Chendering and Batu Buruk beach. These beaches attract many people due to its close proximity to the town centre. For Chendering beach, you can not see from the road. You have to go in, turning right to Fisheries Complex in Chendering and again turn left. The small road will lead to coastal traditional villages. If you can not find the way out, reverse back from where you start. When you cross the bridge on Ibai River, look right, you will see the Ibai Estuary, one of the beautiful spots to snap the picture.

The Floating Mosque at Kuala Ibai.

The "floating mosque" is next to it. You may continue driving to the mosque and relax there. Adjacent to the mosque is a large public park and the Terengganu Equesterian Resort (TER). Equesterian Resort has meeting  and sports facilities. It is also houses many riding horses. The final destination is of course Batu Buruk beach, the famous beach of all the beaches in Terengganu.

If you intent to drive this road and stop the locations that I have suggested, you need at least 6 hours. Happy travelling.

Batu Buruk Beach (Pantai Batu Buruk), Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

Batu Buruk  is a place name located at Kuala Terengganu and it is 3km from the town centre. It has recreational parks and a wide beach. This beach had been used by its residents for ages. Its wide beach offers many activities.

This girl is playing kite. 

The flag posts will be decorated with colourful flags when they are events.

The children's playground.

The beach and the waves. During monsoon, this wave will be bigger. Mind you, it is not advisable to swim here due to strong under current.

The blue sea and white fine sand made it a perfect beach.

The people are relaxing by the beach.

During weekend, this beach will be crowded with people and their vehicles.

A nice spot to relax.

This area attracts many people. They come to meet friends, to relax at the beach, to eat and have picnic, to play games on the beach etc. Other facilities being built around this area are food kiosks, toilets, parking areas, large green field, jogging track etc. There are not many seats for the patrons to sit around. The Aquatic Centre is just around the corner. A few hotels are located nearby. They include Primula Beach Hotel, Batu Buruk Beach Chalet and Permai Park Inn.

The service provided to the visitors.

The road is connected to the other parts of the town.

Batu Buruk Beach is also the venue for major events  like marathon and cultural festivals. In the morning, this area is calm as not many people are here. You can have your jogging, tai chi, yoga or other organised games or aerobic. This place is busy during weekends and public holidays. If you want to visit this place, you can take a bus toward Chendering (south) and drop off at the bus stop near the hospital and walk 200 metres to this beach. Happy travel.

Pantai Cenang, Langkawi, Malaysia

Langkawi is an island located in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. It is in the state of Kedah. Going to Langkawi island, you either can go via ferry from Kuala Perlis or Kuala Kedah which took an hour or you  can travel by air. Langkawi is famous for its beaches and over 100 small islands around it. Its Kilim geopark is one of the parks that was recognised by the world body and was gazetted. It is similar to the Halong Bay in Vietnam.

I like to tell you about one of the best beaches in Langkawi. It is the Cenang beach. Located on the western part of the island, 30-minute ride from Kuah, or 10 minutes from the airport, Cenang beach attracts many patrons. Its wide beach can host many activities (especially in the morning or evening) like swimming, sun-bathing, jogging, walking, yoga, or beach volleyball. Other activities offer are boating, para gliding, kayaking and sometimes you can ride motor scooters.

Under the coconut trees, you can sit and read your favourite novels, or writing articles. Some chalets offer traditional body massage or foot reflexology. This reflexology now seems every where. Body massage is a must try for foreigner. It helps in blood circulation and it strengthens your body immunity system too. The cost is around RM50.00 (USD15).

Cenang beach is sheltered by a few islands thus there is no big waves. It is safer to swim here.

This is one of the chalets at Cenang. 

Life can be easy going here. You can forget your tension or work pressure. Just look at the sea and inhale the breeze.It is wonderful. You feel relax. The chalets not only offer simple beds but also good food. You can choose what kind of food you want. Try to sample Malaysian food like laksa kedah (a kind of rice noodle with fish gravy garnish with shredded cucumber and pineapple). For the night activities, you can walk to the night market nearby, or spend time at many bistros and cafe along the road. For those who enjoy collecting souvenirs, there are many souvenirs shops around. You just pick, bargain and pay.

The water falling into this bowl has therapeutic value.

Even this chalet offer calmness to any patron.

This small pond in the chalet vicinity offers some help to calm your mind.

The entrance of a chalet. Water can be a source of life.

This beach has kayaking activity in the evening.

Enough chairs and tables are provided for patrons.

Some chalet operators has indulged in landscaping to woo clients.

The welcoming path to the chalet has parallel elongated ponds. It softens the atmosphere.

Gadgets like umbrella looks tropical.

The signboard looks attractive and diverse.

The exit wooden gate resembles old Malay houses in the countryside.

Wooden signboard is specially made to give tropical look to this restaurant.

Those who wish to spent some time here must be ready to experience hot  and humid weather. Bring enough cotton clothes which certainly can absorb your sweats. It releases toxin from your body. You get free sauna. Take a lot of plain water to offset the water loss. Consider using disposable underwear. If you want sun-tan your skin, this is a good place. 

There are a few other attractions in Langkawi which you can visit: a cable car ride Gunung Mat Chincang; boating through the Kilim Geopark; Underwater World (in Cenang itself), and of course Kuah town. If you have  a tight schedule, allow 3 days and two nights in Langkawi. Happy travel.