Our visit to Cherating, Pahang

We left home at 8.30am for a leisurely drive towards Kuantan. The journey there was absolutely breath-taking. It was one of the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. It was simply greenery, mountains, clouds as far as the eye can see. I mean everywhere in the world there's the beauty of God's creations. When I was in UK, I appreciated the four seasons. I don't think there is any reason for us to be proud of our 'country' as such because it doesn't belong to us, it is not our handiwork for us to be 'proud' of rather, it is all God's handiwork.

The wonder of Pahang is that it is unadulterated. It was just natural and pure as far as you can see. Apart from the highway which was man-made, there were no buildings, no concrete...it was just pure beauty.

We reached Cherating at around 1pm after a long leisurely drive and the kids fighting and screaming in the back. We checked in at our chalet and straight away went to the beach. The children were so excited as they have not seen a sandy beach in their lives. They have been to Deal, Kent many times to visit Grandpa and Jenny and they have enjoyed the stony beach there, throwing stone into the sea but this was a completely new adventure, a completely new level.

I am not criticizing God's creation over another but believe me, this beach was at another level; even compared to any beach you can find at the West coast of Malaysia. I know that there are other more beautiful beaches in the world or even in East coast Malaysia e.g. Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Kapas or Pulau Tioman...but Cherating was at a higher level. It is like comparing Long grain rice to Basmati Rice.

For three days we spent morning and evening at the beach; only leaving the beach at around 11.30 when the sun is up (most dangerous UV light) and returning to the beach when the sun is less intense at around 4.30pm. We spent our time at two different locations, one bay where the children could swim as far as they wanted without being worried of being swept away; it was like a natural swimming pool. The water was see-through and waist deep for a long way. The other beach was an open beach...there the children enjoyed the waves.

On the third day, we spent the morning at the beach after a nice early breakfast. There were restaurants all along the main village road...and Cafe 619 makes the best roti canai, nasi lemak at a very reasonable price. We checked out from the Chalet at 12 noon and made our way to Kuantan Town. We stopped at the town to have lunch at KFC...yes, we were missing fast-food. Then, we made our wonderful scenic journey home.

If you ever come to visit Malaysia...you must visit the beach in East Coast of Malaysia; it is best to visit between March - October before the monsoon season.