31 Jan 2003 Cherating, Malaysia

[Eric's journal]  Our luck with the weather ran out today.  Up until now we have only had rain twice, and neither time did it affect us.  Once in Singapore we had a big thunderstorm that started after we had come back to our room after wandering around all day and once in KL.  We were looking at a Taoist temple when the clouds opened up.  Fortunately, next on our walking tour was the Central Market, two blocks away.  We made it there without getting too wet and by the time we had finished wandering through the market the rain had stopped.

When we woke up this morning it was raining pretty hard.  We still went out to breakfast but skipped our walk along the river.  We waited in the room trying to time the light/heavy ebb and flow of the rain.  We gave up trying to time it, loaded up our stuff, and headed to the bus stop.  I think all the locals must have thought us mad as we wandered through the rain, a big pack on our back and a little one on our front.

Fortunately, many of the sidewalks are under the overhang of the 2d floor of the buildings, so we were able to walk about halfway under some sort of cover.  We only saw two other westerners in Kuantan and they were an older European couple at dinner the night before.

We caught the bus no problem to Cherating.  We were on the local bus since it is only 47km north.  Soon we could see the ocean on our right and we were away from city life.  the bus drops you on the side of the highway, and it was a couple minute walk down the road toward the coast until we came to the cottages we were going to stay at.  You could feel, smell, and hear that we were not in the city anymore.  We have a lovely cottage with a great porch to sit on, read, and enjoy the fresh air.  The rain had stopped by the time we got here but it was menacing most of the day.  It is only a couple hundred meters to the beach.  The main road through town runs parallel to the beach.  There are a few hotels, restaurants and stores, but it is a very small town and very quiet now.  There few other westerners around.  In the registration book yesterday, an American, Brit, and Swiss registered.  When we walked in, the guys in front asked if we were Dutch; we get that a lot.  After checking out the beach, we retired to the porch to read all afternoon.  It is so peaceful.

We had a great dinner at the Seaside Restaurant.  The tables are in the sand, about 5-6m from the edge of the water.  The view is superb and you can sit out at night in your t-shirt and sandals.  ( Long pants for the mozzies!)  After dinner we strolled on the beach before retiring to the porch.

We didn't have a toilet in the room.  While there is a roof over the shower, it is very high and the area above head level is open so you can see the tops  of the palms, sky, and clouds while showering.

We long ago realized that airconditioning in your room is not nearly as pleasant as a fan in this environment.  You sleep with only a sarong over you and we sleep much better than we did in Singapore when we had airconditioning.

We have found one of the top things we were looking for; relaxing beach town.  As we sit here, you can hear the final call to Friday prayer from the mosque out by the highway.


[Emma's journal]  Our first day of rain!  Proper monsoon rain.  We abandoned our planned walk along the river and just headed out to get money and find breakfast.  We caught the local bus up to Cherating.  For the hour and 15 minute ride it only cost  R3 (not even $1)

We arrived in Cherating around lunch time and easily found the Mata Hari, the place we wanted to stay.  We have a cute little chalet with a balcony and we even have a fridge!  It continued to rain but it was fun to sit outside reading and listening to the sound of the rain on the tin roof.   The room even has a mozzie net- a big plus when you are a mozzie magnet like me.  I find it hard to believe that Eric and I have basically been in the same room for the last three weeks and I probably have had close on 35 bites and he has about 3!