Monsoon Surf

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Buses in Malaysia usually operate frequently between the tourist hubs, however since the east coast was in the midst of the annual monsoon it proved tricky to get from the Cameron Highlands. Having left Tanah Rata at 9am I arrived in Cherating at 11pm that night following two bus journeys and a taxi ride.

The tiny village of Cherating is about 45 minutes north of the city of Kuantan and only became popular with surfers ten years ago when an Aussy discovered the mechanical 5ft, 500 metre wave. Now all the young locals are out surfing and national competitions are frequent during the surf season brought on by the October to January monsoon.

I had imagined the monsoon to be a constant belting rain but during the week I stayed it rained only three times, always in the afternoon/evening. I was incredibly lucky; I could surf from 7am till late morning in blazing sunshine, sharing the ocean with only a couple of others and then again in late afternoon when high tide had dropped off and the sun began to set. The village was experiencing the best surf conditions it had had for a while, with light offshore winds and 4 – 5ft waves which would peel off consistently into the distance.

By the end of the week six hours of surfing each day was beginning to take its toll and I resolved to get out once more and then head off to the next destination. Whilst bobbing around on the line up enjoying the blazing sun I noticed a couple of jelly fish floating by. Thinking nothing of it I caught a wave and started paddling back out to catch another when I felt a sting on my leg, it was very painful and I could feel the tentacles flailing around my leg striking like a whip as I tried erratically to stop the thing getting up my shorts. After what felt like minutes but was probably a matter of seconds it freed itself.

The only thing I knew about the treatment of jelly fish stings is that dousing in fresh water was a bad idea and urine helped relieve the pain. As the beach was full of Muslim women in full burkes I decided against getting out and pissing on my leg, let alone asking them to give it a go. And so I stayed in the salt water, paddled back out in a bid to catch a few more waves and hoped the pain would subside.

Having reached the line up I was increasingly out of breath and thought perhaps I had over done it, however the pain got worse, my chest got tighter and I began to get a pain in my lower back. Realising this wasn’t simple fatigue I headed back to the beach and proceeded to spasm up the beach hunched over to my chalet. The local hospital in Kuantan was 45 minutes away and would cost a lot for a taxi ride so I resolved to sit on my porch and if I did end up collapsing somebody could sort out a taxi.

Luckily having drunk copious amounts of water to wash the poison from my kidneys the pain began to fade and by the following day my breathing was normal and I sported a decent war wound.

A useful lesson learnt, avoid jelly fish and consider whether strangers would piss on your leg in times of need.

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