Blogs from Cherating, Pahang, Malaysia, Asia
February 1st 2012
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 ... read more
September 12th 2011
I said I needed a day off and it looks like I'm going to get it, whether I want it or not. I drift in and out of sleep until the finally looking for my watch; it's already half ten already. The wif- is on and off all morning so I wander out for a Malay breakfast (Indian pancake with fish curry) while they try to fix it. I end up paying for wi-fi from the cafe opposite the guest house. Monday in Cherating means that everything is closed; the laundry, the tours, the turtle sanctuary, everything. The guesthouse owner offers to wash my clothes, but I'll have to dry them myself. I'm already wearing my last clean t-shirt when I hand over my laundry bag. Back to my room to try and get reservations I ... read more
September 11th 2011
Slow start to the day; the bed's comfy and I have nowhere to be in a hurry. The hotel breakfast is Malaysian style (rich, boiled eggs, noodles, curry sauce, sweet pastries, green coconut pancakes, tea) and it's all sweet. 120 push-ups. I spend too much time trying to decide if I should book my flight to Borneo now or wait until I'm certain on when I want to travel. The prices don't seem to change much, but do I want to risk it? AirAsia ticket costs £29.33. After adding Airport tax, fuel and baggage it's £39.31 and then there's the handling fee (£1.74) on top (£41.05). I'm napping at 12h15 when the staff wake me to find out why I haven't checked out yet. I tell the it's because I was told check-out was at 13h00. ... read more
May 17th 2011
I caught the 7.30am ferry from Palau Tioman and got back to Mersing about 10.30am. I then caught a bus to Kuantan at 1pm and arrived 2 and a half hours later. Finally I caught the very slow local bus for the last 40km to a little place on the coast called Cherating. As soon as I arrived it seemed a very small and chilled out place with a few bungalow setups scattered around here and there. I settled for a nice little bungalow on the main strip for $13 a night, put my bags down and had a walk around the beach and down the main street. The beach didn't look that great with quite a lot of litter about and the water itself was a little brown. I actually came here on the off ... read more
May 15th 2011
Cherating is a very small beach side village which was a great place to wander around and look at the great clothes shops that had the most wonderful colours and designs, I stayed at Payung chalets which was a small group of chalets only a few minutes walk from the beach. And after a walk around the shops, down the beach, lunch at Mimis it was nice to sit on the balcony and read. After relaxing for so long on the Perhentian islands I didn't need too much more relaxing time so I only spent the one night here, getting the bus to KL the next day, even had to take a taxi to the bus as the town is so small its not noticed on the bus routes! And you have to get your bus ... read more
November 29th 2010
28 November 2010 After four nights in KL sleeping in a very nice room but one that lacks windows, it was time to move on. Where the day was to take us was a complete mystery to me since I yesterday I left Gregg to do all of the deciding. I had heard the words ‘east coast’ and ‘surf’ and assessed that I was not suitably qualified to participate in this particular decision making process. Initially, the plan had been to find our way to the east coast and then take a boat to Tioman, however during the rainy season the boats are often suspended and we were worried that it we made it there we might end up marooned. Gregg also discovered that this is ‘the’ island to visit on the east coast and ... read more
October 14th 2010
Cherating is a tiny town on the east coast of Malaysia hemmed in by the South China Sea on one side and some kind of river on the other. The residents are insanely friendly and seemed to be honoured that a Westener would choose their town to visit. On my first night in town I went out to grab some food and found the local Reggae bar (every town in Malaysia seems to have one). Before my meal even arrived a group of people invited me to join them. They consisted of an Australian lady, Swiss Man, a young Malay couple, an English-Malaysian and a 20-something local lad. All had known each other for a short time but had the banter of lifelong friends which I soon fit into. Several beers and some unusual conversation later ... read more
April 7th 2010
Cherating is a very small Town on the Eastcoast. Includes only one street with Resorts and Restaurants. The Beach is very quiet and no Tourists - Perfect. I lying one week alone on the Beach or before my nice Bungalow and read some Books and chill out. Next to my Bungalow was a very nice Reggae Bar with cheap Beer. After the Mail from the German Embassy (my Creditcard arrived without PIN:)) i driven back to KL and catch a Flight to Bali. Finitely Bali !!!!!!! ... read more
Everybody's Going Surfing, Surfing Cherating
Published: February 2nd 2010Asia » Malaysia » Pahang » Cherating
January 28th 2010
After a rather quiet time in Kuala Terengganu we headed a few hours further south along the beautiful coastal road, which has been stunning all the way from Kuala Besut with its gorgeous blue sea running to the left of us. Our next stop was Cherating, a small village by the sea with a beach. Our guide book described it as an outstanding little “travellers” community where the locals have moved out and travellers moved in, it is an oldish village of ramshackled tinned roofed wooden houses and once you get used to it quite cute really. The draw here is the surf and pretty much every local chap surfs. We wondered around for an hour in the baking heat and finally finding a gaff for the night for a whopping 40RM, with no sea view. ... read more
