Unexpected Visitors

12th to 14th July - Never did I expect that my first visitors on my journey is my dad and brother. My dad decided to join me in Kuantan after my regular phone call home. My mum has gone to China with her brothers and sister so my dad's alone at home. So when I jokingly asked him if he would like to visit me? He said Okay! Why Not? So he took the bus from Pontian to KL to meet up with my second bro where both of them drove to Kuantan. I was really glad to see them and their visit came as a relief to me as it means I get to save a bit more after overspending my budget in Tioman for diving. HEHE.

Both of them joined me on Friday and we stayed in a 3 star hotel in Kuantan. Early next morning we left Kuantan to a nearby beach in Teluk Chempedak. This is quite a decent place with nice sandy beach and even a trek into the jungle. The proximity of this place from Kuantan (10km) makes it a very popular place among the locals esp during weekends. Upon seeing this, I grew fonder of Kuantan as it's truely a place tht has it all.

After Teluk Chempedak, we drove up North to Cherating. The journey to Cherating from Kuantan (1 hour) was very enjoyable as the road is along the east cost beach so the view was fantastic. When we reached Cherating, we decided to check out ClubMed in Cherating cos we hv heard so much abt it but has never seen it. Security into ClubMed is very tight and we need to register before allowed to go in for a 20 minutes visit at the reception area. Even on such a short visit, we were very impressed with what we saw. ClubMed is really beautiful and the buildings in it are inddeed very nice. In case you're wondering, one night's stay in ClubMed including food and all activities is RM655 per person. The good thing about it is that EVERYTHING is really included in the price tag and u can just relax yourself as everything is planned very well for you.

After that we went into Kemaman, in Terengganu. Kemaman is a nicely planned and clean town with high technology car parking system.(according to my brother) And upon reaching we found out the Kemaman is most famous for coffee. It's smt like Ipoh over on the West side of Peninsular Malaysia. We stopped by in a coffeeshop called Hai Peng. If you all have the chance to come here. Do order their ice blended. I think it's better than the ones in Coffee Bean and Starbucks. Serious!I am not kidding. After that we had lunch in another famous local restaurant tht serves stuffed crab and giant freshwater prawns. It's very nice but expensive as well. Luckily I don't have to pay. HAHA. I like the crab a lot because everything has been done for u and stuffed into the shell, so all you need to do is just to eat.

At last we spent the night in Awana Kijal, a 5 star resort owned by Genting about 20km away from Kemaman. There's nothing much you can do in Awana Kijal but the place is very nice. We stayed in a room for 2 but I think it's enough for 4 and because dad's a government servant (headmaster) he got the room at a discounted rate of RM208 per night. Our room has a seaview and the toilet's huge. The beach is not as nice as Tioman and certainly no where near Cherating but it's quite decent. We drove back to Kemaman for seafood dinner that night.

The next day we drove further North to another town called Dungun and even dropped by Tanjong Jara Resort, a privately owned resort by YTL Corp. It's similar to ClubMed Cherating and the price is USD350++ per person for 3days 2 nights stay. FYI I will be staying in this resort on 25 to 27 July all thanks to my dearest cousin Mr Teo Wi Sern who will be paying for my stay so I am really looking forward to it now. After tht, we headed back South as dad and my bro needs to go back already.

I bid farewell to them in Jerantut where I will be going into Taman Negara while they head back to Kuala Lumpur. As we reached Jerantut at about 8pm, I stayed overnight in a budget hotel called Hotel Sri Emas (aircon and satellite TV included) for RM38 per night in Jerantut. Back to my backpacking life.

Their unexpected visit not only saved me some money but also time as well. If they did not come, I would have also travelled to Cherating by myself and ofcourse I would not hv the budget to eat all those expensive food as well.