Buga: 20.02.2023
Kuantan is a seaside town on the north side of mainland Malaysia, about 60km from the very popular surf beach in Malaysia. The waves were not so perfect and for me swimming is more important. There are apparently quite a few jellyfish in the water, so some caution is advised. Jellyfish are not really my favorite animals (except for the cute crocheted ones by Pauline 😘). By the way, if we all continue like this and the climate warming continues, then the jellyfish will be doing pretty well and will reproduce a bit more rapidly. :(
On Saturday when I arrived in Kuantan, it was already too late to get to the beach, but I managed to do some laundry.
So the next day the plan was to change hostels and then hop on the next (very cold) bus to the beach. The Teluk Cempedak was quite close to the city and with a McDonald's overlooking the beach, it felt like a Mac(ca) in an Islamic country.
You can also find a good opportunity for trekking on the beach, but it wasn't high on my to-do list on this Sunday.
The water was rough and there was a red flag on the beach, which in my interpretation didn't really invite swimming, so I just took a nap on the beach.
... and Monday was already here again: time for the next beach. This one was soooooo not recommended - never mind. Next to the beach, there was a cemetery - always interesting to see what they look like in tropical countries. Have a look at the pictures.
Then there was a Malaysia moment - the bus back to the city just drove past the bus stop - probably at around 50 km/h or maybe even faster. As an alternative, I spontaneously found a ride share.
Back in the city, I went to the temple - a Sikh temple.
In a Sikh temple, I was given a masala tea and a somewhat unconventional and non-touristy invitation to cook and prepare chapatis. Since I eat out multiple times a day here in Malaysia, it was a welcome change to be in the kitchen. It's more like communal dining :-D
Speaking of different religions...
A mosque was about a 2-minute walk away and after covering up, we could visit the mosque and see that even table tennis is played there :-)
Then we naturally wanted to know how the food tasted. Before that, there was a religious half hour with singing and prayers in the Sikh temple - definitely an experience.
The meal we prepared together was really delicious and it once again became clear to me that the preparation of dishes is not proportional to the time it takes to devour them afterwards. Conclusion: It's time to take a little more time for meals and be a bit more precise with the 30-chew rule!
On Tuesday morning, we continued on to Kuala Lumpur or as it is usually abbreviated - KL.