Haanism

From a small, unknown and traditional fishing village, Cherating is now a magical household name among the locals and foreigners. It’s also where the Asia’s first Club Med was built.

Sunbathing on the beach…

Cherating was once a popular beach with hippies and backpackers. Its thunder has somewhat been taken by the nearby islands such as the Redang Island, Perhentian Island and Lang Tengah Island. However, during the public holidays and festive seasons, most of the available lodgings along the famous Cherating stretch are always booked up way in advance.

Cherating is an inexpensive and secluded tropical gateway for travelers, as well as a laid back surf town for the extreme sports enthusiasts during the monsoon season with high waves. The best time to surf is between November and December. Surfers tend to linger in this small enclave to catch the best waves and chill out.

Everything stays still, except the ever-rolling waves.

You can have some water sports there. However it was fairly quiet on the day I visited.

The beachside volley ball facilities are available, but no one played.

Being a has-been holiday town, the backpacker huts, bars and pubs remain in business – although not as crowded as it was before in the 80’s. A wide range of accommodations line the roads in Cherating, amongst groves of coconut trees, in between the river and the beach.

These chalets near the seaside cost around RM200 per night.

Cherating is still quite untouched by the development that has enveloped several spots in Malaysia. Hence, its rustic charm and “kampong” vibe is strongly felt, giving it an extra allure to the Western travelers who have never been to a Malay village.

Food and drinks are available everywhere.

Do you mind being served with broken chairs by the Malay stalls on the beach?

Take a coconut sip and unwind yourself, RM6 for two.

Cherating is a perfect remedy for frantic living and city live. Time doesn’t seem to apply to this place.

Just sit back among the casuarinas trees and enjoy the tropical atmosphere…

Nice blue sky. Cherating is a beach sabbatical for those who want a quick break.

Spending time with your significant ones, strolling along the beach, or having some crazy fun is always a pleasure.

There is no reason for us to deny that, Malays are more active than Chinese in the matter of going to the beach.

It’s a big big world… we are just tiny humans.

June to September is the period that turtles swim ashore nightly to nest and lay eggs at the east coast of Malaysia. There is a Turtle Sanctuary located not far from Cherating, next to the Club Med, for people to catch the turtles’ annual migration. We were advised to visit the Turtle Sanctuary at around 10pm.

The rangers start spotting for turtles since 9pm near the beach. According to the normal schedule, there is a session watching turtles-related video at 10pm at the center. At 10:30pm, there is release of baby turtles to the sea.

That was a raining day with lightning and thunders. We waited there since 10pm. About 40 minutes later, nothing actually happened (not even a video session), and we were told that due to lightning, the release of baby turtles back to the sea was cancelled.

In a nutshell, I missed the chance to meet the turtles.