Cherating, Pahang

First Trip - August 2009

It was that time - when you realize how mundane your daily activities are and the beach is the way to go!
We decided to use our complimentary stay at Holiday Villa Cherating which was part of our wedding package. As beautifully constructed as Holiday Villa Cherating is, its maintenance and service did not support its standards. After the main entrance of the hotel, there was a spans of unkempt land(still wonder why is that so). Among not having a bell boy to assist us with our luggage, the attendants at the reception area could not converse well in English.
However, we were given the Garden Villa for our 1-night stay. Sadly, it did not come with breakfast. Food from the Restaurant was moderate and the service was extremely poor (again, no one had fluency in English).

Besides all this, we enjoyed the beach! It was clean and extremely inviting. Though there weren't any beach sports available, we just took our time to hang out by the beach and play with water.

We were glad that we managed to get what we really needed, to be immersed in beautiful waters instead for piles of work!

EXPERIENCE RATING : 6/10

Reasons :

1) Unsatisfactory hotel service

2) Dead stretch of shops

3) No nearby entertainment

4) Inconvenient location

Second Trip - March 2010

This time we went with family and managed to get a good knowledge insight on the 'what-to-do & where-to-go'.

We again followed the Kuantan highway towards Teluk Cempedak/Kemaman and reached our destination in one piece - The Sanctuary Resort. I guess they tried hard to depict the blue of the sea on the walls of the building but landed with a different shade instead ;) . However, the apartment looked fine and most importantly it was beachfront. We got charged RM430 for a 3room apartment(nearly a hundred bucks rise from the usual) as we were victims of the school holiday season.

Ignoring the slightly sandy floors, the apartment was just what we needed - we managed to get the seaview unit. The unit also allowed us to enjoy free buffet breakfast which is offered only inconjuction with school holidays(not much of a victim now when I think of it).

Other than going crazy in the beach an swimming pool, we manage to compose ourselves and visit the below places:

1) Turtle Sanctuary - around 16km from our apartment, next to Club Med.

Operating time : 8:30am - 5:00pm

Entrance : free

It was a great experience. We manage to gain some insight on how the turtles are being conserved. There is also a turtle hatchery nearby that is well monitored for breeding turtles. However, the "laying eggs" season in between May - September of every year. This is when turtles from the sea come to shore (during 11pm-6am) to lay their eggs. The turtle sanctuary patrons relocates these eggs to the hatchery to be monitored for a safe development and hatching. After which, they are released to the sea once they are strong enough.

Entrance is free but your kind donations will help in the upkeeping of the sanctuary.

2) Fireflies - at Pantai Cherating - called Cherating River Activity

Operating Hours : 7:30pm - 9:30pm

Entrance : RM15/person

Contact : Mr. Hafiz 017-978 9256

Mr. Hafiz gave us a very informative briefing on fireflies that ignited more enthusiasm for us to go for the trip. It took around a good half an hour of fireflies watching before we turned back. The fireflies here are of a different type from the ones in Kuala Selangor. This allows them to be friendly enought to land on you and linger around you as long as you would like. It was breathtaking to see - it was like fairy lights from many Christmas trees came to life and surrounded us.

3) Shopping Pantai Cherating

There were many fancy stalls at Pantai Cherating were you can get nice souveniers and beach wear for an affordable price.

4) Elephant Conservation Centre - Kuala Gandah(take the Lanchang turn-off at Karak and look out for the signboards that lead you through winding roads before you reach the centre. Don't miss the Orang Asli settlements along the way!)

Operating Hours : 2:00pm - 5:00pm

Entrance : Free

We dropped by the centre around 3:45pm just to have a look at the elephants. In actual fact, the activities start at 2:00pm and by activities I mean bathing, riding & feeding the elephants. Though we could have made it in time, we were glad we managed to see the elephants munching on their sugarcanes :)

EXPERIENCE RATING : 9/10