My next stop is Cherating .The only way to get there is to head back into Kuantan from Chini and then head back the 44km out in other direction.The lads at the local bus stop are beginning to recognise me now. I think they have started calling me 'Ireland'.
Anyway, onward bound!!!!
Cherating looks like a nice quiet beach resort which does not see many tourists at this time of the year. Apparently many years ago when there was no direct route between Taman Negara and the Perentians, this would have been the place where a lot of backpackers took it easy. That has since changed so there are not too many people floating about the place.
After an hour, I had reached my destination.Now, to find a chalet, There was a huge amount of chalets to choose from. This place reminds me of Courtown on a summers day (well, minus all the dodgy people who head there from Arklow.)
Downtown Cherating
One of the locals getting an early snack
I stayed in a place called 'Maznah's guest house.' Basically, I had a chalet to myself and then there were shared toilets\showers. The owners of the place seemed quite friendly. The woman even made me some banana wrapped in breadcrumbs.
I got chatting to a guy called James who had travelled all over India and Nepal and this was his next stop.
This seems like a place where nothing much happens, A spot of reading is called for! The food that was served for dinner in all these places is class. I had a beef curry today with some pineapple juice for 8.50 and It was enough to keep me going for the whole day. I bumped into James while heading for the dinner and he had a go at the burger.It looks like he is rigidly sticking to a budget. (Well, It got him through India for next to nothing. He was saying that he took a 26 hour train journey from the north of India to the south for 8 sterling) That is a monstrous distance.This place is cheap (as long as you avoid the taxis) but it's not that cheap!
I might as well use the laundry facilities here (At some places, you are able to use the laundry facilities for yourself but I reckon I will drop off some clothes at the laundermat here ( they charge at RM4 per KG which isn't too bad as long as your clothes are not dowsed in sweat which make them about 10 times as heavy as they should be!))
I had a go at making a pattern on a t-shirt today.(It's called 'Batik') Basically, you draw out the pattern on a piece of paper, then you draw out the same drawing on a t-shirt that is streched out and held in place with a pencil.Then, you use something that looks like a genie lamp and try to deposit something that looks like wax along the outline of your drawing.This liquid hardens pretty quickly.You can paint in the places around the outline and hey presto , your drawing is complete! I drew a picure of a sort of bird.After I had finished drawing and painting, the Batik man had to steam off the wax like solution off the t-shirt. Here is the outcome anyway.
I went to the local hang out place (I think it was called 'don't tell mamas') last night for some ice cream. I have to say that this place really is quiet. You would have no problem getting served in this place.It's like a surfers bar but it seems to be missing a few surfers. The ice cream was nice though....mmmmm chocolate
I had to head back to Kuantan a third time and grab a bus to Kota Bharu (7 hours) I grabbed a local bus at Cherating and I was on my way. The air conditioning at the front of the bus was class but this was due to the fact that the front door of the bus was broken.
Still,it kept me cool.Come to think of it there are quite a few differences between local buses here and Buses back in Dublin. I might as well point them out!
Advantages of local buses to Kuantan:
* They turn up within 30 minutes (When waiting in Blanchardstown for a bus , you could be waiting for an hour)
* Air conditioning that works (although this is not really necessary needed back in Dublin (with the exception of the back of the upstairs part of the bus where air-con could come in handy to get rid of the smokers of various products) )
* nobody smokes on the bus here (Nobody is supposed to smoke in Dublin either but that rule isn't adhered to)
* There is a good age spread here.In Dublin ,if you are past college or pre retirement , there seems to be a bit of a stigma when taking a bus in Dublin.This doesnt happen here.
* There doesn't seem to be a bunch of lads willing to take the back seats of the bus and ridicule anyone that sits within earshot of them over here!
advantage of taking the bus back in Dublin:
* The chances are that you (and by 'you' , I MEAN me) will be sweating before you enter the bus will be virtually nil (although this will probably change if you get a weekend bus in Blanchardstown as they tend to be filled to the rafters.)
*The traffic is slightly better going to Dublin city as there are special lanes.
* I have never see a bus driver pull into a petrol station before reaching the last stop. This happens quite a bit here.
* The local buses in Kuantan tend to be driven at 30km/hour max (I think that could be an advantage though as it gives the passanger time to see what's going on outside!
While waiting for a bus backto Kuantan, a Yorkshire couple came up to me and asked me if i had heard the result of the champions league final. dang!!! I had a lookaround yesterday evening to see if any bar would have the maatch but it did not so I missed out. Ah well, I can catch up on it later. Maybe , if I do not wattch games , they turn out to be crackers (I missed out on the final day of the league also, so , if the final was a cracker,I'll accept all the plaudits fo not jinxing the game!) !
Interesting facts:
1. There is 100% import tax on foreign cars imported into Malaysia.So, if you bought a merc you'd have to pay the value of the car to the government just to drive it. That's the reason you do not see many imported cars in Malaysia.
2. Timor is the Malay word for east , so East Timor means 'east east'
What I have learned....
1. That after sun is a godsend!
2. Air conditioning should be compulsory everywhere in Malaysia
3. Loads of people love shouting 'hello' out of their cars/motorbikes. This is a nice touch. Unfortunately, loads of taxi drivers converge outside buses when they arrive at a station shouting 'teksi' .This isn't as nice!
Anyway, Kota Bharu - here I come!
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