Cherating Day Two

I woke up my first morning in Cherating and went outside to sit on my little porch and watch the sea. Watch it. Smell it. Listen to it. Feel the breeze from it. It was invigorating and calming at the same time. I took me about 30 seconds to decide to stay in the same place another night.

After my swim (see South China Sea Swim post), I returned to my chalet and relaxed. Then I walked over to Muda's Cafe for a banana and honey sandwich and a fresh pineapple juice. My original intention was to go to the bar next to Muda's for lime & pineapple pancakes that I had seen on the chalkboard menu the day before. However, the bar was empty except for a couple of guys sleeping in hammocks. I also felt somewhat obligated to Muda since he had made me a palm-tree leaf grasshopper the day before. So I sat at Muda's and ate my delicious warm banana sandwich and read my book. Then Muda came over and sat with me. He did not speak very much English but enough to teach me some Malay. Saya suka anjing-anjing. That means "I like dogs". I told him where I had swam that morning. He pointed to the big house on the point that I swam around and said it was the King's. Apparently, my private cove was actually the private cove of the King of Malaysia. According to Muda, he never goes there. Thank God. International scandal averted. I could just see the headlines: "Crazy American Girl Storms Private Beach of Malaysian King".

I headed back to the chalet to get my video camera. When I got back, I noticed a couple of dogs laying under a picnic table at the "resort". Of course, I went over to visit them. One of them was so excited to get attention it kept crying. He was a big puppy with enormous paws. He looked a little bit like Lizzie but with a wider face and thicker build. I named him Fred. The other dog was a female who had had a litter. She was dark brown with light brown markings like Athena. I named her Penelope. I sat there for a while petting my new friends. They followed me to my chalet where I sat on the steps and pet them for a while longer. A third dog showed up. I named him Cal. He was very shy and would not come close enough for me to pet him, but he lurked. The three were a pack. They were so sweet. Even though they were strays, they were pretty healthy looking. I could tell that people fed them.

I grabbed my camera and walked down the main street. I stopped into the Travelpost and signed up for turtle watching that night. I then walked down the road videotaping and stopping at shops. Again, I was unabashedly the quintessential tourist. I was so busy looking through the camcorder that I would trip over sidewalks. Or I would start talking to someone and forget I was filming. I watched the video and half of it is pointed at the ground while I'm talking to someone or staring at something and talking to myself.

I went into a great art shop with an incredible collection of hand-carved items. Sorry, but I wasn't allowed to take photos. They had two baby monkeys wearing diapers in a cage. They were so cute. One of them kept sucking his big toe. As I was walking down the road, I looked down a narrow side street/path and saw a big, creepy lizard just out for a stroll. It was probably between 4 and 5 feet long. It had huge webbed feet which forced it to have a strange waddle/walk. It was fascinating to watch. It had a smooth head and a long snakelike tongue. It totally freaked me out, but I couldn't stop following it. Again though, the video I took of it is 50% just the ground because I was so fascinated by the creature that I would stop filming it and just watch it. When it went into the tall grass towards the river, I decided it may have friends and decided to hightail it out of there.

Then I walked down to the beach and filmed the beach, sea, Muda's, and other interesting sights along the coast. By this time, the tide had come in and the waves were looking pretty fun. Small but fun. It was time for me to hit the beach and relax on the seashore. After all, I hadn't had any relaxation time in the last hour. I was long overdue. It was tough finding a spot on the beach because there were about 7 other people there. I loved it! It was nothing like the crowded beaches of Ocean City. The breeze was soft and refreshing after the walk through the village. The water was also refreshing but not cold. Actually, it was warmer to be in the water than out of it because of the cool breeze. I swam out to a sandbar. It was wild. The water was ankle deep at the sandbar, and the sandbar was probably 75-100 yard out from shore so it looked like I was standing in the middle of the South China Sea. Moses had nothing on me! I lay on the sandbar for a while. The water was only a couple of inches high. My body was held firmly in place by the sand, but I could feel the water flowing around my head and the current tug at my body as the waves washed back out to sea. It felt like a dream. Reluctantly, I headed back for shore knowing my skin could not take much more of the sun. Even still, it was probably another hour before I tore myself away from the beach.

I went to a Batik Art Gallery and was overwhelmed by the selection and beauty of the craft. I succumbed to my shop-a-holic tendencies and purchased a couple of batiks for my house. One is a big purple fish on a bright orange background. I know you are all jealous! As I was walking back, the sky became rather dark and the wind started whipping. A strong storm was definitely on the way. I walked past a run-down place on the beach called the Care For Cafe and saw a guy sitting there drinking a beer. This made me want to sit by the beach and watch the storm roll in too. I sat at a table and had a Tiger beer. Then I saw the best thing ever...puppies! There were two puppies and an adult female dog. The puppies were about 3 months old and so hyper and cute. They were the first animals I had seen who actually belonged to someone. They belonged to the two guys (I think they were brothers) who worked at the bar. I asked them if I could pet their puppy, but he wouldn't come to me. He just kept barking at me, the little monster. One of the guys picked up the puppy and handed him to me. I was so happy. The puppy's name was "Baik" which is pronounced "buy" and means "good" in Malay. It was the perfect end to a great afternoon: sitting in a deserted bar on a Malaysian beach, the wind on the edge of being fierce, dark clouds rolling in, puppies playing at my feet, and a nice cold beer. If only every afternoon could end that way...

South China Sea Swim

I woke up my first morning at Cherating and decided to go for a long swim in the South China Sea. Swimming is my therapy. The challenge of good technique, combined with the rythmic motion of the stroke, and the comfort of the water all combine to give me an inner peace and contentment I have never been able to achieve through any other means. Ask any swimmer, and they will tell you the same thing. Once you get bit by the swimming bug, it is with you for life. Even though I hadn't been swimming for several months before this trip, I was still confident of my abilities. I may not be a fast swimmer, but I can swim for a really long time. I was really looking forward to this swim so I grabbed my cap and goggles and headed for the beach. It was probably around 9:30, and I had the entire beach to myself. As I may have said before, the water was not as clear as I had imagined it would be, but it wasn't as dark as Ocean City either. It was a light murky green. The temperature was cool and refreshing but not cold. Perfect swimming conditions.


My plan was to swim straight out from the shore and then turn north and swim around a point at the end of the beach. Unfortunately, I am terrified of sharks. It is a completely irrational fear. When I swim in any water that is not pool water, I hear the "Jaws" theme in my head. This being said, the first few minutes of my swim I kept telling myself "Face your fears. Face your fears" over and over. Then I reminded myself to punch the shark in the face if one comes towards me. As I swam, I would swim into cold pockets which would remind me of Dementors from Harry Potter (sorry to those of you who don't understand the reference--read Harry Potter). The cold water was like fear, loss of hope, despair. I was certain I was just going to swim right into a shark's mouth. I would follow my instructions to "face my fear" and swim through the cold, the despair, until I would hit a patch of warmth where hope and contentness returned. It was a lot like life. Sorry. I don't mean to get too deep on you. Get it? Deep? Deep water? Anyway, while my mantra did help, I also tried to just concentrate on the scenery and the coolness factor of swimming a long distance in the South China Sea. This method of distraction helped immensely.

The current was pretty mild until I got near the rocky point. In that area, the water was crashing against the rocks and the current was fairly strong. I liked this though. I felt like I was really getting a challenge, and the scenery was beautiful with the water crashing against the rocks. After getting around the rocky point, the small cliff receded into an isolated, private cove. The surf was rough as the waves crashed along the rock walls funneling into the small cove. There were also slarge rocks dispersed throughut the waters of the cove making it a little treacherous when swimming. I wouldn't realized their was a boulder lurking under the surface until I had almost swam right into it. I reached the isolaed beach and stood there for a few minutes, taking in the beauty as well as a small ownership of this cove knowing that few tourists had probably stumbled upon it. I put a seashell from the cove in my swim cap to remind me of my private cove, my accomplishment, my courage to explore, and facing my fears. Then I dove back in the water and swam back.

Now for the life changing moral of the story. As good a swimmer as I am and as confident in my swimming abilities as I am, there were periodic moments of terror that shivered through me when I was far from shore. I would stop to check things out and realize my feet didn't touch the bottom. I realized that my life actually depended on my own abiities. I was a tiny organism in this huge sea. I was driftwood unless I took charge and fought the current. Only I could prevent myself from becoming lost at sea, crashing into the rocks, or just sinking beneath the surface. I was the master of my destiny and neither of my parents nor any other member of my family or friends could save me. No kayakers or lifeguards were there to save me. It was frightening. It was empowering. It was wonderful. If I can take control of my destiny in the water, I can do it in life.

Cherating Day One

It's August 14th, and I'm back home in Maryland now. Even though my vacation is over, I still have to finish blogging about the trip. The blog is as much for me as it is for you. Actually, it's probably more for me than for you. I never claimed to be selfless, people.

This blog is from July 31st when I went to the small beach village of Cherating. I took the train from Shah Alam to KL where I got on a bus to Kuantan on the east coast The bus was very comfortable which is a good thing since the trip to Kuantan was four hours. The scenic trip was beautiful, albeit a tad bit frightening. They drive like crazy monkeys in Malaysia and much of the trip was through the mountains. Let's just say the sound of squealing brakes is not a comforting sound when careening around curves which drop off the side of a mountain in a huge bus. Needless to say, we survived, and it was beautiful.

We reached Kuantan, and my tour book told me to take a local bus to the Cherating stop which was another hour away. I knew I had to get to the second floor of the bus station, but I was walking around in circles trying to figure out how to get up there. One of the taxi drivers asked me where I was going. My bus driver from KL heard me say Cherating and said he would drop me off since it was on his route. It was so nice. And free!

The bus stop was on the highway in front of the police station. When I say "highway", it is not. It is one lane in each direction. Anyway, I went into the police station to ask him how to get to Cherating. I made a major faux pas and didn't take my shoes off (woops). Anyway, he pointed behind the police station which was not a road. So I walked through a few people's yards, tripping over chickens, until I stumbled on a dirt path which lead me to a narrow paved road which lead me to a wider road which was the laid-back, quiet beach village of Cherating. Cherating, which is on the South China Sea, is nothing like your typical beach town in the US. It is also one of the less frequented beaches in Malaysia. The water is not crystal clear like it is on the surrounding islands so most tourists opt to go to islands such as Pulau Redang, Pulau Tiomann, and The Perhentians. I personally loved Cherating.

I got a little chalet at Ranting Beach Resort. It was the high end accommodations in Cherating (aside from the Club Med a bit down the road). It was just a room with a bathroom. It had a ceiling fan. It had TV but no cable. (I actually watched Spongebob Squarepants in Malay-I didn't understand a thing.) It was right on the beach with a little porch facing the sea. I would sit on the porch and get the breeze from the sea which was so invigorating. The only drawback was that they were building a chalet right next to mine so I was lulled by the tranquil sounds of hammering, sawing, and drilling instead of birds and waves. After some investigation, it seemed that all of the places on the beach were doing the same thing so quiet would be impossible. This was fine since they worked during the day, and I planned to be exploring the town(all 3 square miles of it) and chilling on the beach. As I said, this was the high end. It cost 100 ringgits which is less than $30. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I didn't get any still photos of the place. I only

filmed it with my camcorder.

I walked all 0.3 miles of the main road and saw many goats and monkeys as well as a cat and dog here and there. I think the SPCA should open a center in Malaysia. They should take all of the stray cats & dogs and spay or neuter them. I think they should hire me to take care of all of them. But I digress. Then I walked backed up the beach and stopped at a beach cafe for a fresh pineapple juice. The owner of the cafe next door, Muda's Cafe, brought me a grasshopper made out of palm tree leaves. It was very cool. They were all very nice, and I promised to come back the next day.

I went to a restaurant on the beach for dinner and had some delicious chicken curry. Just as I was getting back to my chalet, a storm rolled in. I love storms at the beach, and this beach was just sprawling and open so I could see the storm clouds moving closer and closer and the breeze got stronger and stronger. It was lovely. It rained the rest of the night which ended my plans to go turtle watching. I didn't mind though because I was rather tired. I sat on my porch,

listened to the rain, and read. Content, I fell

soundly to sleep by the steady hum of the ceiling fan.

Pulau Ketam (Crab Island)

Hi, everyone. I am back from the beach and had a great time. I will blog about it later. I have some catching up to do first. Before I went on "sabbatical", I had visited a fishing village called Pulau Ketam which translates to Crab Island.

I took the train from Shah Alam to then end which was Pelabuhan Klang (Port Klang). My plan was to take the ferry from Port Klang to Pulau Ketam. Fortunately, a nice man asked me where I was going when I got off the train, and he pointed me in the direction of the ferry. Now, when I think "ferry", I think of the Staten Island Ferry: a large ship with benches to sit on inside and out. In this case, I expected a small version of this with covered benches to protect from the sun but the wind still whips through your hair. I walked the plank to the dock where I came across the freaking "Hunt for Red October". It looked like a submarine that had surfaced. There were no ticket booths or anything. Just a bunch of guys loading stuff onto the boat. I asked them if it was the ferry to Pulau Ketam. Before you get too impressed with my use of the local language, my exact words were "Ke Pulau Ketam?" and gestured animatedly to the boat. "Ke" means "to". Yes, I have mastered the Malay language.

The man nodded to a hole in the boat which I climbed through. The inside was sweet! It was like a train car. Air-conditioned, upholstered seats, storage for packages...And I kid you not, a big wide-screened tv in the front on which they were showing WWE (wrestling). Words cannot express my amusement at this ferry.

So the ferry takes off, flying across the water. After about twenty minutes, we reach a fishing village where all of the houses are build on stilts, and the ferry pulls up to one of the docks and lets a family off. Then two buildings down, the ferry stops again and lets another family off. I was quite baffled at more than a little worried that I would get in trouble because I did not have a specific house I was going to. Fortunately, the when the ferry stopped next, everyone piled out, leading me to believe that it was Pulau Ketam. Even more fortunately, I was right.

The village was great. It was a Chinese neighborhood. All of the signs were in Chinese. Every house had their front doors open, and they all had large alters to Buddha when you first walked in. Everyone was very friendly. I was filming with my camcorder, and the kids kept jumping up and saying hi.

Pulau Ketam is basically this small island packed with houses on stilts build side by side. All the houses are painted different colors which was fun. There are no cars or scooters. Just bicycles with baskets in the front and little bells. The homes are charming. The markets, restaurants, people, atmosphere...all charming. But filthy. The mud which the stilts houses are built on is covered in trash. I was walking along the sidewalk, and I saw someone stick their arm out of their window and throw their trash on the ground.

There were stray dogs everywhere. I had yet to see a dog until this trip. The crazy think was that most of the dogs either looked like Athena or like Lizzie. The first dog I saw was layng down, and she looked like Athena. I said something to her, and she stood up and trotted away. When she stood, I saw she was still a puppy, maybe 6 months old. She had retreated to the muddy haven underneath the floor. I looked down, and there were two more of them. One also looked like Athena. The other one looked like Lizzie. That more than anything else made me homesick. I probably saw a total of 10-15 dogs on

the island. Every female I saw had had babies. This made me thank the Lord for Bob Barker. Maybe they should start airing the Price Is Right here. Remember to spay and neuter your pets.

Aside from feeling as though I was in the Twilight Zone where everywhere I turned around I saw my dog and the fact that I was surrounded by enough trash to fill the Howard Co. dump, I really loved Pulau Ketam. I am from Mayland after all. How could I not love a place named Crab Island?