Contributed by traveller Russell, who is a spontaneous traveller – ever ready to pack-up and heads off on an adventure. A history buff, soccer fan, and an enthusiast of different cultures as well as hidden gems, he enjoys visiting non-commercialised places as it allows him to experience day-to-day living like a local while immersing himself in their favourites.
2020 has most definitely been an unimaginable year for most of us. You can find many articles, videos, and testimonials on how this year has affected everyone in different ways. Mine is no different.
After what seemed like almost a year of staying at home to ‘flatten the curve’, my fiance suggested something that was pleasing to my ears – she recommended that we, along with two close friends, take a short break – specifically somewhere with a beach that isn’t too populated. The catch was we’d only be staying for a night so it shouldn’t be too far from Kuala Lumpur. Thankfully, we have many breathtaking gems that are less than 3 hours away from the city and plus, by travelling locally, we’d be doing our part to support the local tourism industry as it strives to improve following the Restricted Movement Control Order (RMCO).
With the dates locked, we settled on heading to a beach that we visited previously and thoroughly enjoyed. The place in question, Teluk Cempedak, located in Kuantan, Pahang. There are numerous beaches that we’re blessed to have in Malaysia and from what I gathered and experienced, this is definitely one of the cleanest beaches in Peninsular Malaysia.
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When thinking of going for a beach holiday in Malaysia, beaches that usually make it to the top of the list are Batu Ferrighhi, Tioman, Redang and Langkawi. But ever since our first visit, we were pleasantly surprised by the hidden gem that is Teluk Cempedak. The beach is well maintained and this time around, the authorities were there to enforce the set SOPs to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As such, a limited number of people are allowed to be on the beach at any one time – numbered cards were handed out upon entry to each individual, ensuring there was a proper and strict headcount being adhered to.
How to get to Teluk Cempedak
Teluk Chempedak is approximately a two-hour drive away from Kuala Lumpur, without traffic. Because of the presumably short drive, we figured that it would be a good idea to have a one night stay. Which was a mistake, and here’s why.
Of approximately 36-hours, we need to give up 14 hours for travel and sleep, leaving us with a mere 24 for R&R.
We embarked from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan at nine in the morning, and luckily for us, there was no traffic all the way there. We didn’t have to make many stops, only for the occasional toilet break and breakfast at one of the highways R&R. We made good time, and because we had time to spare – check-in to the apartment was later on in the day, we went to the beach. Happy days! We took a nice long morning walk on the beach, then headed for lunch.
Teluk Cempedak beach was clean and had a limited amount of people.
What to eat in Teluk Cempedak
I have to confess, although having been to Kuantan before, I wouldn’t say we’re the best when it comes to suggesting food there. Funny enough, in Malaysia, there are certain places where you can find quintessential Malaysian dishes that makes the location unique in itself. For example, if you’d like ‘Chicken-ball rice’ you can head to Melacca, or maybe if you’re in the mood for some ‘Char Koay Teow’, Penang is the best place to head to. Personally, I can’t say the same for Kuantan.
Nonetheless, I fired up good ol’ Google, typed in ‘Best places to eat in Kuantan’ and headed there. Now while I’m telling you all this, what you’re not realising is that we’ve been on the road for about 5 hours now. Just keep that in mind.
Done with lunch, head to the apartment, checked in, and now just chill right? Nope. By the time we’re done with all that, almost half the day was gone. So, we figured that the smart thing to do was not waste the rest of it. We packed up let’s say ‘preferred drinks’ from the fridge, my fiance brought out her swimsuit and headed down to the beach.
The weather was absolutely perfect. Although sunny it wasn’t too hot, the sea provided us with a gentle breeze that graced our faces and cooled us while the sunset was picturesque. Once it got fairly dark and we were semi-filled with our ‘special beverage’ we headed up to the apartment for a quick bite, restocked our ‘preferred drinks’ and headed down to the beach yet again.
Enjoying the beach
The beach wasn’t properly lited up for night dwellers like us, but not to worry, the night sky was so clear, the moonlight that was shining down onto the sea provided us with more than enough light to enjoy the night. We hanged out at the beach enjoying each other’s company. A few hours went by, it was time to head back to the apartment. We stayed up for a while longer, then went to bed for a good night’s rest.
The next day, like many other establishments that provide accommodation, meals, and other services for travellers, noon is the usual check out time. We got up and quickly packed up to head out.
We decided not to have lunch in Kuantan, to avoid the rush hour traffic, just in case we came across like-minded weekend travellers such as us on the way back home. Wasn’t the brightest of ideas, but collectively we decided to do so. We were fortunate enough to skip the heavy traffic and got home well before dark. While some might think that it was a properly planned getaway, the reality that it wasn’t.
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Final thoughts
I’d like to put this on record to say that even though I enjoyed my one-night weekend getaway, but honestly I felt it was too much of a rush.
I reckon that a properly planned vacation would be more enjoyable as compared to a one-night weekend getaway. Taking some considerable time to plan things out, by creating a schedule or rough program of your trip, you’ll be able to maximise most of your time while your there and not be too taxing on you and your travel partner.
Would I do a one-night short getaway vacation again? Preferably not. I would most definitely take some time to plan a vacation in which I can actually relax and not feel so rushed.
