The port where we docked has long history but today is an oil port. There is a Halliburton facility just off the pier where we docked. Other than that, there is not much to recommend it.
We took an excursion into Kuantan, a city about an hour south of Kemaman. The area is in the middle of Malaysia’s east coast. First stop was the Tanjung Api fishing jetty.
Fishing Jetty
We saw a small parking lot with a fish market on one side and a collection of small shops and restaurants on the other and a few beat up old fishing boats at the end.
Fish Market
Janice asked the tour guide about where to find white pepper and a couple other of the spices she had been hearing about from the chefs and guest chefs on the ship. The guide told her to wait at the bus while he went off and came back with some very small bags of white pepper, cloves, and star anise, which he gave her. Since all the writing on the packets is in Malay, we would not have been able to identify it even if we had found it. We had to contend with a light rain shower, but it didn’t interfere with what sightseeing as available.
We then drove through Kuantan itself and the guide pointed out a few buildings. We then headed to the most popular tourist beach in the area, Teluk Cempedak.
John by the Teluk Cempedak Beach
It is a nice beach, but the guide told me that the surrounding market is expensive especially compared to the beach to the south that the locals use. (In addition, the Holland America excursion book says, “Swimming is not recommended at Teluk Cempedak beach. Undercurrents are strong and dangerous for swimmers.”) There was another brief shower, but we explored the area after that. There was a Hyatt resort on the beach but we headed the other way toward a small wooden walkway along one end of the beach were there were large rocks and breaking waves. As we approached a bridge at the first part of the walkway, a troop of monkeys came out of the trees and across the bridge. They weren’t particularly interested in the humans, although we had been told of monkey thieves who would take what ever was loose.
Monkeys
After a brief stay, we went back to the ship. On the way, the skies opened and it poured. Between the bus and the ship, everyone got soaked. The driving rain continued until departure, so we weren’t able to get out and investigate the stalls along the pier. Needless to say, we didn’t take the shuttle into the shopping area either.
Unfortunately, our brief stay in Malaysia didn’t show us anything to recommend it, although I’m sure there are delightful and informative things to see and do in the country. We sometimes wonder why a particular port was chosen, but some of it has to do with appealing to all the repeat world voyagers. I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned that we’ve met people on their fifth, tenth, even fifteenth world cruises.