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I came away from Malaysia with the underlying feeling that this is a country that will never fail to surprise. I encountered people who had been visiting this country for a decade and were still learning new tricks and gaining fresh insight. Malaysia rarely disappoints, frequently inspires and always surprises.

Take Kuantan. Firmly located on travellers’ itineraries, established travel guides will tell you it is nothing more than a ’stopover’ en route for the Islands further up the coast, or the magnificent forests of the interior. Do not believe! If you want to witness what hard-working, hard playing Malaysians themselves get up to, take a second glance at this part of the East coast.

This is truly an integrated multi-cultural urbane society. Maybe nothing captures this like the many Kopitiams (coffee-shops) scattered around town. Several generations of peoples cluster around marble-topped tables. Unforgettable coffee – made the traditional way – and served ominously dark and sweet, is the classic accompanienment to a sometime traditional cuisine. Eponymous ‘half-boiled eggs’ are delivered in their own cooking containers with strict instructions to, ‘leave for five minutes.’ Spicy foil-baked fish and….toast! The gentle hum of conversation negating any need for music, piped or otherwise, complement the notion of a region ‘at ease’ with itself.

If you end up here simply because you want time alone on your travels, you might be hard pushed to remain solitary for long. Malaysians emit a special invective solidarity: everyone has a tale; sometimes a request.

But feel the breeze on an empty Cherating beach when fleeting October rains scatter the afternoon sun-seekers and moody, animated skies add an almost other-worldly feel to the vista. Indulge yourself in what is surely one of the whole regions most eclectic bars, The Deadly Nightshade, where visitors, local and otherwise, trek up the imposing walkway as the sun sinks low to catch an evening drink. And try and stay away!

Bustling night markets showcase local products. Chillies and batik vie for the eyes attention. There are bargains to be had, but it might take a while. There is a certain art involved to getting what you want at the right price. I arrived just after dark in the middle of the fasting month: people had just broken their dawn-until-dusk abstinence from food and drink and there was a light-hearted atmosphere pervading the sprawling market. Generators purred as everything from roasted chickens to plastic sandals were offered for sale. Fluorescent lights adding a surreal glint to the endless of goods on display and the whole vista accented by flashes of lightning from a storm-laden sky.

Kuantan itself also offers some fine beaches. A short distance from the town centre at Teluk Chempedak: good stretches of sand fade into the local stone and a backcloth of lush jungle foliage. With the place just to myself on the afternoon I visited, the beach presented itself as a giant playground for the rediscovery of lost youth.

Strange granite outcrops afford some fine, safe scrambling and although the overcast sky temporarily removed the turquoise glint of the sea, there was something totally liberating about being able to jog along the breaking surf, memories of work and the encroaching winter of home feeling literally and figuratively thousands of kilometers away.

There are a range of accommodations available from splendid five star hotels down on the seashore to clean, affordable residences in the town centre. Some cluster around the impressive river that forms the heart of the city and from where boat trips into the mangrove hinterland can be arranged. Others nestle up to what is generally regarded as the finest Mosque in this part of Malaysia, clad with an iridescent blue dome.

For me though, it is the relaxed way that everyone seems to conduct themselves in this part of Malaysia that really impresses. Two masseurs worked in harmony with each other and the scents from the oils were just heavenly. The town itself feels safe and clean and maybe because it is not part of the established tour circuit, gently rewards anyone who bothers to scratch the surface. Yielding a certain sort of charm and an effortless introduction to what Malaysia in all of its diversities has to offer. Only a three hour car journey from the heart of the capital Kuala Lumpur, there was something truly liberating about the short breaks on offer here. Heartily recommended.

This article is distributed by www.Malaysia-Travel-Info.com. An up-to-date guide to Malaysia. Providing current and relevant information about visa, airlines, hotels, resorts, Kuantan resort, scuba diving, travel, health and wellness.

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