Oh! What a day. Here am I with my spouse on the beach at Teluk Cempedak, Kuantan at the wee hours of the morning. It was 6:30Am Saturday March 7, 2009. The weather at those early hours was cool. I had told my spouse that I want to watch the sunrise and for that purpose we drove to Kuantan. My spouse says that I must be crazy to do just that. Well I told her this trip to Kuantan is just for that purpose. I just want to be at the beach, watch the sunrise and photograph the happening. Watching the sun rise has been part of my growing up period of my life. Kuantan is my home town and this beach was where I used to camp on weekends and enjoy swimming. In those days this beach was just an isolated bay with golden beach, so undisturbed by development. To get here we had to hike on narrow path across bushes, watching the giant lizard and monkey scattering around as we walked the path on our way to the beach. Now we got here just by driving right to the front of the beach.
We used to be here in our early twenties and now on this beautiful Saturday morning; in our golden age we are sitting on the same sandy beach watching the same horizon but seeing different scenes been played in color at this hours of the morning. We thought we were early but on arrival we saw others were there already. After getting a comfortable spot I waited for the sun to rise and start snapping picture of the scene as the daylight broke. Slowly and surely the day began to transformed from dark to gray and then to dim light of amber, yellow, silver and those gorgeous shades of blue. Just above the horizon there was thick cumulonimbus clouds and it deflect the sun ray as it glow on the way up; such a magnificent sight to watch. It was just one of those majestic moments in time where the day began with the burst of such colorful display of the sun. I could feel the energy of the morning sun so refreshing, giving me that pure peace of mind that one would not get at any other places. The sea, the brilliant horizon, the magnificent sun, the landscape of greens does made such a great scene, a moving postcard of sort. Indeed such a picturesque sight to watch.
There were so many things happening at the same time. The hermit crabs congregated on the soft beach soil making pattern as it move. I sat there and watch it and for several seconds lost track of times. The bashing of the beach by the waves broke the monotony of the silence beach. Jolted back to the reality I could smell the fresh air and felt the humidity of the sea water; giving that feeling of freshness that only the environment of the beach could offer. As I watch the sun slowly rises I saw a few early birds flying low and then settled to walk along the beach picking its morning meals. Yonder I could see the flickering of lights from boats from afar that ply the China Sea.
For that moment in times I was mesmerized by the tranquility of the place and the ever changing colorful horizon. Indeed it was worth the whilst to be here. The sun had been worship for million of years and today I sat with my spouse admiring it appearance on the horizon and enjoying every minutes of the wait. The sun, our sun the source of our energy, for without it lives on this blue planet would ceases to exist. So folks do give due respect to this wonder of our galaxy and take your time to appreciate what nature had to offer for our well being. I would be coming back again and again to the beaches on the east coast to watch the sunrise and like this gorgeous morning we, that is Asmah and me did enjoy this morning at the Teluk Cempedak beach in Kuantan.
With great satisfaction we head back to the Vistana Hotel to enjoy breakfast there with another couple whom we had invited to join us for breakfast at 8.30AM that beautiful morning in Kuantan. Folks it was a great day. Colorful indeed. Have a nice day. [click image to enlarge]
We used to be here in our early twenties and now on this beautiful Saturday morning; in our golden age we are sitting on the same sandy beach watching the same horizon but seeing different scenes been played in color at this hours of the morning. We thought we were early but on arrival we saw others were there already. After getting a comfortable spot I waited for the sun to rise and start snapping picture of the scene as the daylight broke. Slowly and surely the day began to transformed from dark to gray and then to dim light of amber, yellow, silver and those gorgeous shades of blue. Just above the horizon there was thick cumulonimbus clouds and it deflect the sun ray as it glow on the way up; such a magnificent sight to watch. It was just one of those majestic moments in time where the day began with the burst of such colorful display of the sun. I could feel the energy of the morning sun so refreshing, giving me that pure peace of mind that one would not get at any other places. The sea, the brilliant horizon, the magnificent sun, the landscape of greens does made such a great scene, a moving postcard of sort. Indeed such a picturesque sight to watch.
There were so many things happening at the same time. The hermit crabs congregated on the soft beach soil making pattern as it move. I sat there and watch it and for several seconds lost track of times. The bashing of the beach by the waves broke the monotony of the silence beach. Jolted back to the reality I could smell the fresh air and felt the humidity of the sea water; giving that feeling of freshness that only the environment of the beach could offer. As I watch the sun slowly rises I saw a few early birds flying low and then settled to walk along the beach picking its morning meals. Yonder I could see the flickering of lights from boats from afar that ply the China Sea.
For that moment in times I was mesmerized by the tranquility of the place and the ever changing colorful horizon. Indeed it was worth the whilst to be here. The sun had been worship for million of years and today I sat with my spouse admiring it appearance on the horizon and enjoying every minutes of the wait. The sun, our sun the source of our energy, for without it lives on this blue planet would ceases to exist. So folks do give due respect to this wonder of our galaxy and take your time to appreciate what nature had to offer for our well being. I would be coming back again and again to the beaches on the east coast to watch the sunrise and like this gorgeous morning we, that is Asmah and me did enjoy this morning at the Teluk Cempedak beach in Kuantan. With great satisfaction we head back to the Vistana Hotel to enjoy breakfast there with another couple whom we had invited to join us for breakfast at 8.30AM that beautiful morning in Kuantan. Folks it was a great day. Colorful indeed. Have a nice day. [click image to enlarge]
27 comments:
You have to wake up early many more times to get a very good picture of the sunrise. Practise makes perfect and I think you are getting there.
Your writing is very poetic, Idrus.
Your photos convey the beauty and serenity of the sunrise so very well. Being a night person I rarely get to see sunrise but you have refreshed my memory of that celebrated time of day.
By the way, is that hotel in the middle of one of the pictures the Hyatt?
Pokku, thanks for the visit and your advice on photography.
I am honored for such a compliment from an experienced photographer like you. Thanks you sir and I shall try harder to get better images in the future.
In the meantime it is going to be a learning session and experimental photography and I shall continue to enjoy doing that.
Have a nice day.
Louis, thanks for the visit and the compliments on my kind of writing and the photography.
I am still learning the trick of getting good images and enjoying every minutes of toying with my photography sets. I shall try to post more images of my experiment from time to time. I am indeed glad that you did enjoy this posting.
As for that image you pointed out, yes it is the Hyatt where you and Elena stayed once. I somehow knew you would recognized the scene. That is one reason I choose this image for this posting. Indeed I was thinking of you and your trip there some years ago. I am happy that it does bring back memories of your stay at this five star hotel in Kuantan and seeing the sunrise at this enchanting beach.
As I had mentioned Asmah says that I am crazy to wake up that early and get to the beach but then at this age we still do crazy things but not that crazy like when we were in our youth.
Have a nice day and take care.
Pak Idrus,
Thank you for the wonderful pictures of Teluk Cempedak! That beach holds a special place in my heart. When I arrived in M'sia in July 1975 as a Peace Corps Trainee, we did our training in Kuantan! Three training groups arrived at the same time. Two of them (the Univ Pertanian lecturers and some specialist teachers, and the Maju Ternak group) stayed at some chalets on Teluk Cempedak. My group (the Agriculture group) stayed at the Gov't Rest House Annexe just at the foot of the hill where the road started uphill, then downhill, to Teluk Cempedak. (Do you remember the Gov't Rest House and its Annexe? The Annexe had the best nasi goreng!)
My group did our 10-week Bahasa and kebudayaan course in a rented bungalow near the Annexe. Our 10-day kampung home stay was at Batu 13 Jalan Sg Lembing.
And we all went to the beach at Teluk Cempedak after our head was ringing from a day of language training! So thank you for the beautiful pictures --- it brought back many, many happy memories!
(I was eventually posted to the Jabatan Parit dan Taliair in Kota Bharu.)
Pak Idrus, it's such a bliss ;-)
Enjoy your stay.
YA
Assalamua'alaikum Pak Idrus
Really appreciate of your good shots of the sunrise photographs. Really good and these photos also remind me of those days. Always jog in the morning to Teluk Chempedak over the weekend and ending it up with nasi lemak under the tree of casuarina.
Thank you for sharing it with us
Hi Idrus,
You have a prodigious memory: thanks for thinking of us as you walked on the beach and took that photo of the Hyatt.
We saw more sunsets than sunrises, though, mainly from a beachside lounge that the hotel had made by half-burying an old rice barge in the sand. I wonder if that is still there. It was a very creative use of the old barge, a very pleasant spot.
One of the most remarkable sights for us, since we had not seen it before, was the hijab-wearing ladies strolling past on the beach with their families.
Howard, Thanks for the visit and the good words on this posting. Thanks as well for sharing your thoughts that is related to Teluk Cempedak.
It look like that you are familiar with Kuantan and had experience living there. Kuantan of 1975 and now are much different for it has developed over times. The Annex Rest House is still there but in not such a good condition like before. I believe you did stay at another Rest House at Teluk Sisek which is nearby Teluk Cempedah. That Rest House has since been demolished and a new housing development has taken its place.
Teluk Cempedak is still the same and still a great place to take a swim on a calm day. You mentioned Sungei Lembing. Incidentally I visited this once a mining town on my last visit to Kuantan and would do a posting in due course.
I am indeed glad that you enjoyed this posting and had fond memories of this enchanting place in the sun. It does made my day.
Hope that when you are around in July we could take a trip down memory lane.
Have a nice day.
Anonymous[YA], Yvonne thanks for the visit and your beautiful comment on the subject of this posting. Indeed it is blissful. Teluk Cempedah especially in that early hours of the morning is such an enchanting place.
I would suggest that you take a holiday in Kuantan. Stay at the hotel near the beach and watch the sunrise. It is indeed magic with its own mystic.
Yes we shall continue to enjoy life. Thanks for reminding us on that.
Have a nice day and take care.
Salam Pak Idrus,
Hmm...beautiful shots! Now that I'm inching towards photography, I'm beginning to appreciate more such shots. Thanks :)
mamadou, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on this enchanting place that is known as Teluk Cempedak.
It look like everyone who have been there did enjoy been there and had fond memories of their time there. Teluk Cempedah is such a magic and that is why we are so fond of been at this beach.
BTW the casuarina trees are still there but I am not sure about the Nasi Lemak.
I am indeed glad that you enjoy this posting. Have a nice day.
Louis, thanks for the return visit and continue to share your experiences on been at Teluk Cempedah.
Many thanks for the good words on my memory. Well, there are things that you said or wrote that got stuck in my memory bank and it does come back as I wrote those posting. I am glad that you did had an enjoyable stay at Teluk Cempedak during you last tour of Malaysia.
As for the 'half-burying an old rice barge in the sand' I am not that sure of that and have to look around when I am next there. I am indeed glad that you do have fond memory of that place and the hotel.
Nowadays there are many Arabs taking their holiday in Malaysia and it is not an uncommon sight to see women in hijab at the beach albeit not in those days like you said. Well time has change so are the scenario.
Have a nice day.
cakapaje, Shah thanks for the visit, the greeting and the good words on this posting. I am indeed glad that you enjoy this posting especially so the images that I took.
As for photography if you are going that way may I suggest that you get a DSLR rather then an ordinary Digital Camera. It does made great differences. I did not know that until I switched to DSLR.
Have a nice day.
Salam, Pak Idrus!
Poetic words to go with such splendid images! Your photography skills did justice to the sunrise. Kak Asmah must have been joking -- how can an act of such devotion to and respect for nature be interpreted as craziness! Ha ha ha! Loved your description of the hermit crabs, monitor lizards, monkeys and nature in general. Surely it brought back warm and fond memories for the both of you?
Best regards,
CO78
Covert_Operations'78, Ee Lynn thanks for the visit and the good words on this posting. I am truly happy that you like this posting and enjoy the images that I took.
I did enjoy watching the rising sun and taking snaps of the happening. And after hundreds of shots I thought that it is worth to share some with others. Obviously like you others enjoy those images as well. It does made my day.
I am into photography because I felt that nature had so much to offer for our well being and the happening should be immortalized in some ways and share with the world to enjoy, thus I took the images.
The hermit crabs is a scene that I had watch from my kid's day growing up beside the Kuantan river. Indeed a fascinating site to watch for it is always there at the beach come rain or shine at the early hours of the day.
As for been poetic, thanks for saying that for I do get carried away when writing and did enjoy doing that.
Thanks again for the good words. Have a nice day.
Dear Pak Idrus., if you are back in KL we will catch up. Am here at the moment. Thank you waking up so early and sharng your sunrise images. They are wonderful.
svllee, Steven thanks for the visit and the good words on this posting. Well it worth the wait to get those images.
A compliment from you, a professional photographer is indeed an honor.
Yes I am back in KL, Cu soon.
Have a nice day.
Pak Idrus,
All I can say is ooohh..and aaahhh... for such splendid photos.
Zawi, thanks for the visit and the good words on this posting. I am indeed glad that you enjoy those images that I took.
I am just learning the ways of the camera and hope to do better as I progress.
Have a nice day.
salam, pak,
i was in kuantan for a day last week, and totally fell in love with Beserah Beach-blue! Never before i've seen such color throughout life. Certainly day trip to Kuantan is NOT sufficient!
mutalib saifuddin, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on those gorgeous beaches on the east coast especially at a TC and Beserah up to Cerating.
Yes you need to stay there for a while to enjoy those wonder of nature. I grew up there and have been enjoying it all the whilst.
Have a nice day.
..beautiful shots, pak idrus..2009 was the year I really put my mind and efforts into blogging..and you started in 2003..sheesh..I am such a greenhorn compared to you..in taking pictures or in blogging..but better late than never, I guess..cheers..
pakmat, thanks for the visit and the good words on my kind of photography. Blogging did give me the opportunity to share my thoughts with the world. At the same time it kept my mind alert.
At this age we have to keep going, both the mind and the physical body in order to stay healthy. And I found blogging does that to me and I am enjoying it.
Another aspect of blogging is that I found many new friends, just like you today and hope that in due course we could meet in person.
Pakmat carry on blogging and do have a nice day.
Pak Idrus,
You have reminded me of my visit many years ago to Kuantan. We stayed at The Merlin( its not the merlin anymore) then and we had the best time, watching sunsets with husband and two young children. My daughter and her son and myself are making the trip again to Teluk Cempedak on Wednesday, and I am as excited as ever. Will be taking photos, amateur that I am! Will keep you posted.
Ivy Hoh
24MINUTECOOK, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on your visit to this enchanting beach, Teluk Cempedak, my beach. I grew up there, from the age of five years was always at this beach, camping and swimming and enjoy every minutes of been there. It was then still a beach with jungle around it and there was not a single buildings. The river water near the rock was clean and we could drink straight from it. It is no long like that now.
Every time I go back to Kuantan I would stay at the Vistana Hotel [to me is the best hotel in town] at Jalan Teluk Sisik about two Kilometers from Teluk Cempedak and early in the morning would take a trip to Teluk Cempedak and enjoy the amazing sunrise which is never the same everyday you watch it.
I am sure you would enjoy your visit there now and surely it would bring back memories of those beautiful days you were with your kids then.
Have a nice day and take care.
24MINUTECOOK, Ivy Hoh do write to me and let me know of your experience there. Much appreciate. Thanks.,
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