I celebrated my touring weekiversary in Kuantan, the capital of Pahang, which is also known as my aunt’s city. I was extremely thrilled to be able to sleep in her comfortable home, be spoiled and pampered with some good old home cook meals… it had been a week (BIG DEAL I KNOW) since I last had my comfort food- Chinese food. We ended up spending 4 days resting, recharging and refuelling in Kuantan, with an impromptu visit to Sungai Lembing.
Biking around Kuantan was rather fun. We visited some cafes and Teluk Cempedak beach where Jonas took me to this private spot where he used to work as a helper at its restaurant. Shame, I thought, as a local myself, I relied on a foreigner like Jonas to show me a ‘hidden gem’ in my home turf. After a quick swim (I mean Jonas swam, I couldn’t swim for my life), we took an easy hike by the beach. Who knew one can hike at Teluk Cempedak… at least not me.
pssssssst... the hidden gem
always reading...
Hey we too have autumn in Malaysia!
For a change, we ditched our bikes, hopped onto Rapid Kuantan to the central bus station, and then took another bus straight to Sg. Lembing. I visited Sg. Lembing years ago with my family, while we missed the sunrise, I remember how delicious the food tasted. As a greedy and hungry monster myself, I swore I was going to eat truckloads of them because god knew when would I be able to feed myself with such treats as we were biking along the east coast, towards the north.
This time around, Sg. Lembing definitely did not disappoint in terms of food (oh and drinks as well, thanks to the natural & DELICIOUS water flows down from the mountains of Sg. Lembing), even Jonas had to agree whole-heartedly with me, claiming it’s got one of the best noodles he’s ever tasted in his life!
It was great to visit Sg. Lembing on a weekday with the absence of tourists whereby there was no need to queue for anything! We played tourists by visiting Sg. Lembing Museum and Tin Mines. The experience was rather rewarding as I got to learn about the rise and fall of this peaceful little town and its mining history. We thought of renting a motorbike (yes, the one with engine) to tour around but the rental was fairly expensive and hence we decided to just wonder around by foot.
JiuFen... I mean, Sg. Lembing hanging bridge...
We went to check out the infamous LOTR-inspired hobbit homestay (just a coincidence really) but boy the price was absolutely ridiculous, given our pathetic daily budget (LOL)...fortunately, we packed our tent with us. After much talk with the locals, and them making several calls to the ‘decision makers’ of Sg. Lembing, we paid RM15 each to set up our tent within the compound of Tin Mines Museum.
Every corner of Sg. Lembing is picturesque!
NEXT UP, CHERATING! Our very own surfing paradise!