Since this was a long weekend... we did manage to go to 2 beaches... saturday was just a simple evening time at Teluk Cempedak... the usual hangout beach in Kuantan... but on sunday... we decided to try a further beach... just about 15 minutes away from Kuantan, along the coastal road... Balok Beach...
It has quite a lot of facilities, like a caravan park, childrens play area, barbeque pits... proper paid toilets and ample car park... but... man! The place is run down... tons of rubbish everywhere... and its like everyone has no civic mindset.
The beach itself is a grey dirty beach... the sand,more mud like then proper sand... sad... i think after our redang trip... we are spoiled by its pure white sand... but truthfully Teluk Cempedak beach is much nicer.
But heh... the children didn't bother... just plonked themselves down and played with sand and water... and tried saving some fishes too (Some mad irresponsible fellas were using nets and hauling the beach... catching some very few medium sized fishes and letting the rest of the tiny ones die in the process by leaving them on the beach)
so in all... don't bother coming to this beach... for whatever money spent facilitating the place... all seem to have been wasted... 
2 weeks ago, on our way to KL for work we stopped by Goh Tong Jaya, Genting.
My parents were there early preparing the apartments for their church camp... so we decided to break our journey and spend the night with them at Goh Tong Jaya Apartments.
Surprisingly, after almost 5 years, these apartments are still in good shape... i guess good management & service are key in keeping the apartments in good order. The place was also very cool... with no fans in the individual rooms (only the living room) u got to rely on nature to provide u cool air. Unlike our last trip up to Frasers, thankfully this time it was a nights sleep without any buzzing mosquitoes!
My father was especially thrilled to see the kiddos... since the last time he saw them was during chinese new year... 
we also had some food at the chinese restaurants lining the road at Goh Tong Jaya. Nothing great... maybe we just haven't found the correct restaurant to to... the were bland and expensive. But the next morning before we left we went for breakfast at an indian (mamak)... woo the hot tea and roti were good... nice curry too... so at least got some decent food lah.
we continued our journey to KL after breakfast... and only took like 20minutes to reach back in Melawati... downhill is much easier :p
We had planned this trip for over half a year... and was wholy anticipating it...WOO HOO! Super clear waters, soft white sands, tons of fishies to see... Redang Island here we come!
Early in the morning after breakfast and checking out of Sutra Resort, Merang we headed to the Merang Jetty nearby and parked our car at the carparks there. they charged us RM30 for 3 days parking ... total rip-off, but no choice (plus it's at your own risk) 
Our boat was sceduled to leave at 9.30am, and boy there were tons of people at the Jetty already and more were pouring in, a quick check at the boat schedules... and we saw 4 boats at 15 minute intervals to Redang island, presumably packed with people. Fooh! overheard from the people manning the place... about 400+ people would be joining us for the 3day/2 nights... and the previous group before us was at 600+... wah... talk about Super Peak Period!
We also met Yin Sern's parents minus himself on the Jetty... who helped us take the family photo shot... yeah! Julie's parents and Sis from US also joined us... so a big group from our side too... all crammed in our car... keh :p
The people behind Laguna are pretty organised... everything runs like clockwork and very efficiently, i guess they are used to handling large group... from Ferry to Arrival , to check in , makan time and even the snorkeling events they did it all very well. Our ferry ride was uneventful... it's an airconditioned 100+ seater and it's closed, they don't allow u to go out on deck... 
Upon arrival there is a quick briefing on the do's & don'ts on the island since its situated within a marine reserve and then we were ushered to the main lobby for welcome drinks... after registration... Lunch Time!
The place is really nice... very well maintained and beautiful architecture, very well kept gardens, awesome pool and the beach front... impressive! 
It was my first time seeing clear sea waters in real life! The sea was blue! unfortunately the sky wasn't up to par during our stay... But God was very favourable, only having rains at night...
Collecting our keys after lunch, we quickly got ready for our first snorkeling trip... an open water snorkeling thingi... as it was my first time doing snorkeling... i really had a horrible time swallowing quite alot of salt water... eeyuuck! But wah... first time seeing so many colorful fishies swimming all around... not forgetting the tons of people also! After getting the hang of snorkeling it wasnt too bad... but hannah had a tough time... open water + first time didnt go to well with her... thankfully with my new underwater pack to take photos and videos, i could later show her what she missed...
We went straight to the pool upon reaching back... to firstly just swim around and check the pool out, secondly to practice the snorkeling style. It was here... that i lost the underwater pack + camera... boo hoo! one minute of unawareness... and poof... it was gone... sigh! all the photos and videos lost! reported to the lost and found counter but heh... malaysians are not that honest lah...
anyways... wow for a first day experience...
We had opted for full board, so all our food was included... so it was all buffet. No point having the non board... u end up paying more cuz even all the equipments and such are charged differently. The Food served is not bad at all... not like super duper good... but good nevertheless... 
Second day, a trip to Redang Marine park (rm5 entrance)... beautiful! There is a 15 minute boat ride to a coral bay and here u are greeted by schools of fishes ... kinda tame fishes, if u have bread... they will flock to u... compared to the fist day trip... this was like worlds apart... this time Hannah had gotten used to the sea and enjoyed herself floating and looking under the water to see the fishes. Thankfully with grandparent along, we had enough people to go around taking care of phoebe so we could all enjoy watching the marine life.
In the afternoon we decided to skip the 3rd snorkeling trip out and just go to the fronting beach to snorkel... the corals and fishes were interesting too... hannah already had her fill, so stayed at the beach and played with the soft sand... so did phoebe... heh.
The next day our trip back to the mainland was a bit choppy since it rained the entire night. Before we left Hannah also had a small tiny airbrush tatoo... keh! her reward for being so brave! All in all this first trip to the seas of the Malaysian East Coast was certainly an eye opener... and we are now planning our Tioman trip... maybe next year... maybe...
After a so... so... so... long trip up from Kuantan we finaly arrived in Merang, Terengganu... we would be spending our night here before our ferry to Redang Island leaves the next morning from the nearby Merang Jetty (5 min away).
Earlier in the year we had a recee trip up to Merang where we stayed in the Best Western, Suria... which at best was plain... and we opted our second time here at Merang to stay at Sutra Beach Resort... It was an excellent choice!
Right from the drive into the resort compound itself... it was already winning points against Suria's bare landscaping... Sutra's resort is mostly in a wood motif... everthing very earthy and very welcoming... the infinity pool, wow!... and the rooms were much better then Suria's... at similar prices... this is a no brainer... if u do an overnighter in Merang... choose this resort... heck! u can even plan your retreat here... stay for a few days to unwind and just relax... 
Food wise as earlier stated... is totally indoors... there is no food outside. We were pleasantly surprised that the food quality here in the hotel was quite good... a far cry from the other place... keh!
anyways, our single night here definately did leave a good impression... and with affordable prices of rm170 per night for 2 with breakfast... no brainer...
On our way up to our vacation trip in Redang, we decided to stop by the Cherating Turtle Sanctuary... we had attempted to visit this place last time already... and we only managed to visit for a good 5 minutes before they closed their doors... they close at 5.00pm
But this round... it was afternoon... so we had ample time to look at the exhibits and explore the area... we werent disappointed... and saw lots of turtles... tiny totters...
it's a FREE estabishment... only asking for donations... but i think they do get a small contribution by the govt to run... overall the place is clean and run quite well...
most of the turtles landing on this beach are the green turtle variation whereas the more famous leatherbacks lands in Rantau Abang, Terengganu.
They have several pools holding some small to big turtles... and they also have a hatchery at the beach... and they release all their baby turtles about a max 4 days after hatching... so if u are lucky u can see them releasing and maybe catch a turtle laying at night... daily releases if any starts at 10pm.
Overall a very nice, short trip on our way up to Redang...
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