Previously: Snippets
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On the 25th to 27th September 2013, I was one of the selected few lucky bloggers who received an invitation to go for the Media Familiarization Trip to the Legend Cherating Resort, Kuantan, Pahang. It was organised by the Legend Cherating Resort with the collaboration of M-Mode, Santai Travel Magazine and of course, Tourism Malaysia.
25th September 2013
Cherating is an easy 3-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur via the Expressways. Our buses left the Grand Seasons Hotel in Kuala Lumpur at around 9 am and we reached the Legend Cherating Resort at around noon.
- Apart from self drive, the Legend Cherating has a shuttle service which run the KL-Cherating-KL route.
- The shuttle service departs every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
- Price: RM 90.00/person one way
- Click here for more info.
Upon checking-in, we went straight to our room. I was so excited when I entered the room as we were given a Grand Deluxe room (Price: RM 700+/night).
And the view from the room’s balcony? It was splendid!
Soon, we went to the Coconut Groove Coffee House which is the main restaurant of the resort for the buffet lunch. The food choices were awesome. They had the mixed rice to cater for the Asians taste bud as well as Western choices and a lot more.
The Coffee House is also nice as it has an outdoor terrace facing the pool, which is good if we want to have our lunch outdoor with natural air.
After the lunch, we went to the briefing given by the resort management and the organizers. Soon, we boarded our buses for the first visit of the day. So, what does Cherating has to offer?
My trip with the Legend Cherating Resort has the answer.
Our first visit was to the Turtle Sanctuary and Information Centre, Cherating.
Cherating is one of the very few places in Malaysia where turtles lay their eggs, the others being the states of Terengganu, Melaka, Johor, Penang and Perak. However, the number of turtles laying their eggs had declined over the years as more and more people stole the eggs and sell them at markets.
So, that is why the Cherating Turtle Sanctuary and Information Centre was opened up. The centre was established to give knowledge to the public and also to give sanctuary to the turtles which lay their eggs at the beach near this area.
So, when a turtle laid their eggs at the beach, staff of this centre will collect the eggs and put them in the hatchery.
When the eggs hatched, the baby turtles will be put in the sanctuary temporarily before being released back to the sea.
The visiting hours of this centre is as follows:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Sunday
9.00 am – 5.30 pm
8.00 pm – 6.00 am
Friday
9.00 am – 12.00 pm
3.00 pm – 5.30 pm
If you want to see turtles laying eggs during night time, you can also contact Paksu Cherating (+6013906 4828 / +6017927 9678) who conducts eco-tourism guide especially relating to turtles.
Or you can also book a place through The Legend Cherating Resort where between the months of April and August every year, they will conduct trips to watch turtles lay eggs.
For turtle watching, the Legend Cherating Resort requires a minimum of 3 persons and the fee is RM 55.00/person [Adult] and RM 35.00/person [Child].
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From the centre, we went back to the resort for a press conference where this media trip was officiated by the Exco for Pahang State Tourism, Dato’ Haji Mohd Sharkar.
In the speech, he explained about the history of Cherating and how to boast tourism in this area. I totally agreed with what he was saying. Back in 1990s, when I was still a small kid, Cherating was a very famous tourist spot. However, it started to lose its charm after the Asian economic crisis in 1997.
However, from this visit, I really admire this place. This is the place you should go to unwind yourself after a hectic week. This is the place that you should visit to have a relax, laid-back atmosphere. This is the place you should come to for the sun and the sand.
After the press conference, we headed to the beach to release the baby turtles to the sea. Oh my! I was so excited [again] because it is not everyday that you could see turtles and it is not everyday that you could help to contribute something to the nature. :)
It was fun but at the same time, there was this sad feeling as we were told that from all the baby turtles that were released to the sea, only 1% will survive and grow up.
Another interesting fact that we were told: turtles will come back to lay eggs at the place where they were released as a baby. Awww! :’)
![Fellow blogger, Jessie [http://travelthisblogmofo.wordpress.com] releasing a baby turtle...](https://kairulizwan.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/watermarked-img_2096.jpg)
It was such an amazing experience. Everyone was touched. After releasing the baby turtles, I took some time walking at the beach. The beach at this resort is wide, and the sand is so soft. It was fun to walk at the beach and look at the waves hitting the beach.
We were then treated to a fabulous steamboat dinner at the Coconut Groove Coffee House. It was nice to have all the seafood dipped in the hot clear soup whilst feeling the breeze of the ocean air at the outdoor terrace.
As for the second visit of the day, we were brought to the Hafiz’s Friendly Fireflies Watch. To be honest, I was really looking forward for this visit because although I have been living in the state of Selangor for years, I have never been to the Kuala Selangor Firefly Tour. In fact, I have never seen a firefly in my whole life!
Hafiz Firefly Tour has been listed in the Lonely Planet Guidebook as well as on Trip Advisor as one of the things that you should do if you come to Cherating. It is unique in the sense that instead of watching the fireflies from afar, Hafiz uses his ability to communicate with the fireflies and the fireflies will come close to you.
We lined up for our life jackets and went to the jetty. Off we went to see the fireflies. However, no flash was allowed during the tour as it will cause harm to the fireflies. Nevertheless, the experience was amazing. Imagine having the fireflies flew to your hand and it stopped ON your hand. Imagine seeing a firefly closed up! It was like watching the Disney fairy tales movie with all the glitters. Seriously!
Price:
Hafiz Firefly Watch Tour
Adult: RM 25.00/person
Child: RM 15.00/person
It was an unforgettable experience!
Check out the video of the fireflies here.
For more info, check out:
After the tour, we went back to the resort for supper at the X’POSE! Fun Pub. Here, one can groove the night away to the vibrant beat of dance music, have a party or celebration or even to have a Karaoke session. Apart from X’POSE!, another place for drinks at this resort is the Bay Lounge where the in-house band plays a repertoire of all-time favourites and the latest hits.
It had been a long day. After the supper, I decided to go back to my room and sleep on the comfort bed, eager for tomorrow.
==TO BE CONTINUED… DAY 2-HAFIZ MANGROVE TOUR==
For your quick getaway package, go to the Legend Cherating Resort!
kaki jalans 
OMG, you managed to snap a photo of the firefly??? and I miss the adorable little baby turtles..
Yeah, but it was hard to snap the group of fireflies flying because I couldn’t see through the LCD. It was a lucky snap though for this one photo. LOL.
Yeah, I miss them too. So adorable and cute! ;)
hehe. mana kelab mama yg diceritakan itu?
Hari kedua. Nantikannn. Hahaha
Post malam kedua make sure ada video skali! Hahahaha
Haha. I tak ada video nya. *Selamatttt.* Hhaha
*Ahem ahem* *belek fail2 video* Hahaha!
Alamak! *Tengok kiri kanan sambil lap peluh* Hahahah! 0_o”
*ahem ahem* *sedang tengok video*…
Hahaha. *lap-lap peluh makin mencurah-curah* :)
nice write-up bro!
Thanks bro! :)
video apakah?? tertinggal bot ni
Haha. Akak ingat tak saya kena menari atas pentas tu yg si Iqwal panggil tu? Rupanya ada kawan2 kita ni ambil video! Hahaha. Adoi~~~
menari dengan retis gitewwww
Haha. Kak, kalau menari biasa boleh terima lagi. Tapi, gelek gerudi??? Oh no!!~ Hahah. *ok malu tutup muka dengan tangan* ahahah
Wow. I never thought Cherating is quite interesting. Glad that I found your site and may list this place for my next trip.
U should! The place is amazing. It was my first visit and I was shocked to see what it has to offer :)