The first beach we stopped at on our way back home is Pantai Batu Buruk or Beach of Ugly Stone just a few km away from Kuala Terengganu. We wonder how it got its name for though hard I looked, I could not see any ugly stone just miles of sandy beach. There was a strong wind blowing and the Casuarinas trees that lined the beach giving it shades bend and sway to it. This is an ideal weather to fly kites. 
There are many kites for sales mostly drawn after cartoon characters such as Batman, Spiderman, Doraemon, Ultraman, SpongeBob SquarePants etc. My favorite is the demure Mermaid. These are the simpler kites suitable for the families. Those who flies more elaborate kites brought it themselves. 
Malaysia also has kites that are uniquely hers which she called “Wau”. There are many types of Wau, each with a distinct name. The Wau above is called Wau Bulan or Moon Wau as its tail resembles that of a crescent moon. The Wau Kuching or Cat Wau is so called because in flight, it made a humming sound like a cat. Other famous categories are Wau Barat (Leaf Wau or Morning Wau), Wau Merak (Peacock Wau) and Wau Jala Budi (Woman Wau).
Under the shades of the Casuarinas trees and a strong steady wind, the kite fliers are really enjoying themselves. 
It is such a pleasure to watch whole family get together to enjoy the activity. 
There is something very soothing about watching kites fly. 
A small boy and his brother flying their kites. Pantai Batu Buruk is also famous for their hawkers stall besides being an ideal place for kite flying. The water is a bit too dangerous for swimming. The food stalls served a diverse varieties of food ranging from Nasi Dagang (Terengganu traditional rice), Yunnan chicken rice to fried ice cream. We unfortunately too full to check them out.
If you happen to be there on Friday, you should visit the “Friday Market” which have many additional stalls selling shoes, clothing, toys, handicrafts, souvenirs, fruits, foods, daily products, practically everything you can think of. There is also a cultural centre located here that put on stage performance on Fridays from 5.00pm to 6.30pm. The performance includes Malay martial art “Silat”, kite flying, sepak raga (a rattan ball game) and top spinning.
At that time when we were there, I heard the name of the beach wrongly and thought it was Pantai Batu Busuk or Beach Of Smelly Rock. As we drove away, we suddenly got a strong whiff of bad smell. I thought then that must be why they named the beach so. But for some reasons, all my co-travelers all pointed the finger at me. I still maintain that there are only 5 suspects – my four fellow travelers and the beach. That is the beauty of writing a blog, it gave you the last say, ha ha. No comment accepted from my fellow travelers, please. :-)
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