JJCM in KT #14 - Pantai Chendering

Further down the road, about 6 km away from Kuala Terengganu is Chendering – the site of the Malaysian Handicraft Centre. This centre offers a wide variety of Malaysian handicraft and also a chance to see how these handicrafts are made. Cendering is also the site of a national deep sea fishing project with a long jetty that is excellent for fishing. These we heard about but knew we did not have the time to make a stop. There are just too many things to see and the days are too short.

So we stop instead at Pantai Chendering which is about 10 km away from kuala Terengganu town. It is a bay with a very wide sandy beach. There is a fishing village at one end. We would love to check it out but again time did not permit. The wide sandy beach and the gentle slope made this stretch looked very inviting but it is also quite treacherous as the undercurrent is very strong.

At one end of the beach, it ended in rocks and that is where I will find them. I loved these few very tall coconut trees swaying under the strong breeze. I had been here before and I always looked forward to seeing those coconut trees again. But I sadly noted that one of the trees has lost its crown and only its trunk is left standing. It will stand there much longer and I fear the other trees will also die out not too far into the future. That is a real pity for the trees added so much to the empty beach. I was shocked when I came across an older photograph recently that showed nine coconut trees where now only three still stands. If the tourism officers are doing their job, they ought to be planting some new trees here.

I loved them so much that I shot them from different angles to remember them in case they are gone by the time I got there again. If you go to Kuala Terengganu, do stop by Pantai Chendering and see those trees before they are gone. How many decades they must have stood there facing the South China Sea. I will miss them. I wonder if I am the only one who will?

Everywhere you went, you can see huge Pas flags. Some with one moon like this one, some with two, four and more. I am not political and they don’t bother me. However, I think planting them on rocks and islands everywhere spoilt the natural beauty. There ought to be some places where politics do not intrude. There are better ways to make a statement.

The sun was blazing hot that afternoon and there were no shades on the beach. But among these rocks are trapped colorful stones, sea shells and broken shells of crustaceans. If not for the hot sun, looking for stones or shells among the rocks can be a lot of fun. I took back a number of these small rocks for souvenirs. Free gifts from nature. I once even took back sand from Pulau Redang.

As we left, we saw this recently expired colorful crab among the white broken shells and grey rocks. Its sad end is an ominous sign. Somehow I don’t think I will see those swaying coconut trees again.