Charging the Batteries: Cherating / Chendor

Every once in a while, when the soul starts to get jaded and the energy level falls, you know it's time to get away from it all and recharge the batteries !

The timing was good too ... I was just finishing a year with my employers, and some work fatigue has crept into me. So, what better an a road trip to the East Coast with the Girlfriend in tug?

First stop: Cherating / Chendor. Honestly, I don't know whether it's Cherating or is it Chendor. Technically, since the resort says it's Cherating, I guess the beach should be called Cherating beach. And it's not too far away from Kampung Cherating too. But the place itself is in Chendor. So how ???

That's why the pictures will show the caption "Cherating / Chendor". =)

If you wanted a deserted stretch of beach to yourself, and still be near a resort of some repute, this is the place to come to.


The beach is protected because it's a turtle sanctuary - and we saw plenty of wildlife - giant raptors, one of which swooped down on the beach before our eyes to catch some unknown prey. And not forgetting, a small seasnake too !

We first spotted it near the shore, still in the sea when we were walking to one end of the beach. However, when we were walking back, the sea snake was already beached. So, like all good photographers, I stepped forward and took some photos of it. =). Even though I am really afraid of snakes, no kidding. Good thing the lens I had mid zoom capabilities, otherwise, I'd be too scared to approach it with a normal point and shoot camera, really.


We drove up early, before sunrise so that we could maximize the time on the beach, and boy, I think it was a good decision. It meant we had the whole afternoon on the beach, which we spent walking up and down the beach, photographing, dozing off to the seabreeze on deck chairs, and just enjoying each other's company. It was great. I could really get used to it, and it was the perfect start to our holidays !


For dinner, while approaching Kampung Cherating, Girlfriend decided we should have a look in the village. We set our criteria - we'll stop in the first food joint that had a decent number of people in it, and looked better than crummy.

We finally found this place which does grilled seafood. The grilled stingray was heavenly.


Next up: Pulau Perhentian Besar - Moz returns to check out the corals !

BRB - Recharging Batteries

I'll be taking most of the week off to recharge my batteries. Rejuvenation is so important, more so nowadays due to the exertions of work !

Just in the blink of an eye, the year is already very close to it's mid point !


Wish me a fun & safe trip !

Trip Itinerary:

3°02'10.33" N, 101°38'36.96" E
4°09'32.69" N, 103°24'34.68" E
5°54'09.53" N, 102°44'21.72" E
3°48'54.18" N, 103°22'41.11" E

How hard do you work?

The world isn't getting easier to survive in. It's becoming more and more competitive, forcing people to work harder and harder. Nowadays, even the smart workers will have to put in the long hours. Such is the demand of the modern day workplace.

Just today, I actually was so hard at work, I didn't take my breakfast, and only had some Mozzichino until around 3pm when I actually had some lunch. By the time it was 5pm, for whatever reason, I went dizzy. I walked over to Secret Recipe and helped myself to a slice of cake and aa pot of hot tea.

It didn't help a lot, so I wrapped up the most urgent work, and headed home for a short snooze.

As I woke up and browsed about the Internet, I came across this entry - MJ ... we all miss you ... , which led me to this entry - Worked up, Stressed up, Crashed down.

The tear that glided down my eyes came from recognising that this could easily be any of us corporate warriors, me included. MJ was a contract staff with a large multinational in Singapore who apparently died from overwork - she apparently suffered from what seems like the economy class syndrome, the Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), which is attributed to her long periods of sitting down at work.

I don't know if it is truly related to work, because I seem to believe this might be related more to lack of physical activity. But I'm sure there would be those who argue you'd have to work pretty hard to not have any physical activity.

Anyways, I just want to that I'm deeply saddened by her death, regardless of what the cause is.

My point is - this incident perfectly illustrated to me that we all have to remember that we work for something. Some work for the money. Some work for the love of the job. Some work to pass time. Some work because they have to.

Whatever your reason for working, you're definately not hoping you'd die one day because you're overworked.

That's why I'm pretty thankful I have my vacations lined up. I'll be away, hopefully, in some sand, sea and surf for a whole week.

I'm still a little wobbly, so I better go snooze somemore. =)

How hard do you work?

Travel bits

Now that there's some break from work, I can update a little on my travels to Hanoi last week.

I stayed at the Hanoi Opera Hilton for the first time ! The hotel rawks ! The hotel manager rawks !


I really went there on work, on a really tough assignment. Odds are I won't come out ofo the meeting smelling like roses. Still, work is work - I'm paid to do the good part and the not so good part.

So, it perked my day up upon seeing this on my way to Hanoi. Rainbows to me is a good omen. Seeing this, I believed I can make something good out of my Hanoi assignment.


It was the hardest trip to Hanoi, in both literal and actual sense. There wasn't any direct flight available by the time I needed to fly, so I had to make a transit in Ho Chih Minh City on the way to Hanoi. That made a 3 hour 20 minute flight turn into a 6 hour+ journey. Still, the food served on board managed to serve some funnies:



The meeting didn't turn out as bad, although I was badly dehydrated by the time I was done - the meeting room was hot because AC wasn't firing on all cylinders, and I did most of the talking all of the 4 hours, sweating, and without drinks served.

So, to make up for that, that night, me and Jon, a colleague from Thailand, we went to chill out in the Old Quarters. I took the chance to get my sunshine a purple lantern. Glad you love it, dear.



And on my way back, a tantalising glimpse of the gems of the East Coast, the Redang archipelago. Click on this and other pictures to see a bigger version.


Makes me look forward to my holiday !