MALAYSIA
PENINSULAR MALAYSIA – EAST COAST •• Marang Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotelsInformation
There are no banks in Cherating.
Tourist Information Centre (hwy at Cherating turn-
off ) Rarely open.
Travelpost (%581 9796; h9am-11pm) Organises bus
tickets to just about anywhere (takes a commission), has
bike hire (per hr RM3), internet access (per hr RM4) and
tourist information, and exchanges money at a poor rate.Sleeping, Eating & Drinking
Cherating has a ‘strip’ where most of the res-
taurants and guest houses congregate. Book
in advance during the monsoon surf season
from November through January.
Maznah’s Guest House (%581 9072; chalets incl
breakfast RM20-35) Half-naked kids happily chase
chickens around the collection of sturdy
wooden bungalows here. The owners speak
little English and nasi lemak is served for
breakfast, making this a great, friendly place
to go local.
Matahari Chalets (%581 9835; small/large chalets
RM25/35) Chalets have shared showers but are
clean and equipped with a fridge, windows,
mosquito nets and spacious verandahs. The
atmosphere is relaxed with a TV common
room, and a kitchen for guests.
Payung Guesthouse (%581 9658; chalets s/d RM30/35,
f with kitchen RM50) Backs onto the river, with neat
rows of ordinary chalets in the garden. The
attached tour office offers everything from
bike and surfboard rentals to mangrove or
snorkelling tours.
Coconut Inn (%581 9299; chalets RM30-80) This
place has an eclectic ensemble of wooden cha-
lets (priced by size) in a garden of tall trees
and hanging potted plants.
Mimi’s Guest House (%012 939 7309; chalets RM40-
60; a) A surfer favourite with some long-
term residents clinging onto a bungalow or
two, Mimi’s has a charming selection of small
wood bungalows all with TVs and fridges.
oDon’t Tell Mama^ (htill late) The hippest
bar in town is right on the beach and is a great
place to stop by day or night to make friends
over a cold beer. Impromptu barbeques and
parties are the norm.
Most guest houses run their own restau-
rants, the best being Matahari Restaurant (seafood
barbeque from RM10; hbreakfast, lunch & dinner) at the
west end of town.Getting There & Away
Cherating doesn’t have a bus station, but any
Kuantan–Terengganu bus will drop off pas-sengers at the turn-off to the village road,
which will involve a short stroll. To go south
from Cherating you’ll need to wave down
the local bus bound for Kuantan that runs
every 30 minutes (RM4.50, 1¼ hours); for
Kuala Terengganu book long-distance bus
tickets (RM16, three hours, frequent) through
Travelpost (%581 9796; h9am-11pm).MARANG
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Marang is the jump-off point for ferries to
Pulau Kapas and a quiet fishing town, a little
overbuilt by the highway but still pleasant in a
rural way. If you’re around on Sunday, check
out the excellent Sunday Market, which starts
at 3pm near the town’s jetties.
There are regular local buses to/from Kuala
Terengganu (RM2). For long-distance buses
there’s a ticket office (%618 2799; Jln Tanjung Sulong
Musa) near the town’s main intersection. There
are buses to/from Kuala Lumpur (RM30, two
daily), Johor Bahru (RM35, two daily), and
Kuantan (RM15, two daily) via Cherating.PULAU KAPAS
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Kapas is the kind of place you could melt
into and forget to leave. Not that there’s
much going on, but that’s the beauty of the
place. Outside July, August and a few holiday
weekends expect to have the scorching white
beaches and aquamarine waters to yourself.
All accommodation and the few restaurants
are clustered together on two small beaches
on the west coast, but you can walk around
the headlands to quieter beaches.
Note that accommodation on the is-
land shuts down during monsoon season
(November to March).
The most budget-oriented option on Kapas
is Lighthouse (%019 215 3558; dm/d RM20/50), an
elevated jungle longhouse with Che posters,
hammocks and Nora Jones tunes. Otherwise
Kapas Island Resort (%631 6468; http://www.kapasisland
resort.com; dm RM20, r RM90-200; as), set among
pretty landscaped gardens, is a good choice.
Choose from timber chalets or a longhouse
dorm sleeping up to 30 people.
Six kilometres offshore from Marang, Kapas
is reached by boats in mere minutes from
Marang’s main jetty. Tickets (RM40 return)
can be purchased from any of the agents nearby
and boats depart when four or more people
show up. Be sure to arrange a pick-up time478