Merang, Terengganu : journeymalaysia.com

Merang

During the 1970's and early 80's, there were two places in Terengganu where travellers would stopover. Merang and Marang, two quaint coastal kampungs where they could get away from the city and from impersonal motels and hotels. The only places to stay in the kampungs were in the homes of villagers. Soon word got around, the villages were circled on the maps and notebooks of backpackers as a must stopover.

Not to be confused with names, Merang is the take-off point for visitors to P.Redang, P.Lang Tengah, P.Bidong and the other islands off this part of the coast. And Marang, is the take-off point for P.Kapas which is much further down the coast. With recent activity in the likes of coaches loaded with tourists roaring in and out, the village has surprisingly retained much of its originality and still exudes the tranquil beauty that once travellers flocked to experience. Scattered around the village, are a number of cheap chalets.

Merang is still pretty much a fishing village. Life goes on as it has for generations.

Down the road from the jetty lives an old man. He and his family live modestly on a small plot of coconut plantation. A little Malay house built on stilts, chicken running around and cats lazing in the shade for a hot afternoon siesta. Nothing different from other houses at first glance.

Unlike his neighbours, Pakcik no longer goes out to sea for he is too old and weak to carry on such strenuous duties. To supplement the family income, he harvests coconuts. Well, not him really. He has trained several pig-tailed macaques to carry out the job for him. The macaques are incredibly smart monkeys and are often trained to climb coconut trees to pick young kernels. Pakcik shouts out a few words of commands to the macaque, the animal understands, moves to the next frond and twists the coconut from its hold, dropping it down to ground. Once contented that it has done a good job, climbs down the coconut tree and up the next one. Pakcik and his monkey collect about 100 coconuts a day. He sells them at only 10sen each to the middle person - a meagre earning for most of us folks but the family lives well enough with their harvest.

A little further round the river's bend , traditional fishing boats are parked in rows of two or three along the banks. Here, the fishermen tend to their chores of mending, sewing and repairing of nets, buoys and fishing lines in the evenings. Not too long ago when the roads here were only narrow dirt tracks, huge monitor lizards were seen sunning themselves by the banks of the river. Undisturbed, the lizards could grow to a whopping 2metres in length. The otters were around too. But with so much activity here lately, they may have moved upriver or into the little tributaries nearby for some solitude and clean air!

charcoal kilns

There are in fact river tours into the upper reaches of the river. If you have time and would like to catch up with some riverine life- you could make arrangements with Encik Ishak not far from the village. Ishak owns a nice, lived-in little budget resort just by the sea called Kembara Resort and he is able to arrange river safari trips to visit the colonies of fireflies that live in the swampy marshes. I hear the boat charges are about RM300 for a boat that sits up to 10people.There are also trips arranged with the fishermen for a day's outing at sea on their fishing boats.

Not too far from Kembara Resort, a few families from the village make their living converting wood into charcoal using traditional kilns that look a little like brown igloos from a distance. The family who live and work on this small plot of coconut plantation collects the coconut husks as cinder for the furnace which is kept burning for days. If you are able to hire a bicycle, there is so much to see at Merang. The old ways are still very apparent here and the resorts have comfortably blended in with the environment without causing too much undue damage to the beauty and serenity of the place and its people. It's a great place for bird watchers too! if you sit still for a little while to

Old kampung house at Aryani

absorb and inhale the ambience and the new breath of life - you may find the place opening up to you. This is the time when you will get to see the added dimensions of travelling and living ..and life in Terengganu. Aryani Resort is another place to stay at Merang but is priced at the other end of the spectrum to Kembara Resort. A dream come true for the owner and conceptualiser, the resort is built on the malaysian village concept. In fact the owner, Raja Bahrin Shah bin Raja Ahmad Shah has relocated and restored an old traditional Terengganu timber malay house to the current location at Aryani. This is the perfect place to pamper yourself rotten. Set in a quiet location, the resort offers a hideaway for the overworked executive where one can indulge in doing nothing but relax.

Kuala Terengganu & Surrounding Day Tours ~ Terengganu

Tours (ex - Kuala Terengganu)	Hrs	Day of Operations	Departure		Min adult	Include	Rate (Nett)
Tours (ex - Kuala Terengganu)	Hrs	Day of Operations	AM	PM	Min adult	Include	Adult (RM)	Child (RM)
Terengganu River Safari & Heritage Trip *Itinerary	4	Daily	8.00	-	2	Transportation, driver / guide	209	105
Kuala Terengganu City Tour *Itinerary	5	Daily	11.00	-	2		145	75
Terengganu River Safari *Itinerary	4	Daily	8.00	-	2		189	95
Terengganu Countryside Tour *Itinerary	5	Daily	10.00	-	2		149	75
Cemerong Waterfall & Pasir Raja Trip *Itinerary	9	Daily	8.00	-	2		179	90
Sekayu Waterfall & Terrapin Conservation Centre Trip *Itinerary	5	Daily	11.00	-	2		149	75
Fireflies Night Trip & Penarik Fishing Village Trip *Itinerary	5 1/2	Daily	-	17.00	2		220	110
Candat Sotong/Squid Jigging Trip *Itinerary	3	Daily	-	1800	6		239	239
Marang River Safari Trip *Itinerary	4	Daily	8.30	-	2	Land/boat transportation , refreshment , driver/guide	139	69.50
Kenyir Lake Day Tour *Itinerary	5	Daily	10.00	-	2	Transportation, driver / guide	250	140
Rantau Abang Hidden Treasure Day Trip *Itinerary	4	Daily	-	7.00	3		149	75
Kapas Island Day Tour *Itinerary	5 1/2	Daily	9.30	-	2		215	108
Bidong Island Day Trip *Itinerary	7	Daily	8.00	-	2		465	232.50
Tenggol Island Day Trip *Itinerary	6	Daily	9.00	-	10	Land/boat transfer, lunch, snorkeling trip with equipment	230	161

Please Note:

~ The seat-in-coach can only be conducted with the minimum number of person/adults required
~ Pick-up and drop-off service from major hotels at Kuala Terengganu town centre
~ For other pick up and drop off services in areas other than Kuala Terengganu, please advise us. Additional surcharge will be accorded
~ Services of an English Speaking Driver / Guide
~ Touring by air-conditioned car, van or coach (depending on the group size)
~ Rates are inclusive of entrance fees where applicable
~ Child age between 4-11 years old
~ Any unused services are non-refundable, non-exchangeable and non-deductible
~ 100% cancellation charge applies for NO SHOW OR CANCELLATION within 48-hrs
~ In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the local operator reserves the right to alter, amend or withdraw the package anytime with or without prior notice.

Redemption Instructions :

~ 24 hours prior to travel date, please call our local tour representative (during working hours) to reconfirm your booking details. Pick up time is required 30 minutes prior to tour departure time.

Postponements of Trip:

* Please be advised that the trip will not be allowed to be postponed unless we are advised of any changes at least 3 working days before trip commencement date

**Please Note that there will be a non-refundable handling charge on payment made. Conditions apply.

Accommodation and Holiday Packages to Kuala Terengganu, Merang, Marang, Kapas Island, Tenggol Island, Gemia Island, Redang Island, Lang Tengah Island, Bidong Island, Penarik, Rantau Abang, Kenyir Lake, Tanjong Jara, Dungun, Paka and Surroundings

Accommodation & Holiday Packages :
Kuala Terengganu	Budget Inn \| Hotel Grand Paradise \| Ping Anchorage Backpackers Lodge Motels \| Batu Buruk Beach Resort \| Ming Star Hotel \| Motel Desa \| Hotel Kenangan \|Qurata Riverside Resort \| Seri Indah Resort \| Seri Malaysia Hotel \| Hotel YT Midtown \| Hotels \| Felda Residence \| Hotel Grand Continental \| Permai Hotel \| Primula Beach Resort \| Hotel Apartments \| Sumai Hotel Apartment \| Day Trips \| Terengganu River Safari & Heritage Trip \| Kuala Terengganu City Tour \| Terengganu Countryside Tour \| Terengganu River Safari \| Cemerong Waterfall & Pasir Raja Trip \| Sekayu Waterfall & Terrapin Conservation Centre Trip \| Fireflies Night Trip & Penarik Fishing Village Trip \| Candat Sotong/Squid Jigging Trip \| Overnight Packages \| 3 Days 2 Nights Terengganu, Firefly & Penarik Fishing Village \| 3 Days 2 Nights Kuala Terengganu & Setiu Wetland \| 3 Days 2 Nights Kuala Terengganu & Cemerong Waterfall \| 3 Days 2 Nights Kuala Terengganu & Marang River Safari \|
Pulau Duyung	\| Awi's Yellow House \| Pak Haji Abdullah's Chalets \|
Marang	\| Seri Malaysia Hotel Marang \| Marang River Safari\|
Rantau Abang	\| Rantau Abang Hidden Treasure Day Trip \|
Pulau Kapas	\| Kapas Island Day Tour \| Makcik Gemuk Chalet \| Kapas Garden Resort \| The Light House \| Duta Puri Island Resort \| Yellow Beach Resort \| Kapas Island Resort \|
Pulau Gemia	\| Gem Isle Resort \|
Merang	\| Kembara Inn \| Aryani Resort \| Sutra Beach Resort \| Merang Suria Resort \|
Pulau Redang	\| Ayu Mayang Resort \| Coral Redang Island Resort \| Laguna Redang Island Resort \| Mutiara Beach Resort \| Redang Bay Resort \| Redang Beach Resort \| Redang Camping Adventure \| Redang Kalong Resort \| Redang Lagoon Resort \| Redang Pelangi Resort \| Redang Reef Resort \| Redang Holiday Beach Villa \| Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa \| Pulau Redang Day Trip ~ \| Redang Island Day Tour \|
Pulau Bidong	\| Pulau Bidong Island \|
Pulau Lang Tengah	\| D'Coconut Lagoon Resort \| Redang Lang Resort \| Lang Sari Resort \| Sari Pacifica Resort & Spa \|
Penarik	\| Terrapuri Penarik \| Penarik Inn \| Fireflies Night Trip \| Sekayu Waterfall & Terrapin Conservation Centre Trip \|
Besut	\| Bukit Keluang Bach Resort \|
Volunteer Programmes	\| Terengganu Turtle Conservation Expedition \| Perhentian Turtle Conservation Volunteer program \| Turtle Conservation Centre \|
Tanjung Jara	\| Tanjong Jara Resort \|
Kenyir Dam	\| Kenyir Lake Day Tour \| Lake Kenyir Resort & Spa \| Musang Kenyir Resort \| Uncle John Resort \| Kenyir Lake Plus (Houseboat) \| Kenyir Tourist Resort \|
Pulau Tenggol	\| Tenggol Island Beach Resort \| Tenggol Day Trip \|
Dungun	\| Hotel Kasanya \| Ulek Beach Resort \| Cemerong Waterfall & Pasir Raja Tour \|
Chukai & Kemaman	\| River Garden Hotel \|
Paka	\| Residence Resort \| Rumbai Resort Villa \|
Kijal	\| Awana Golf and Beach Resort \|