Lake Chini from kuantan, Malaysia

[Cellen]

Has anyone done a boat trip to Lake Chini from Kuantan and if so, how was it? We are thinking of doing this as an excursion when on a Princess cruise because the Port doesn't seem to have much to offer and the trip does look very scenic, plus it includes a visit to a Malay village.

[edinburgher]

We did this in Feb on a different ship/line so I'm not sure if your excursion will follow the exact same itinerary as ours.

 

We left Kuantan by coach and followed a main road for some distance before turning off onto a more country type road which was a bit more scenic before arriving at the lake. (We had stopped along the way to look at a palm oil plantation) Its only a few steps to the dock/jetty where you get on the boats for the cruise around the lake. There are steps down to it. This was quite a short trip and we cruised to the aboriginal village. If its the same one as we went to, its basically a clearing with a small number of raised traditional houses, a few adults and (cute) kids. Theres a few animals (including monkeys) and poultry around. You get told about their daily lives. You get blowpipe demonstrations. You can wander around but its tiny. Not really a village. You can buy blowpipes. We then got back in the boats and we thought we were heading back to the jetty, but instead we cruised through some of the narrow hidden waterways. We thought this was the best bit of the trip. It was really quite scenic and shady. It lasted quite a while. We really enjoyed this. We then disembarked at a different jetty and boarded the coaches again for the return trip.

 

At certain times of the year the lake the lake is covered with water lilies. It wasn't in Feb. You might be lucky.

 

If you are at all unsteady on your feet you might find the boats a bit tricky. Although there were one or two which were more "boat like" (if that makes sense, the vast majority were very low in the water, more like a canoe shape. Ladies shouldnt wear skirts! You have to get on them, and get off again at the village. You then have to get back on and get off again at the pier/jetty.

 

We think Kuantan is used only for refuelling with cheap fuel. There didnt seem to be any obvious reason for stopping there otherwise. And when you arrive in the port you will see why. Its all fuel pipes and storage. Maybe someone else knows better and can tell us!

[Cellen]

Thanks Edinburgher for your information - did you think the trip was worth doing - it is a 7 hour trip with our cruise ship and I am a little worried that it is the monsoon season in November.

[edinburgher]

I just checked ours. It was 6 hours.

 

Other than that I cant really say whether its worth it or not. Feb wasnt the rainy season and you dont say how much its going to cost you. Swan Hellenic are more expensive on paper but include all excursions. We did lots!

 

Like I said, Kuantan isnt the most exciting port in Malaysia.

[Cellen]

Hi again Edinburgher

 

Lake Chini costs $84 each, but apart from whether it is value for money I was wondering how picturesque and interesting the excursion is.

[edinburgher]

Thats a hard one to answer!!

 

Its a bit like someone saying the food was great when others didnt think that, likewise someone thinking the comedian was really funny and someone else not thinking that at all. Its a very individual point of view.

 

Put it this way: it wasnt the most fantastic day out, but nor was it the worst either. It was somewhere in between for us. If there is nothing else you fancy and you dont want to spend the day on the ship relaxing (is your itinerary hectic up that point? Could you do with a day off?) then you could think about it.

 

As far as we could see, Lake Chini is the only place of any interest in the area, although there seem to be good beaches around there as we have seen beachside hotels advertised in Far East brochures.

 

Your decision!

[Spikesgirl]

Gots lots of good info here regarding this port - thanks! We are still trying to decide whether to get off the ship or not and you pretty much made up our minds for us.

 

Happy Sails!

 

Charlie