Pit stop at HaiPeng Coffeeshop, Chukai 17 Aug 2015

I'm writing as a form of therapy to escape the overload of bad news on the state of our nation and my incessant cough that's aggravated by the haze. I missed the blue skies and fresh air at Perhentian Island. Is it only 3 weeks ago we're holidaying at Perhentian? Feel like so much longer.

We haven't been to the East Coast like for more than 7 years. And we almost didn't make it last month. The weather forecast was very discouraging and there're a few ferocious tropical storms in the region.



 We picked up Samantha, my sister at 6am and the journey to Kuala Besut jetty took us almost 9 hours! Honestly, I thought that it's really a bad idea to cram 6 people in a car with so many baggage. I am one who didn't like to do things outside my comfort zone. A nervous freak. And when I stretch myself, I always gain much, much more...

Pit stop at Hai Peng coffeeshop @ Chukai, Kemaman

One of the few remaining coffeeshops run by the Hainanese Wong family since 1940. A very popular joint not just for locals but road travellers and tourists enroute to Kuala Terengganu or other east coast towns.

The iced coffee is excellent. It's now run by the youngest daughter of the founder Wong. She's proud of her blend of Arabica coffee, which is also a specialty of the place. Also popular are the roti bakar, nasi kerabu and nasi dagang (if you come after 11am, probably you won't see the packet rice anymore) and other kuih muih / local snacks.

Filling our stomach before we continue the long journey to Kuala Besut.

Weather was good. Hot, blue sky and very scenic driving along the beaches on the East Coast. If we've more time, we should stop by the beaches during tea time to enjoy the delicious local treats.

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