NOV 22 — I am rediscovering holiday destinations of my childhood this visit back home through my son and am pleased to say that the good memories I have are still intact.
The most recent trip was a getaway to Port Dickson on Wednesday morning. I can guess what you’re thinking: Port Dickson — dirty beach, dirtier sea; filthy public toilets. Who swims in the Straits of Malacca anymore right?
Well, that’s what we thought too but PD is only a little over an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur, which is just about how much my energetic toddler can take in a confined space.
My dad can’t do long distances either as an old sports injury is causing grief to his knee. Add to that our 12-year-old arthritic dog is now incontinent, requiring regular walks, which means no overnight stays (he’s never been boarded at a kennel before and it feels cruel to do it to him now).
Most of all, the grandparents wanted to take Ishan on a little holiday and I wanted them to see how much their grandson loves playing at the beach.
So PD it was.
The morning got off to a great start. The weather was perfect: bright but not hot and there was a cool breeze to boot.
We arrived at Teluk Kemang at 10.30am and were on the lookout for a hotel that would take in day guests but stopped short when we came to the public beach.
My dad suggested we check out the area before checking into the hotel. We were rewarded with a clean stretch of wet sand — it had rained the night before — and as far as my eyes could see there was no rubbish anywhere.
The toilet wasn’t half bad either. Odour-free, bright and well-ventilated, the two grouses I had were the broken flush in the only sitting (as opposed to squatting) loo and the absence of hooks to hang our bags in the shower stall.
Having said that, paying 50 sen to use the facility (and an extra 50 sen for a packet of tissue paper; none provided inside the stalls) seemed fair considering I wasn’t overcome with a wave of nausea upon entering the premises.
Over at the beach, there were already people frolicking in the water; two groups of college students and a family with young children and they looked like they were having a fabulous time.
We tossed aside the idea of using a hotel and got cosy right away by taking our place under a beach umbrella with two deck chairs and a makeshift wooden table for the princely sum of RM15 for the whole day.
Armed with a new pail and spade, Ishan happily dug away at the grainy sand before racing to the water’s edge. The huge smile on his face put even bigger ones on ours.
It didn’t matter to him that the sand wasn’t white and soft like the sand at South Bay Beach in Hong Kong or our beautiful East Coast beaches. And I tried not to let it matter to me that there was a sewerage pipe nearby.
The pipe did look picturesque though with moss beginning to cover most of it and holiday-makers taking photos atop what looked like a concrete pier.
Playing near us was another grandfather tugging his grandson out to sea in a cheerful yellow boat-shaped float. They looked like they were having a good time too.
I have a faded photograph of my dad carrying me in chest-deep water in PD when I was about Ishan’s age. It meant a lot that we were there as a family to recreate what must have been a happy day for me too more than three decades ago.
I was thrilled to discover that PD’s beaches haven’t lost their charm. So many families share fond memories there. After all not all of us have the luxury of flying to Sipadan or Bali or wherever it is beautiful beaches reign.
So I’m thankful to those responsible for cleaning up the beach and the sea. Hopefully that includes beach-goers who have become more civic-minded and stopped throwing plastic bottles and plastic bags around.
All that’s needed now are free outdoor showers for the convenience of beach goers, working loos and some serious ikan bakar and air kelapa.
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
