jcwc01

MarcusBoxer,

Sorry for the late reply. I recently returned from a 5-day trip to Angkor Wat.

Whether you fly or drive from KL - Penang depends on time and budget. Driving gives you the opportunity to see more of the countryside and do stops in the off-the-beaten-path places. If you have the time I'd say driving is better.

Also in Penang it's hard to get around without a car, so you always have to rely on the taxis which are notorious for not using the meter and over-charging.

ekscrunchy

About 20 years ago I spent some time on the east coast near Rantau Abang, in order to watch the giant leatherback turtles laying their eggs at night. This was such an incredible experience, yet I have never read about anyone here going to watch this phenomenon.

The hotel I stayed at was Tanjong Jara, I believe..I would have to look at my notes to be certain..but it was very different than the place I see don their website today...perhaps they did a total renovation...remeber I was there in the mid 1980s..

Cicerone

ekscrucnhy, I have done this twice. The first time was in 1986 when I also stayed at Tanjong Jara and it too was one of the best travel experiences I have ever had. The turtles were the size of Volkswagens. I managed to see them one more time in 1989, but they never appeared again in my subsequent trips up the coast while I was living in Singapore. Unfortunately, from what I understand there has been too much development along the coast, and too many of them are killed en route to their nesting site, and really sadly too many eggs are taken from nests. Some realted species do appear in Thailand, I believe they are the smaller ones, like you see in Hawaii.

You almost never see a reference to them in guidebooks for this reason.

Yes, the Tanjong Jara underwent a major renovation I think in the late 1990s, you probably saw it when it was still quite a nice hotel, the long wooden almost "long house" buildings with the lovely carvings. Only one pool (they have an infinity pool now). Still a very nice place even in the late 1980s IMO.

I loved Rantu Abang, what a beautiful beach and little village that is.

TravelTwiddle

There a new place to watch turtles near Rantau Abang. It's called Ma' Daerah - http://madaerah.org/

ekscrunchy

Cicerone: Yes, the turtles were the size of VW Beetles. It saddens me to think that they no longer return to lay their eggs there..if they even exist anymore.. Well, I guess they did not rake in the revenue that a strip of big hotels can...

Thanks for clarifying that for me.