Realisation of My Wanderlust : Sungai Lembing / Kuantan

The reason of us planning for this trip was mainly just because we were intrigued by the Time Capsule Resort in Sungai Lembing which was quite a hit nowadays. Yes, we travelled 250++km just for a resort!

So, what's so special about this resort that can attract us from few hundreds km away? Basically, this resort is a family-run resort which was located in Sungai Lembing, Pahang. If you do not know where Sungai Lembing is, it is actually a little town surrounded by lush forests which can allow the tourists to enjoy the green view, chilling ambience and fresh air while staying in the resort. The speciality of this resort that successfully attracted tourists was the concept of the "room" which was in cylinder-shaped with minimal design.

You could probably predict the room was very small since it was named "capsule". Yes, the room was indeed very tiny that could only fit a double bed. Hence, please minimise the amount of luggage if you are staying there. I found the room very cute as I did not stay such room before. Despite the size of room, the room was actually very comfortable with the cosy bed and air-conditioning. The best part of it was the transparent area on top of the room for stargazing! And not to forget to mention the green view that we could enjoy from our room was completely relaxing.

Capsule and me :)

Nice view from the room

View from top of the room. Ready for stargazing!

Video for the overview of the room

For your information, there are two type of capsules: A) Nice transparent glass door without window B) Ordinary-designed door with window. Hence, if you are particular about it, you may want to tell the owner which type of capsule you want. Else, they will choose for you. Obviously, the capsule that I slept was option B. If you were to ask me which capsule was better, I would say they were really incomparable as both capsules have pros and cons as the way I described them. Therefore, it totally depended which factor outweighed according to your preference.

Capsule A

Capsule B

Not much activities were happening at night. Hence, we headed back to the resort after dinner. We mainly spent time chit chatting and reading in the room. We could even hear crickets chirping at night which was so peaceful as if they were having the orchestra for the guests :). I truly appreciated such relaxed getaway as being a city girl, it was definitely a rare chance to have such intimate contact with the Mother Nature. Besides that, we were always limited to the schedules, plans and responsibilities every day. Hence, having such trip without being restricted to schedule or worried about time limit was really my thing. :)

Reading is always my inspiration

Speaking about the resort, the bathrooms were shared and a common area was provided for guests resting and preparing their own meals. No meals were provided by the resort. However, we were welcomed to bring our own meals/ drinks as water was provided there.

"Living room" of the resort

Another important note was remember to bring mosquitoes repellent and long pants! As it was near to the forests, presence of mosquitoes and insects were very common there. Hence, it is very essential to be well prepared to minimise the chances of being bitten by mosquitoes. (I use the word "minimise" as totally avoid the mosquitoes is nearly impossible XD.) Another funny thing about us was my boyfriend and I as if went through some missions whenever entering the capsule as we counted "1,2,3!" then instantly entered the room and closed the door at lightning speed, followed by "Quality Check" (check whether any mosquitoes entered the room), chased and killed them if they intruded the room. Yeap, this was our procedure when going into the room!XD

Mosquitoes repellent is a must!

That's it for the experience in Time Capsule Retreat. Next, I would like to share about the activities we did in Sungai Lembing/Kuantan. Sungai Lembing was popular with Panorama Hill which people usually hiked in the early morning for the sunrise. Panorama Hill was actually quite easy as there were just staircases instead of muddy, slippery ground. However, I did feel this was more tiring compared to Broga Hill which I just hiked not long ago although Broga Hill was more challenging. Perhaps the staircases in Panorama Hill were quite steep which exhausted us quickly. However, all of the efforts paid off as the view on top of the hill was truly stunning. We could even see tons of clouds there as if we were standing above them. It was quite hard to view the sunrise at a perfect angle as too many trees were blocking it, but the view there and the feeling of accomplishing the hiking were unbeatable.

Capture the view of town from halfway of Panorama Hill

Hanging bridge is another famous destination in Sungai Lembing. It connected a Chinese Village and main land. The hanging bridge was actually very stable as the locals even rode motorcycles across the bridge. But, the bridge was inevitably swinging slightly when people walking across it as unlike motorcycles, the direction of forces applied by human legs were different every time (left, right alternatively) which caused the bridge to swing. Famous local food like "Dan San" and "Mountain Water Tofufa" could be bought in the Chinese Village.

View from Hanging Bridge

We didn't travel much in Sungai Lembing as we just stayed for 1 night. However, you could also visit the famous Tine Mines and Museum Sungai Lembing if you are here :).

We also visited Kuantan since it was near to Sungai Lembing. The best part of it was the beach named Teluk Cempedak. I was quite stunned as I did not expect such a clean and nice beach existed in West Malaysia. But, the beach is not the end. If you are observant enough, you could notice a maroon bridge which you shall definitely walk across it as it would lead you to another isolated beach!

Teluk Cempedak

The maroon bridge

The isolated beach!

People even camped there.

We were able to have a try on the famous food in Kuantan/Sungai Lembing which I shared below. However, sharing about the review of food is not really my thing as I enjoy more on sharing experiences about the places. Hence, please forgive my super brief information about the food.

Curry Laksa- Restaurant Hoi Yin, Kuantan

The first meal in Kuantan. This was really worth getting a thumb up! The curry was slightly sweeter than Kuala Lumpur one which may due to the coconut milk. The chicken in the curry laksa was really juicy which highly increased the taste of it.

Kuantan Durian Puff

This shop was just few shops away from Restaurant Hoi Yin. We just randomly saw this shop and wanted to give a try. The chilling durian went well with the hot puff. If you are a durian lover, you might probably like this.

Cendol Air Putih

The shop was located in Jalan Air Putih which served local cendols. It tasted similar to the usual ones that we had before but with much more amount of ingredients and cheaper price, RM 2 only! Having a cendol to cool yourself down in a scorching day is definitely one of the good ideas.

Lembing Noodles

A speciality in Sungai Lembing. We had this in a hawker centre which was besides Pasar Sungai Lembing. We initially looked for a specific stall called "Chiong Gei“ (祥记) as apparently it was the most famous stall for this which was even interviewed by media. Unfortunately, the stall closed and we had no choice but to try other stall there. This food was really not my thing as I felt it was quite ordinary. I am not sure whether it just usually tasted like that or it may taste better in other stall.

Mountain-Water Tofu

Another speciality in Sungai Lembing. Apparently the people there claimed that the water in Sungai Lembing was much cleaner. Hence, the tofu produced there was much smoother and better. Again, we actually looked for a stall in hawker centre named "feng jie" (凤姐) but it also closed. Therefore, we had this in another stall as well. This tofu didn't impress me too much as I felt it was ordinary as well. However, it was indeed silky smooth.

Nasi Kukus Ayam Dara

This was the best food I have ever had in Sungai Lembing! The chicken was completely tasty and juicy. If you are to come here, you shall definitely give a try on this! The stall was quite unnoticeable and located the opposite of Hainan Centre so you'd better give extra attention while searching for this stall. (By the way, this stall is open at night.)

Kula Cake

A must try in Kuantan! Kula Cake is a famous cake shop located in Kuantan. Their most famous dessert is Mango Cheese Cake. We also ordered Pavlova Cake as it received many positive reviews as well. Both desserts didn't disappoint me. The Mango Cheese Cake was sweet and chilling whereas the taste of Pavlova Cake was quite special, it was less sweet than usual cakes which didn't bore me in a short time.

This marks the end of our trip! Thanks God that we are able to be back safe and sound after the long hours driving journey. Not to forget to thanks my companion for driving all the time :).