Telok Chempedak in the morning

Journalist and guest blogger Jehan Mohd was recently in Kuantan for the kick off of the fifth season of the RHB New Straits Times National Spell-It-Right Challenge. On the last day there, she took a trip to Telok Chempedak to catch the sunrise. Little did she expect to see an entire colony of monekys playing on the deserted beach. Her account and photos below.

I've always had an affinity for the beach and the sea. Being based in landlocked Kuala Lumpur, I tend to go a little nuts whenever I do get to go to a beach. So when I was assigned to cover the SIR Challenge in Kuantan, I immediately thought that the beach was a definite stop I had to make.

And that's how I came to be at Telok Chempedak at sunrise on my last morning in Kuantan.

Sunrise at the main beach at Telok Chempedak

A glimpse of the more secluded beach

The more secluded beach has more rocks

Sea shell, sea shell on the seashore

Rocky terrain of the more secluded beach

Awe-inspiring beauty right in Kuantan

Can you spot the tiny sand crab making its way back to its hole?

Time to head back to the main beach

A view of the main beach from a look-out point on the walkway

Rocky beauty of Telok Chempedak

After ooh-ing and aah-ing and taking loads of photos, we decided to head back at about 8am - and that's when we encountered the monkey residents of Telok Chempedak. Being early on a weekday, the beach was deserted except for a mother and young daughter, city council cleaners, me and my sleepy husband and the monkeys.

When the humans' away, the monkeys will play

Monkeys doing what's only natural

One man's rubbish is a monkey's food source

Monkeys on the beach

A little groomming in the morning

Mother and baby together

Another baby monkey exploring on its own

A monkey Banksy?

A monkey trying one of the vices humans enjoy

Pretend smoking

Family time- the baby throws a parting shot

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a fleeting stay ...

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