Rantau Abang Beach

I've always loved my holiday trips to Terengganu. We usually travel there by car following the coastal road. The panoramic scenary along the way is just beautiful. The swaying coconut trees all along miles and miles of sandy beaches. There would be small kampung houses scattered here and there in the fishing villages. A few shops by the roadside selling keropok, satar and coconut water. If you pass by Kertih then you'd see oil refineries from big oil companies such as Petronas, Shell and BP.

One of my favorite beaches in Terengganu is the Rantau Abang beach. Its my favorite Terengganu beach because on our first visit to Terengganu we stayed in Rantau Abang. Rantau Abang situated 80 km south of Kuala Terengganu is famous beach not only because of its beautiful beach with clear blue waters but also because of its giant leatherback turtles.

In the months of May to August every year, the giant leather back turtles or more commonly known as penyu in Malay would come to lay thier eggs at night. These gentle creatures has attracted many tourist who are curious to witness the event. Some tourist are even brave enough to gulp down turtle eggs which are sold by the local village people.

Often times, these turtles seem to be crying when they lay thier eggs. Some say they are sad as after laying the eggs as they have to leave their hathchlings on the beach before returning to the sea. Others say, the turtles cry because thier eyes hurt from the cool night breeze from the open sea. The truth is, only the turtles and God knows the answer. What ever it is, watch this short video which shows turtle on  Rantau Abang Beach.


Tune in to the next issue of Terengganu travel guide for more interesting travel information on beautiful Terengganu.