The eight kilometer long esplanade makes a wonderful drive by for makan angin, motor bike racing or a very long stroll. For the most, it is lined by soft Casuarina trees, lanky coconut palms and frail kampong houses.
What makes this stretch of coastline unique from other prime beach real estate is the unlikely presence of several islamic religious schools and even an abandoned drug rehabilitation center that enjoy beach frontage land.
Add to that, the Hotel UITM Trengganu run by and for the School of Hotel Management and Tourism takes center stage. 
Discard any cliched images of bronze bikini-clad nymphs emerging from the sea. None of that here. Lifestyle here is simple and separate in many ways.
Where the boys watch the girls . . . 
Mak Ciks and kids picnic on beach
The Mat Rempits rule the streets without any thought of noise or exhaust pollution effecting the serenity of their beach.
A Trojan horse? A relic from the iron-mining days from near-by Bukit Besi? Japanese invasion landing structure? We never found out what it was.
This flag, however was well known, and a frequent adornment of shops and houses, often accompanied by another blue and white flag.And so ended our brief visit to Dungun in Trengganu.
Epilogue:
Near Club Med we left the main road, passed the turtle sanctuary, and came across a narrow but long piece of land owned by the Ben Haron brothers. They have plans to develop by 2010. The neighbouring land has been converted into a thriving home stay for tourists.
Dollah and Sandra's pot of gold 
3 comments:
Very interesting feature on Dungun, a place I know very well.
FYI the 'trojan horse' you referred to is actually the remnant of the iron ore jetty which the British company, Eastern Mining and Metal Company (EMMCO)erected in order to rob the riches of Dungun for over 50 years. They closed the mine (yes, you are right, Bukit Besi!) in 1973 when it got exhausted. I remember reading it in the NST while at STAR. I was in Form 3 then. Our politicians were partly to blame for not managing our resources well and got duped by the British. I later understood that the tax paid to the state was only 13 sen for every tonne of iron ore mined. The price of raw iron ore then was about US$50 a tonne. A very sad state of affairs indeed.
But politicians never learn from past mistakes. As you read this, the Americans (Exxon Mobil)are extracting about 450,000 barrels of oil in Terengganu on a daily basis. I am sure you are aware of the present oil price to work out its worth. It has been going on since 1980! And because it is done offshore the Terengganu state does not even get anything, never mind 13 sen..
That was actually written by Rosli, not me. sorry.
Thank you for visiting and contributing to Dungun's economy.
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