The world according to me....

With just a few days between the end of the symposium in Kuala Lumpur and date of departure to return to North America, we decided to make a quick trip to the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, to see the beaches on the South China Sea. We went to Cherating, a small town just south of the southern tip of the state of Terengganu, which formerly hosted a major rookery of leatherback sea turtles. The beach of Cherating is quite beautiful and quiet, at least in late March. A local ex-pat told us of a sea turtle hatchery center just north of Cherating, next to the entrance of Club Med. We had to go check it out.

The hatchery was not in operation, since the start of the green turtle nesting season was still several weeks away. But there was an education center, with displays on turtles, dugongs, and mollusks, and also a murky pool with two pale juvenile sea turtles. The building was immaculate, and kept that way by the fact that you had to remove your shoes before entering. These two receptionists were checking everyone’s feet at the entrance.