At the Marang estuary, in Terengganu, the daily sunrise is absolutely captivating. So are the early dawn activities of the fishermen as they plough their colourful traditional boats down the river and into the estuary. Washed by the strong waters of the South China Sea over untold centuries, many stretches of the beaches proclaim nature's wonderful alchemy of fine powdery sands of white and gold or a mixture of both. Unlike the West Coast facing the Straits of Malacca,where primarily the coastline is predominated by mangroves and rocky outcrops, the East Coast beaches are magnificently wide and long, oftentimes sloping gradually into the sea. The coastline encompasses endless kilometres of long, white beaches, broken occasionally by rustic fishing villages, forests, secluded bays, rocky outcrops and sea caverns.
Coconut groves are abundant as the palms flourish on salty soils.
As the various species of coconut palms grown are tall, the tradition of using a specially trained monkey to climb the trees and pluck the coconuts is still practised in some villages. Albeit, it is a fast disappearing tradition as coconuts are declining fast as a mode of revenue for the coastal villagers. Moreover, not many master monkey trainers are around nowadays. For the adventurous traveller, a little inquiry in one of the coastal villages may get sight erll worth catching on camera before the tradition completely dies out.