Bagan Lalang - The Largest Swimming Pool in Malaysia

Hatching of A Plan .... Dec 2005.

Living in an apartment certainly came with some privileges. One of them was the irresistible urge to get out and spend the day or the weekend away from KL. Especially after the kids woke up early in the morning, fully recharged; running, jumping up and down, making mess all over the place and inducing headaches to us. It was not surprising then, at the-spur-of the moment we just packed up stuff and left for the serenity of Sungai Congkak, Tekali, Hulu Yam, Kanching, places within an 40 minutes drive from our home. As much as we liked those places, it had become routines and familiar that we simply had to venture out further and try out new destinations.

Once, at Sungai Congkak, I met a couple with 4 kids (age 9 to 1 years old) camping out there. The father told they always went for camping trips and that his wife and kids enjoyed it very much. I have been thinking to camp out with my family before but shelved the plan as Sara and Pie were still too young and Yan was quite fussy about travelling to places without decent amenities. That chance meeting gave me the impetus to carry out my plan. If a year old can spend a night out in the woods without a fuss, I guessed Pie and Sarah and most importantly, Yan could survive it too!

At the same time, we were looking to spend the weekend away at the beaches, ideally somewhere not far from KL. I have been to Morib before and it was not particularly appealing to me. On a friend’s recommendation, we had our day-trip to Bagan Lalang.

The Site-Survey

After about 80 minutes drive later, via the Elite highway, passing through KLIA and the Sepang F1 circuit, we were greeted by the soothing sight of tall conifer trees lining the long white sandy beach. Taking shade under the trees, we saw colorful tents of various shapes and sizes, families having a picnic and of course, the compulsory sight of young couples dating.

We went swimming and found out that even almost a kilometer out to the sea, the water level was just about waist-deep. And that’s the main draw of Bagan Lalang compared to other popular beaches like Port Dickson (PD). At PD, 4-5 meters from the shore, even an adult would be completely submerge and that’s why the crowded beach. Here, you can have a thousand people in the water but still have space and privacy for your family, provided that if you do not mind the murky water. As a friend aptly put it, Bagan Lalang was the largest family swimming pool in Malaysia. Many dating couples could vouch for it too, as when the crowd intruded their personal space at the beach, they simply waded the water and continued their bonding sessions far far away into the horizon.

Restaurants, stalls, fresh fish market, car park virtually on the beach, 24 hours toilets and bathroom service. Seemed like the place would be ideal for our first camping trip. Furthermore, the Seri Malaysia Hotel, PKNK and other private-run chalets would come in handy in case of emergency. And soon as we reached our home, I set my plan in motion.

The Tiny Tent

The very next Saturday, we headed again for Bagan Lalang and this time, Pie, Sarah and if you could believe it, Yan, would spend the night at the beach, in a tent for the first time. The previous night, I had put up the brand new 6x6 foot tent in our living room and the kids had so much fun with it. Understandably, they were looking very much forward for the trip. Frankly, I just wanted to brush up my skill as it had been years since I set up one. The tent could accommodate the 4 of us comfortably.

We arrived around noon and had our lunch at one of the food stalls. Since the sun was still burning hot, we just let the kids playing sand under the shade. Later, we bought 2 kites and showed the kids how to fly them. Less than an hour, they got bored and it was time for their mother to take over and displayed her limited skill. No wonder there were so many kites stranded on the trees. At low tides, other than flying kites, you can stroll on the sandy banks for hours looking for crabs, small fish, shellfish, the horseshoe crabs (belangkas) in the small puddles formed by the receding sea. Pie had a container full of the poor creatures as his toys and rarely they could survive after he had satisfied his curiosity.

I hauled out our stuff from the car trunk and put up the tent. It looked big in the living room but when I looked around, ours was the tiniest on the beach that day. The high tide was coming when I finished unpacking and we then bathed for almost 2 hours in the water.

The New Friends

We had cencaru, squids and burgers char-grilled for dinner. I bought them from the nearby fish market earlier (opened until 6-7 pm). Pie and Sarah had finished their food and were back to examine their prize catch with torchlight when I noticed they were three other kids around them. Watching from a distance were their parents. I invited them to join our mini barbecue since I knew it would take some time to wait for the kids. With long hair and rockers-like appearance, I could not hide my surprise when I learned that the father was a lecturer in performing art faculty. The family stayed at the staff quarters in UM and always returned back to their home in Bagan Lalang on weekends. Obviously, they loved this place so much to have their home here. The friendly couple and their kids then left but not before inviting us over to their house.

MotoGP and The Morality Squad

Just before midnight, albeit in a much smaller scale, the Bagan Lalang Motor GP started. The local Mat Motors, very much influenced by their racing idols, strutted their motoring and racing skills. Loud noises and smokes from man, machines and hundreds of spectators filled the night and it only ended around 2 am, after a false alarm of impending police visit to the “circuit”. At last, we had our peace again. Or so I thought when we heard the sounds of metal screeching. I could not hold back my laughter when I saw a group of schoolboy with modified bicycles did the "wheelie" passing by our tent. The sounds came from the mudguards hitting the road tarmac. Well, seemed like they too had their idols.

Half an hour later, I heard imposing voices asking for identifications from campers nearby. I found out that the Sepang District Religious Department was conducting a spot check and after the officers taking note the details, I saw quite a few campers dismantled their tents, packed stuff and left the beach. The department had received complaints of immoral activities in the area and although the teenage girls and boys I saw were in separate tents, the officers were concerned that someone would get excited and somehow ended up in the wrong tent or the right tent, depending from one’s point of view.

Meet Martha & Palorma

It was high tide in the morning and we went swimming for hours again. After lunch, we packed our stuff and cleanup the mess. Just two more things left to do.

Pie and Sarah was practically begging to have a horse ride when we first came here last week. I promised the kids to have their horse rides on the next visit since I didn’t want them to run out of things to do later. So, for RM5 each, Pie had Palorma (male pony) and Sarah had Martha(female pony) for 2 rounds guided ride.

We dropped by our new friends’ house and after a drink and exchange of phone numbers and emails, we left Bagan Lalang with a heavy heart. Since then, we regularly camped in Bagan Lalang and it was the 6th visit on the last count.

Tips

For families with small kids first-time camp out, I would recommend this place, as the facilities and the safe children-friendly surrounding ensure that you and your spouse do have some quality time for yourselves. However, try to avoid early month weekends (hari gaji!) or long holidays (3 days or more) crowd! If possible, get a big tent with 2 entrances. Since the small tent had only one door, hence the heat and stuffiness even during the night, we have upgraded to a bigger and taller 8x9x5 1/2 foot tent with 2 doors, for much improved ventilation and space. It’s well worth it. You do sometimes have to bear the noisy Bagan Lalang MotoGP, but we only encountered it just once. Be prepared though for the occasional very strong winds at early dawn!