When most of us end up going for trips around Peninsular Malaysia a lot of us end up at holiday destinations located along the North-South Highway. Most end up in Malacca, Port Dickson, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Taiping and all the way up North to Penang, Alor Setar and even Bukit Kayu Hitam which borders Thailand. Nearly everyone forgets that there is a highway leading to the East Coast of the Peninsular these days and a trip to the East Coast, aside from the shorter trips to Desaru in Johor is as viable as a trip to Penang. I was in Kuantan, Pahang for a weekend and it was a pretty good drive-to destination.

As usual, you have to hit Kuala Lumpur if you're coming from down South (or if you're a little adventerous you could skip the highway and use the coastal road all the way from Johor through Mersing and head upwards. But if you're into highway driving and want to make good time, head up towards the Karak Highway and continue towards Kuantan instead of stopping at the casino at Genting for that round of blackjack.

If you're heading towards Kuantan on a normal non-holiday weekend, traffic on the East Coast Highway isn't as heavy as you'd find on the North-South Highway. In fact at around noon its pretty empty. There are ample rest stops and after you cross over the Titiwangsa mountain range its mostly a straight two and a bit more hour drive to Kuantan.

- Keropok lekor Mok Su off the Tanjung Lumpur main road- one of the best Keropok Lekor I've tasted -

In Kuantan, you can do various stuff, like eat. Food, especially those that come from the sea is abundant. You can get local stuff like 'keropok ikan' or fish crackers in both the 'keropok lekor'