It was a long weekend over New Year’s (good thing about living in Malaysia – if a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the next day is a replacement holiday. woohoo!), so the fam and I went on a day trip to Port Dickson, about an hour and a half’s drive from Kuala Lumpur.

PD is a coastal town in the state of Negeri Sembilan, famed as a weekend getaway for locals. The height of its popularity was in the 90s, where dozens of serviced condominiums, hotels and homestays sprouted along its beaches. They all took a hit during the Asian financial crisis. When we drove by, we saw many old buildings lying abandoned, some with ivy and plants creeping over the walls.

In recent years, tourism in PD has been reviving, with new developments to attract more visitors. One of these places is the PD Waterfront area – a stretch of cafes and inns with a nice view of the ocean. There’s no ‘beach’ to speak of, only rocks, but there are proper walkways and pavements so it should be good for a nice evening stroll.

Some of the public beaches in PD have been polluted over the years, so I was surprised to find that this was relatively well kept and pristine. The water was clear and a beautiful light shade of blue.

Commercialised outlets – McD’s, Starbucks, and a Domino’s further down the road.

A small observation deck area, where some folks were fishing. Could do with more shade because the sun was very hot in the afternoon – but then mom reasoned that if they had shady trees, the leaves would fall into the sea and pollute the ocean. Good point.

The problem with some Malaysians – first class facilities provided but a third world way of enjoying them.

  

High time for lunch. There are quite a number of options; from mamak to Korean BBQ, fast food (McD’s, Domino’s), Thai and Western. We opted for a place called Pak Hailam, which serves local, Asian and Western favourites. Mom had the Hailam Chicken Rice – but instead of smooth, poached chicken, these were deep fried and clearly not fresh. The sprouts were fat and juicy though.

Bro’s sausage fried rice was okay, although a little lacking in ‘wok hei‘. Enjoyed the sweetish spicy sambal on the side.

I had the stir-fried beef kuey teow (flat rice noodles) which came swimming in an eggy broth. The peppery flavour was a little overpowering, but otherwise it was decent.

Keen to visit PD Waterfront? There are also a few hotels located within the vicinity; although retail outlets have yet to open so the only place to grab groceries/essentials is from a hypermarket nearby. There isn’t much to do yet around here, but it’s a good place for an evening walk if you’re planning a daytrip to Port Dickson.

Happy trippin’! 😉

More info: pdwaterfront.com.my