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It is here in Marang that you will find a very unique living concept.
On 2 acres of beachfront land, an ex-technocrat from the big capital city of Kuala Lumpur who has decided to call it quits
with the rat-race and the traffic jams and the smog and the noise of racing mopeds in the streets of the city, has built his
own paradise. This private paradise is now open to be shared with others who, like him, may still want to hang on to
their last shreads of sanity and who wants to change to a more healthy and quiet lifestyle.
Ab Van Peer and his wife Hella from Holland decided they want to be a "Beach Bum" for
a couple of months. They eventually stayed 7 years.
A movie producer moved there for a couple of weeks to forget a bad divorce. After consuming
multiple bottles of wine and listening to sorrowful jazz music, he stayed on for a year and a half, found
another nice lady and moved on to build his own paradise.
Heinz is from Austria. He's been visiting Marang for a number of years each winter. Eventually
he retires from his job and decides to "be a fisherman" for a while. He came to live in Marang 3 years ago. He's still here.
And there is Aziz, an electrical engineer with a multinational company. He called it quits 4
years ago and came to Marang Paradise. He now grows his own vegetables and has a minature quail farm with 10 birds. He brought
his Mercedes to heaven but it has since gotten 4 flat tires as he prefers the bicycle to Carl Benz's machine.
| This is the house where Heinz lives |
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Heinz has choosen Marang as his second home, under the government's "Malaysia My Second Home" program.
He has been living here for the past 3 years and has signed a lease to stay at his beach house for 5 years.
Heinz spends most of his time doing work via the internet from his house.
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Zaini - thats the name of the burntout executive, has built
a few houses on the 2 acre paradise. He lives in one of them and leases out the rest.
All the houses are built according to the traditional Terengganu
village architecture so it does not stick out like a sore thumb, but the similarities end there. Inside, the houses
are very comfortable and very modern with all the amenities that one will expect to find in a highrise condominium in New
York - well without the view of 5th Avenue but the view of the South China Sea is a hundred times more appealing.
All the houses are of timber and glass construction, with a stunning view of the sea.
The garden is well kept with fruiting mango, banana, pineapple, coconut, avacado and papaya trees. During the mango season,
you will have mangos coming out of your ears!
There is 24 hour electricity year round, clorinated and flouridated hot and
cold water, filtered water for the kitchen, telephone, fax and internet lines.
The ocean, the sea breeze , the spectacular sunrise and sunsets are all free.
To add to the village atmosphere, there are chickens and ducks and goats belonging
to the neighbours. You can rear your own chickens if you like and have free fresh eggs each morning.
| MANGOS COMING OUT OF YOUR EARS |
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Marang is a great place for foreign expatriates to stay under the
MALAYSIA MY SECOND HOME program. Its rural enough to be quiet and tranquil, yet it is only
20 minutes to the state's capital Kuala Terengganu. Here one can get all the necessities of city life -- banks, government
offices like Customs and Immigration, shopping, travel agencies, movies, but sorry - there is no opera.
The airport is a 30 minute drive from your beach house.
Even in Marang itself, there are supermarkets, a dozen grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, hotels
and resorts, markets, auto mechanics, internet cafes, medical clinics and a well stocked public library. Here is
one of the very few places where doctors still make house calls!
Besides the beach and the ocean itself, the surrounding village has hundreds of kilometers of
rural roads which are great for cycling. The Marang river is navigable by small boats upriver to at least 50 kilometers.
A great river for canoeing.
About 5 kilometers across the sea from Marang Paradise are 2 off shore islands -- Kapas Island and
Gumia Island. On Kapas, the bigger of the 2, are a few hotels and chalets. On Gumia is a resort built right into the ocean.
Both Kapas and Gumia is an excellent spot for diving and snorkling. As these islands are registered as a marine
park, fishing is allowed only 2 kilometers away from the shore. Around Kapas, further out to sea are some fantastic
shipwrecks for diving.
FROM MARANG TO:
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NOTES
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20 mins. Car/taxi
40 mins bus
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Car / taxi
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MYR 30.00 RETURN BY SPEEDBOAT
MARANG JETTY EVERY 30 MINS.
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CAR / TAXI
BUS TAKES LONGER
CHANGE AT KOTA BARU
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SINGAPORE
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approx. 420 kms
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5 hours
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BY CAR
At least 3 busses daily from Marang
BY AIR via Kuala Lumpur 3 times daily
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KUALA LUMPUR
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450 kms
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5 - 6 hours
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3 DAILY FLIGHTS - 40 MINS.
10 BUSSES - 8 HOURS
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PENANG
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approx. 540 kms
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5 - 6 hours BY CAR
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AT LEAST 5 BUSSES DAILY - 10 HOURS
3 FLIGHTS PER WEEK - 40 MINS.
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This was the house that Ab and Hella originally lived in. Upon completion of another house nearer the beach, they
moved there so they don't have to walk the 50 meters to the sea. Hella also opened a batik workshop whe she produced some
really stunning pieces. Ab was mainly responsible for planting the flowers around the pergola by the beach. They have
since moved to a chateau in France.
The house above is 50 meters from the beach. Its a 3 bedroom house with one of the bedrooms being a loft bedroom with
a private balcony. All rooms face the sea. There are 2 bathrooms with hot and cold showers, a huge kitchen, living room, a
huge porch and an open dining room with a full view of the sea. The ground portion of the house doubles as a 2
car garage.
Sorry you can't see Fifth Avenue from your bedroom window but do you really need that when you can look at the
South China Sea all the way to The Phillippines?
Used to be able to pluck coconuts from the balcony but the tree have since grown taller. How do you stop a coconut tree
from growing?
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This pergola is full of yellow alamander flowes and passion fruit overhead. Passion fruit juice or milkshake is out of
this world! Of course, we're in Paradise!!
On the ground are all kinds of herbs - mint, fragrant pandanus, a sickly lime tree (not enough sunlight) all types of
ferns, creepers, jasmine, aloe vera, beetle nuts and even cactus.
| PASSION ON ICE ---Mmmmm GOOD |
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| THIS BEACH CHALET IS YOURS |
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| STEP OFF THE PORCH RIGHT ONTO THE BEACH |
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This is a 2 bedroom chalet right on the beach. The ocean is 10 meters from your doorstep. It comes with
a fully equipped kitchen, sunken bathroom with hot and cold water, combination living and dining area and your own private
porch. Comes fully furnished. Just bring your swimsuit.
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